A Killing Frost (2020) is the fourteenth book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. It follows October Daye, who must find Simon Torquill, her legal father who gave up his way home until Oberon returns.
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do.
—William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.
Synopsis[]
When October is informed that Simon Torquill—legally her father, due to Faerie's archaic marriage traditions—must be invited to her wedding or risk the ceremony throwing the Kingdom in the Mists into political turmoil, she finds herself setting out on a quest she was not yet prepared to undertake for the sake of her future.... and the man who represents her family's past.[1]
Plot[]
Chapter 1: Toby and May are looking at wedding dresses. Toby declares that it doesn't really matter, because the dress will end up covered in blood either way. Karen calls on the phone and gives Toby vague warnings: that Toby is about to learn something that makes her unhappy, and when she goes on her next quest, she cannot take anyone except May, Quentin and Spike unless she wants something horrible to happen. Karen makes Toby promise that she will not wake up Eira. Right after the phone call, Danny shows up and tells Toby that Tybalt asked him to take her to an undetermined place, and she should wear something nice. Wisely, Toby asks him to drop his illusions before she gets in the car.
Chapter 2: Toby is dropped off at the Cat in the Rafters by Danny, and after a brief conversation with Jason, she goes in to join Tybalt. Tybalt gives Toby a bouquet full of flowers referencing marriage, and Toby jokes that he's getting ahead of himself. Tybalt is anxious about the length of the engagement, but Toby protests and says she is not stretching it out to be cruel. Patrick and Dianda arrive at the restaurant on their own date, but it soon becomes evident that they came to talk to Toby. Patrick asks if Toby is inviting her father to the event, and Toby is offended, thinking of her human father. Patrick informs Toby that she must invite her legal father to the wedding, or she risks his liege claiming offense.
Chapter 3: After the Lordens go back to their own table, Toby questions Tybalt about why he didn't tell her about this custom. He explains that as long as Toby was genuinely didn't know, she could claim ignorance and the Queen could rule in her favor. Although Tybalt's reasons make sense, Toby is not happy about him keeping secrets from her. Dianda returns briefly to tell Toby that all the resources of Saltmist will be at her disposal in her quest to find Simon, if she wishes. When Toby questions her offer, Dianda says that Patrick and Simon were like brothers once, and that they were trying to convince him to divorce Amandine when August disappeared.
Chapter 4-5: Toby goes home to grab May, and announces they are going to Luna, even though she currently hates all of them. They can't go to the Luidaeg because Toby is worried she might turn the order to bring Simon home into an order to kill him, and she wouldn't be able to refuse. First, they must collect Quentin from his own date with Dean in Goldengreen, despite Marcia's protests.
Chapter 6: Upon arriving at Shadowed Hills, the group is stopped at the door by Etienne, who tells Toby that the people at the knowe all miss her, but he's not sure if he should let her in because she'd been encouraged to stay away by Sylvester. Although Toby and the others are looking for Luna, the knowe seems to have other ideas, and changes its layout to guide the group to where Rayseline is sleeping. Sylvester appears, but instead of hugging or greeting Toby, he turns away and tucks his hands in his pocket. He brings up Gillian as a comparison, and Toby turns it back at him by reminding him that it was Rayseline who nearly killed Gillian and led to her being turned mortal. Toby stands up for Rayseline, saying that she is still Sylvester's daughter who needs his support and understanding.
Chapter 7: Sylvester tells Toby that if she wants to talk to Luna, she first must speak to Rayseline herself. Toby asks Luna's roses to help her make Rayseline bleed for her blood magic, to make Luna involved in the decision. Toby ends up talking to Rayseline, who tells her that she is happier now, and that her actions before she fell asleep make less and less sense to her. Rayseline doesn't think she should get away without a punishment, so Toby jokes about claiming offense against her and making her serve Toby's household for a year. Surprisingly, Rayseline takes her up on the offer, because she doesn't want to stay alone with her parents and their expectations.
Chapter 8: Toby, Quentin and May set out on a Rose Road opened by Luna. The three of them soon fall into a dark hole, which Toby identifies as the place where Simon locked Luna and Rayseline away, a bubble of space suspended between worlds. May lands badly and ends up impaled by a tree branch, and in the process of freeing her, Toby breaks something in the magic surrounding them. With Spike's help, they get back on their Rose Road, even though May has a significant hole in her abdomen.
