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Merry has had a hell of a time. She ran from Fairie because everyone kept trying to kill her after her father died. Her aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness and of the Unseelie Sidhe did nothing to protect her. Finding herself unfertile, Queen Andias offered Merry and her cousin Cel, Queen Andias’s son, a deal, get pregnant and she will step down from the throne and let whomever is bearing the first child in a few decades step up as the King or Queen of the Unseelie Sidhe. Cel continued to try to kill Merry even as she had her pick of men from her aunt’s guard.

Merry managed to make allies with other courts in the Unseelie kingdom. Merry also takes lots of lovers of all kinds. Not only has Merry taken Sidhe lovers, but she has also taken Goblin and Demi-fae lovers. Even Slaugh. Merry has lost her Gran but found true love in Doyle and Frost. She is handfasted to Sholto by the Goddess and is made Queen of the Slaugh. The Goddess also offers her the Unseelie throne with Doyle as her king. Both Merry and Doyle decline the throne so they can save Frost.

Merry was the first to become pregnant, and still her life was in danger. Not only hers but the lives of the babies fathers. Yes babies. She had triplets that King Taranis tried to claim after her raped her. The fathers of the triplets are Frost, Doyle, Mistral, Rhys, Galen, Sholto and possibly Kitto or Royal. She has two girls, Gwenwyfar Joy Tempest Garland and Tegean Bryluen Mary Katherine. The third triplet is Alastair Essus Dolson Winter, a son.

After the babies are born Taranis still tries to claim the children and continues to pursue Merry. Taranis invades Merry’s dreams to inspect the babies. He tries to get her to come to him of her own choice which is never going to happen. It takes Merry using her Hand of Flesh to disfigure King Taranis and holding Aben-Dul a blade only Merry can touch because she wields the Hand of Flesh as her father had. After Merry is visited by Taranis, Doyle gets a visit in his dream and wakes up in his hellhound form and attacks Frost and hurts him badly.

Queen Andias is insistent on seeing the babies. Merry and the father’s are hesitant because the Queen has gone quite mad and has been torturing people in a blind rage. She has lost her son and found out that her beloved son is the one who killed the brother she held so dear, Merry’s father. Merry and her men think Queen Andias was waiting for Merry to order her dead. They spoke of it but decided against it. They also spoke of slaying King Taranis but also decided against it.

The favor of the Goddess is ever present wherever Princess Merry goes. Still the Sidhe do not want her as their Queen. She is mortal and they do not want to become mortal. Whether or not Merry is still mortal at this point is unknown. Part of the Unseelie Sidhe and the Seelie do not want her on either throne and have made it clear. However, Fairie has followed Merry to the Western Lands. It lives inside Maeve Reeves’s estate. They, Merry, her men and Maeve have allowed any fae, Sidhe and otherwise to live in the Western Lands with them in exile. They must pull their own weight though.

Many of Prince Essus’s Cranes, his guards as well as some of the Queen’s Raven’s have asked Merry to take their oaths. They prefer Merry’s rule to the fear and insanity of the Queen. There are Red Caps taking oaths as well. Unfortunately it does not keep them safe from traitors in their midst. King Taranis makes it clear that he will kill to have Merry. If she will just submit to him he will allow her men to live. He has already killed one so she believes him.

Who dies? Who lives? Read the book and tell me your thoughts. I absolutely loved the book. I can’t wait for the next one. Til next week…