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A Red-Rose Chain is the ninth book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. Toby is tasked with preventing war between the Kingdom in the Mists and the Kingdom of Silences.

Thus he that overruled I oversway'd,

Leading him prisoner in a red-rose chain:
Strong-tempered steel his stronger strength obey'd,
Yet was he servile to my coy disdain.

–William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis

Synopsis[]

Author's Description[]

A Red-Rose Chain puts Toby into a whole new world: diplomacy. When the King of Silences declares war on the Mists, Toby somehow finds herself at the head of the diplomatic mission that's supposed to keep things from turning uglier than they already are. With May, Tybalt, and Quentin to help her, there's a chance she can pull this off...but with Walther concealing connections to the deposed royal family of Silences, there's also a chance that things are about to get very, very ugly. And there are a few familiar faces waiting for her, among the roses...[1]

Back Cover[]

Things are looking up.

For the first time in what feels like years, October "Toby" Daye has been able to pause long enough to take a breath and look at her life -- and she likes what she sees. She has friends. She has allies. She has a squire to train and a King of Cats to love, and maybe, just maybe, she can let her guard down for a change.

Or not. When Queen Windermere's seneschal is elf-shot and thrown into an enchanted sleep by agents from the neighboring Kingdom of Silences, Toby finds herself in a role she never expected to play: that of a diplomat. She must travel to Portland, Oregon, to convince King Rhys of Silences not to go to war against the Mists. But nothing is that simple, and what October finds in Silences is worse than she would ever have imagined.

How far will Toby go when lives are on the line, and when allies both old and new are threatened by a force she had never expected to face again? How much is October willing to give up, and how much is she willing to change? In Faerie, what's past is never really gone.

It's just waiting for an opportunity to pounce.

Plot[]

Chapter 1-2: Toby, Tybalt, Toby's squire Quentin and Danny fight and subdue a pack of Mauthe Doog that have been attacking mortals in the area of Queen Arden Windermere's knowe. When Toby sends them to the knowe to be cared for by Madden, Arden's Cu Sidhe friend and former co-worker at Borderlands Books, Madden is found with an elf-shot arrow in his chest, deposited outside by an unknown assailant(s), with a scroll announcing that the Kingdom of Silences has declared war on Arden's demesne, the Kingdom of the Mists.

Chapter 3-4: Frightened by the prospect of having to try to prevent or fight such a war, Arden flees the knowe. Toby tracks her back to the bookstore, where she is hiding in the old hidden apartment she once shared with her brother Nolan there, and threatens to abdicate her throne. Toby convinces her to return and remain Queen, but in the process is forced to lay hands on Arden without her permission, which is forbidden by law and custom. As punishment for Toby's transgression, Arden assigns her as a diplomatic envoy of the Mists and orders her to go to Silences and try to negotiate with the ruler there, King Rhys, to prevent the war.

Chapter 5-8: Toby assembles a diplomatic party including Tybalt, Quentin, May Daye and Walther Davies, a Tylwyth Teg alchemist employed as a professor at the University of California - Berkeley who is originally from Silences, and heads to Portland, Oregon, where Silences' court is hidden. Upon arriving, she finds that Rhys has allied himself with none other than the fraudulent Queen of the Mists,[2] who turns out to be Rhys' lover. May, disguised as a maidservant, reports the terrible treatment of changelings in the King's service, and his dislike of shapeshifters is also made known.

Chapter 9: A formal dinner is held to honor the visitors, where Rhys arranges for a cup of goblin fruit juice to be spilled on Toby's gown. Tybalt spirits her away got get cleaned up before she is tempted to taste it, and Tybalt and May ensure that Toby is safely cleaned up.

Chapter 10: Entering negotiations, Toby learns that she herself is the pretext Rhys has used to declare war: because of her Dóchas Sidhe blood magic powers, he considers her a threat to him and his rule. He also considers Arden the usurper of the throne in the Mists, rather than the false Queen. They demand, in exchange for rescinding the declaration and not going to war, that Toby sacrifice her own life and remains to them in order to produce blood magic weapons from her blood and bones. Since killing Rhys and the false Queen will put them in violation of Oberon's Law against killing fellow fae creatures, Toby decides to lead a revolt to depose Rhys, since he is only king because the false Queen made him so, and thus is as illegitimate a ruler as his lover was.