Chapter 9: Toby deduces that the roses surrounding them belong to Maeve, and decides to appeal to the Queen by naming herself as the Luidaeg's friend. The roses form a staircase for them to take, and they end up in Eira's skerry, where they find her asleep on a bier of brambles. They find Simon, who immediately aims a recurve bow at Quentin's chest.
Chapter 10: May tries to reason with Simon by reminding him that he turned Toby into a fish to save her life, and Toby tries the same by bringing up Amandine, and they find out that the spell makes Simon think he never married Amandine at all. Simon finally lowers his bow when Toby mentions Patrick, and insists that he knows Patrick is dead. He then ties Toby, Quentin and May down with rose thorns to be able to taste Toby's blood and see the truth. After seeing Patrick in Toby's memories, he finally agrees to go with them.
Chapter 11: It's not long before Simon turns on them again, elf-shooting May and grabbing Quentin. After seeing in Toby's memories that he is the Crown Prince of the Westlands, Simon decides to use him as a bargaining chip. He also reveals that he believes Amandine modified Toby's blood memories, because it's not possible that he would be the one who elf-shot Eira in the first place. After Simon takes Quentin away, Toby carries the unconscious May to the Berkeley Rose Gardens, led by Spike. Toby decides to ask a group of pixies for help, telling them to shrink both May and Toby down enough so they can exit through the garden's fence.
Chapter 12: Toby is surrounded by a group of armed pixies, with May unconscious, and both of them a pixie's size. One of the pixies tells Toby that they've heard of her as the changeling who thinks their lives are worth saving, and it is a story they are happy to repeat. Once she is human-sized again, Toby carries May to Walther's lab at the university, and accidentally interrupts his date with Cassandra. Toby borrows Walther's phone to call the Luidaeg and finally catch her up on what's been happening. The Luidaeg tells her off for going on without a solid plan and sufficient backup. She also tells Toby to get over, and she has to explain that she doesn't have her phone or her car, and the Luidaeg says she'll send someone to get her.
Chapter 13: Arden shows up, being sent by the Luidaeg to play taxi service for Toby. Once she gets to the Luidaeg, it turns out that the sea witch had a secondary reason: by calling Arden and seeing that she didn't know what was going on, they confirmed that Simon hadn't contacted the Queen yet or went to Muir Woods. Toby tells the Luidaeg everything that happened, and the Luidaeg tells her that Simon must have gone to Goldengreen, but they have to plan this time before Toby rushes off. The two of them walk through the Luidaeg's beach, and she tells Toby that Eira built Goldengreen on the Luidaeg's claimed land against her wishes. The only way into Goldengreen is underwater, so the Luidaeg has to transform Toby into something. Toby thinks the Luidaeg is going to turn her into a fish, but she agrees because they need to get into Goldengreen to save Quentin.
Chapter 14: The Luidaeg tells Toby about Janet and Tam Lin, and how breaking the Ride and the transformation spells Maeve used to protect herself, as well as the subsequent curse placed on Janet are the reason why Janet's descendants are so vulnerable to being transformed. This is the weakness of the Dóchas Sidhe. The Luidaeg has changed Toby into a sea otter instead of a fish, and she herself transforms into an octopus. Toby loses her mind in otter form and bites the Luidaeg, which leads to her seeing a blood memory of the Luidaeg creating the beach, and Eira polluting it with her presence. The two of them enter Goldengreen together after transforming back.
Chapter 15: Marcia greets the two of them and tells them that she is the only one left, because everyone else was caught by Simon and transformed into trees. The Luidaeg recognizes that Simon is using the power Eira gave him, because he wouldn't be strong enough for such spells on his own. The Luidaeg stays behind to try to transform everyone back, but before rushing off after Simon, Toby asks the Luidaeg to tell her how to give Simon her way home.
Chapter 16: Toby has Danny drive her to Half Moon Bay, where the Norton house is located. Danny tells her to call Tybalt for backup, but Toby tells him she doesn't want Tybalt there for what she's about to do. Diva opens the door and lets Toby in, telling her that Quentin is in the kitchen, shoveling chowder into his mouth. Toby realizes that he is under a compulsion, and Simon is nowhere to be seen. Toby uses blood magic to free Quentin, who immediately throws up into the kitchen sink.
Chapter 17: Toby and Quentin find Simon on the water's edge. Simon is distraught, and aims his bow at Quentin again. He tells Toby that he knows Eira is lying to him, but he helps her anyway because he has nothing else left. Although Toby tries to convince Simon again to come with them, he instead elf-shoots her with the bow.
Chapter 18: Toby "wakes" in a dream where she is alone with Eira, now back in her Evening Winterrose disguise. The two of them chat about Eira's plans and the poison in Toby's veins that is killing her, but Toby focuses on a phrase Eira says - 'lady, let alone' - and wonders where she heard it before, other than in the Tam Lin ballad. Toby's lungs burn, and she realizes that outside the dream, she is in the Shadow Roads in Tybalt's arms. She wakes in the Luidaeg's apartment, with the Luidaeg and Walther both around her. Quentin is on the couch, and Simon is also around, unconscious. Poppy comes back into the room, telling them that Officer Thornton upstairs refuses to stay in bed. Once Toby can get up, the Luidaeg wakes Simon, and Toby does the ritual to give up her way home in exchange for Simon getting his back.
Chapter 19: Toby wakes up again, in an unfamiliar living room. After seeing she's surrounded by purebloods, including the Duke's brother who always sneered at her, she assumes she must be in some kind of pureblood drug den. She recognizes Tybalt and accuses him of kidnapping her, and she refuses to let anyone touch her. The "human teenager" who turns out to be the sea witch tells her to stay there while she goes upstairs to unlock a door, as she promised. The Luidaeg returns soon, and as Toby tries to leave the room, she comes face to face with Officer Thornton. The man first calls her Jenny, then asks her if she is "the child", Almandine. Toby tells him she doesn't know him at all, and he tells her she must, because she brought him home.
Chapter 20: Toby regains her memories as soon as he says those words, and he tells her that she must say the words to make him himself again. After some confusion, Toby and the Luidaeg together recite the Tam Lin ballad, and Officer Thornton turns back into Oberon. The Luidaeg and her father hug, and Toby reunites with her own family. Tybalt is upset at her for rushing off and giving her way up, so Toby checks in with the others and learns that May is still being woken up and supervised by Cassandra.
Chapter 21: As they leave the Luidaeg's place to head back to Goldengreen, Simon asks Toby a favor, which is that when he's elf-shot again, they won't use the mixture made with Eira's blood. Toby officially invites him to the wedding, and tells him that she will not let him get elf-shot again. Toby and Tybalt nearly drag an unwilling Simon down to the cove where Patrick and Dianda are waiting. The two of them tell Simon that they want him to divorce Amandine and marry them instead, since they all know Patrick and him had been in love for centuries, and Dianda had accepted that when she started courting Patrick.
Chapter 22-23: A week later, May is helping Toby get ready for the divorce that is happening at Arden's knowe. Amandine objects to the divorce, claiming that she did nothing for Simon to disapprove of, then announces she is the daughter of Oberon, and refuses to let Simon go. The Luidaeg tells her that isn't how a divorce works. When Arden asks Toby to declare whose line she chooses, she declares for Simon, which leads to Amandine rejecting her. August asks to see Simon before making her choice, and although Simon tries to convince her to choose Amandine (because Amandine would not let her go), August says that she cannot stay with Amandine because she has always been an owner, not a mother. After August's choice, Amandine is furious, but she is held physically back by Oberon himself, whose magic is shielding him from anyone recognizing him - even Toby forgets his face as soon as he's gone. After Amandine storms out, the Luidaeg marries Patrick, Dianda and Simon to each other in a ceremony, with none of their children raising objections.