Chapter 11-12: Seeking help both to make the antidote and to overthrow Rhys, Toby and friends are guided by Walther to the home of his aunt Ceres, a Blodynbryd rose dryad, who recognizes and welcomes Toby as Blind Michael's killer. When Toby reveals that Evening Winterrose invented elf-shot, Walther thinks he may be able to craft a cure to counteract Evening's magic. Rhys's seneschal, Marlis, arrives and orders them to leave Ceres alone. Walther cures her of the obedience spell tying her to Rhys using an all-purpose obedience spell, and Marlis recognizes him as her younger sister, though he has since used alchemy to transition his body to cure his gender dysmorphia. Both Walther and Marlis are cousins of the royal family. Marlis reveals that Rhys has been keeping the true royalty of Silences unconscious with repeated doses of elf-shot and cutting body parts off them for use in his magic.

Chapter 13-15: Narrowly escaping an attempted arrest by the King's soldiers on charges of treason, Toby's allies travel into mortal Portland so that May can wash Toby's bloodied clothes away from Rhys's court. Tybalt and Toby take the opportunity to visit Jolgeir, King of the Court of Whispering Cats and an old friend of Tybalt's. He takes a liking to Toby, especially when she offers to give his changeling daughters the choice to become either fully fae or fully mortal. Jolgeir offers his Court as an ally to the Mists if they cannot prevent the war. They shake off a tail on their way back to their friends, and arrive at the meeting point to find May poisoned by elf-shot, the bag of laundry missing.

Chapter 16-18: Toby confronts Rhys, who claims the attack on May was an accident. Toby must sit at the high table at the next meal, being taunted by Rhys and the false Queen, who reaffirm that turning herself over is the only way to prevent war. On the way back to her rooms, Marlis pulls her and her allies into a hidden hallway and takes them to Ceres and Walther, who ask Toby to match Evening's magical signature to a variety of wild rose. Walther believes he is close to a cure.

Chapter 19-20: They visit the workroom where the elf-shot, deposed royal family are being kept and see the damage Marlis was forced to inflict on her own kin. They hear voices and hide themselves before Rhys and Tia arrive, and Toby gives herself away to protect her friends from being discovered. Once captured, Rhys and the false queen try to force Toby to return the false Queen's Siren heritage, but Toby cannot return what has been completely removed. They torture Toby until she passes out, and then Karen links hers and May's dreams so that May can give her a pep talk. Toby breaks the threads of the elf-shot's spell and awakens to confront her captors.

Chapter 21: Marlis helps her escape by knocking Rhys unconscious. Fleeing the torture chamber and in danger of bleeding out, Toby is aided by Marlis in moving through hidden corridors. They are confronted by the false Queen, only to have Tybalt appear from the shadows and grab her by the throat, intending to kill her for her many wrongs to Toby. Toby persuades him to let her live, since killing her will mean his own execution for violating Oberon's Law. Marlis produces an elf-shot arrow and gives it to Toby as an alternative. Toby plunges the arrow into the false Queen's chest, sending her to a hundred-year sleep. Rhys tries to take Toby as a hostage using his own elf-shot arrow, but Toby stabs herself through and pierces him as well, sending them both into slumber.

Chapter 22: Toby awakens to learn that Walther has succeeded in creating an elf-shot antidote and wakened not only Toby and May, but also the sleeping royal family. Queen Siwan Yates assumes the throne, and in her gratitude she does the unthinkable by formally thanking Toby and friends and declaring them all heroes of the realm. Rhys and the false Queen are left in elf-shot comas to wake in a century to find the kingdom not purged of mixed-blood fae as they had planned, which Tybalt calls the worst possible punishment they could suffer. October asks Queen Siwan to let her speak with Silences' changelings and offer them the Changeling's Choice, which Rhys had denied them.

Characters[]

Major[]

Allies[]

Antagonists[]

Minor[]

Mentioned[]

Places[]

Continuity[]

Debts[]

  • Ceres recognizes the Blodynbryds' debt to Toby for killing Blind Michael[3]
  • Siwan Yates recognizes the Kingdom of Silence's debt to Toby for saving them.
  • Toby still expects the Luidaeg to call upon her concerning the Selkies' deadline.