Characters[]
Allies[]
- October Daye: Dóchas Sidhe changeling, Knight of Shadowed Hills, Hero of the Realm
- The Luidaeg: Firstborn of the Roane, sea witch, Toby's Aunt
- Tybalt: Cait Sidhe, Toby's fiancé
- May Daye: Fetch, Toby's twin-sister
- Quentin Sollys: Daoine Sidhe, Toby's squire
- Arden Windermere: Tuatha de Dannan, Queen in the Mists
- Spike: Toby's rose goblin
- Patrick Lorden: Daoine Sidhe, Ducal Consort of Saltmist, Simon's best friend
- Dianda Lorden: Merrow, Duchess of Saltmist, Patrick's wife
- Dean Lorden: Daoine Sidhe / Merrow, Count of Goldengreen, Quentin's boyfriend
- Marcia: Thin-blooded changeling, Dean's seneschal
- Oberon: Father of all Faerie
- Jason Thomas: Cait Sidhe changeling, owner of the Cat in the Rafters
Antagonists[]
- Simon Torquill: Reforming villain under Eira's control, Toby's stepfather
- Amandine the Liar: Dóchas Sidhe Firstborn, Toby's mother
- Sylvester Torquill: Daoine Sidhe, Toby's uncle
- Luna Torquill: Blodynbryd, Toby's aunt
- Eira Rosynwhyr: Daoine Sidhe Firstborn, Evilest Person In Faerie
Neutral / It's Complicated[]
- August Torquill: Dóchas Sidhe, Toby's sister, Simon and Amandine's daughter
- Rayseline Torquill: Daoine Sidhe, Toby's cousin, Sylvester and Luna's daughter
Mentioned[]
Locations[]
- Shadowed Hills, Sylvester and Luna's knowe
- The Rose Road
- Goldengreen, Dean's knowe
- The Luidaeg's house
- UC Berkeley
- Cat in the Rafters, a Cait Sidhe-owned restaurant Tybalt and Toby like to visit on their dates
Mentioned only[]
Continuity[]
Debts[]
- Bringing Simon home was one of the three payments the Luidaeg asked of Toby in The Unkindest Tide. Toby still owes her a day's worth of blood, and a request of help she cannot refuse.
- Toby owes the pixies in the rose garden a Thanksgiving dinner with homemade cranberry sauce.
- The Luidaeg never actually owed Devin a debt (she was never in any danger of dying when Devin "saved" her from the stake), but she let him think he did, because this way he was very careful about asking her anything to avoid accidentally square up their accounts.
- Arden is sufficiently indebted to the Luidaeg that the sea witch is comfortable using her as taxi service.
Current Book[]
- Faerie Law dictates that the living parents of a fae getting married have to both be invited, or they can take offense and request reparations. A loophole is that the fae in question could claim genuine ignorance of the consequences of breaking this law.
- Raj sleeps in Quentin's room about three nights out of five, and Chelsea and Dean regularly stay in the guest room.
- Dean prefers to sleep alone.
- May wants to get married, but Jazz isn't sure.
- Toby owns her house "free and clear", instead of just renting it from Sylvester.
- Tybalt is completely fine with taking Toby's last name after the marriage.
- This time, Toby is the one who brings up children as a definite possibility. Tybalt adds that they will never let Amandine anywhere near them, and they agree.
- According to May, there is a decent chance the law considers her Toby's child, so Tybalt and Toby can't divorce unless she lets them.
- Three dates and one night of Arden not wearing pants are ruined in this book.
- The pixies at Goldengreen are upset that Toby hasn't come visit them.
- There are Roane in the world again, and the Luidaeg can no longer say she doesn't like kids without the geas stopping her.
- Toby can heal from almost any wound, even from death. Meanwhile, May cannot die no matter what wounds she suffers, but she doesn't heal from them the same way, and could end up with permanent damage.
- Cassandra recognizes May "from how the air is moving" even while there are illusions on her.
- Stacey is very weird about her kids dating, and had a meltdown when she caught Karen holding hands with a Hob changeling.
Previous Books[]
- Toby and Tybalt agreed to have their wedding at the High King's Court in Toronto.
- Dean is dealing with a lot of fallout from the whole "turning all the Selkies into Roane" thing. With the Selkies being away from the coast, Kelpies are becoming a real problem.
- Simon and King Gilad were basically the only supporters of Dianda and Patrick's original courtship; Evening interfered with their engagement[2]
Future Books[]
Possible Foreshadowing - Unconfirmed:[]
- The wedding is getting closer and closer...
- Toby promised to speak at Rayseline's trial, and she also told Rayseline she would claim offense and request that Rayseline lives with her for a year, which Rayseline is grateful for. She hasn't told Luna about this.
- Simon and Amandine are divorced, and since October chose Simon as her legal parent, Amandine cannot take offense if she's not invited to her wedding.
- Jazz's family has been visiting her and taking her away more often lately.
- Toby and Quentin are both exiled from Shadowed Hills. Given that Quentin was officially fostered there, his parents may have some words about this in the future.
- It is unclear who made the mysterious key to the Rose Roads, but Luna says it couldn't have been Acacia or Evening herself. Luna says someone might come to take it back from Toby someday.
- Toby and Quentin are both exiled from Shadowed Hills until it is time for her to speak at Rayseline's trial.
- The Luidaeg thinks August might be able to teach Toby about their blood shifting ability.
- Toby thinks that Eira is working on a tight timeline, and she is getting desperate. Still, Eira claims she is strongest when sleeping.
Quotes[]
Cultural References[]
- "'Twas many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea. Where there lived a maiden whom you may know, by the name of Annabel Lee. But she moved and she didn't leave a forwarding address, and I have no idea what happened to her after that." - For her spell casting, Toby butchers a famous poem by Edgar Allen Poe.
- "There's a neat little lass and her name is Mary Mac, and make no mistake she's the girl I'm gonna track. Lots of other fellas try to get her on the back, but I'm thinkin' they'll have to get up early." -Toby, spellcasting via Great Big Sea.
- "Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, which was clearly suicide, since the damn was a goddamn egg."
- "What are you going to do when you have to go back to Toronto and become High King? Start the Hunger Games?" - Toby to Quentin
- The Luidaeg transforms herself into an octopus, and Toby wonders if Disney had gotten something right, or if the Luidaeg chose this form to make fun of them.
- Aladdin,
Miscellaneous[]
- "If I ever find a therapist who works with changelings, I'm going to send Mom the bill." - Toby
- "I don't care for candles. They always seem to get me into trouble." - Toby
- "I know you're faithful, as you've never come home covered in another man's blood without telling me about it, and I can't imagine any lover of yours getting close to you without someone bleeding at least a little." - Tybalt
- "I'd say I thought better of your mother, but it would be a lie. I never once in all my days thought better of Amandine. And no matter how poorly I've thought of her, she's continually found ways to disappoint me. Truly, that woman is an artisan of letting people down." - Patrick
- "He had never been more handsome. This was the man I was going to marry. This was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with, and raise my children alongside, whenever we decided it was safe enough for us to risk having them." - Toby about Tybalt
- "I wanted to find Simon. I wanted to come home and get married. And yes, I actually wanted him to be there when I did that, if it was even remotely possible. I had little enough family who could realistically be in attendance. If Faerie was going to make him my father, he could damn well act like it." - Toby
- "Chelsea speaks of the warmth and comfort of your house as if she were talking about the halls of Caer Sidi. I'm jealous of my own daughter, that she gets to keep your company while I must keep my distance. Our hearths are colder for your absence." - Etienne to Toby
- "Are you usually expecting to get stabbed?" "When we're out in public, yes." - Quentin and Toby
- "I know you were a hero, Sylvester. I'm a hero now, too. When did you forget what that means?"
- "My wife is changed beyond recognition. I fear she no longer knows what it means to love me. My daughters sleeps in a glass casket, and I can't wake her because my brother chose a monster over his own flesh and blood." "I think the first monster he chose was my mother." - Sylvester and Toby
- "The perfect murder isn't one where no one knows. It's one where no one cares."
- "I'm a friend of your daughter's. Antigone, I mean. The eldest. A good friend. I helped her bring back the Roane. She's not sad all the time anymore." - Toby, talking to Maeve's roses
- "Sometimes guts are in the soul." - May
- "Yeah, yeah, brag about how fast you can grow a liver." - May
- "I know you're my enemy right now, Simon, but I assure you, I have never been your enemy. Not before today, and not now."
- "Of all the people in this world, I would always know him." - Simon about Patrick
- "What the fuck did you people do to me?" "We loved you. That's all. The rest, you did to yourself." - Toby and the Luidaeg
- "I'll have you know that this is behavior entirely unsuitable for a lady." "Good thing I'm a knight, not a lady." - Simon and Toby
Trivia[]
- The novella Shine in Pearl detailing the choices of Simon Torquill and Patrick and Dianda Lorden in the early 1900s is included with this story.
References[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/548424/a-killing-frost-by-seanan-mcguire/9780756415082
- ↑ Lorden Courtship shorts, beginning with Heaps of Pearl,