Current Book[]

  • Quentin is seventeen. His birthday is on Lughnasa, August 1st.
  • Fae reach their majority at age thirty.
  • Quentin has read all of the Jane Austen novels.
  • Purebloods have historically used mortal legislation to punish the Court of Cats - culling feral colonies, closing shelters, restricting cat ownership
  • Toby misses her coffee addiction
  • The Luidaeg sounds so grumpy and angry because it is the only "deception" she is permitted, since she cannot outright lie.
  • Walther has several samples of Arden's Tuatha de Dannan blood
  • Walther is transgender, and had expected Toby to be less cavalier about it after growing up in the mortal world. Toby knows it's none of her business, and values him as a friend.
  • Tybalt tries to play down how much older he is than Toby, though sometimes he must point out his greater experience in politics.
    • Tybalt knew the High King back when the Westlands were young.

Previous Books[]

  • Toby realizes that the Selkie's deadline is coming due soon.[4]
  • The false Queen escaped Arden's custody too easily. Of course she came back.[2]

Future Books[]

  • Jolgeir won't forget Toby's offer to shift the blood of his changeling daughters.[5]
  • May notes that Quentin is "having enough trouble trying to figure out what he wants" without the confusion of getting flashed by Toby.[6]
    • Toby also notes a photo of him and Dean Lorden as his phone background.

Quotes[]

Cultural References[]

  • "Thus he that overruled I oversway'd, leading him prisoner in a red-rose chain: strong-tempered steel his stronger strength obey'd, yet was he servile to my coy disdain." -William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis
    • Leading him prisoner in a red-rose chain:
      • Evening holds all elf-shot fae trapped in her poison; her magical scent is roses.
      • Marlis and the changelings to be servants are forced to serve the disdainful and prejudiced Rhys
    • The poem refers to the goddess Venus' infatuation with a disinterested mortal hunter.
      • Inverted: Rhys will do just about anything for the false Queen's affections. She is merely using him.
  • Disney World and the crowd control methods of the Haunted Mansion ride - basically, being really really spooky.
  • Quentin visits Powell's bookstore and Tybalt takes Toby to Voodoo Donuts.
  • “May’s style was best described as “Jem and the Holograms meets Rainbow Brite.”
  • “The bedroom was as opulently decorated as the front room, with a bed large enough to hold six, and a wardrobe that should by all rights have contained a doorway to Narnia, or at least the deeper lands of Faerie.”
  • “When I’m a woman, I eat Pop-Tarts and vindaloo. When I’m a big black bird, I eat eyeballs and spleens. It’s all part of the glorious contradiction that is me.” -Jazz
  • "The X-Men offer many powerful life lessons to which even the eldest among us should attend.” -Jolgeir
  • “Be sure you include a gift card for Tim Hortons. That’s how we say ‘sorry for killing your firstborn son’ in Canada.” -Quentin
  • “It was like Rhys had ordered the whole thing from Castles R Us, and then never bothered to swing by the local Bed, Battlements, and Beyond for the accessories he’d need to make it believable.”

Other[]

  • "One of them tried to take my throat away from me. With its teeth. I’m not you. I need my throat.” -Quentin
  • “Nameless McBitchypants” -Toby referring to the false Queen
  • “Children of Maeve reproducing with children of Titania wasn’t like apples mixing with oranges—it was more like apples mixing with cheese graters, or rainbows with hardware stores.”
  • “Sometimes romance is of less importance than the feeling of being absolutely safe: of knowing that nothing and no one can hurt you, because the person who loves you most in all the world will destroy them if they try.” -Toby concerning Tybalt
  • “Don’t underestimate him just because he’s a fool.”
  • “The problem with arrogant assholes is that all too often, they’ll take silence as agreement.”
  • “Magic was enough to make the way Faerie worked possible, but magic couldn’t necessarily make it functional.”
  • “Gossip is interesting. In the human world, thanks to cellphones and the Internet, a rumor can travel around the world in less time than it takes to check your facts.”
  • “Total freedom was terrifying. Boundaries made it controllable, and hence enjoyable again.”
  • “It just meant that I’d survived a brush with something that should have destroyed me, and while survival may have made me stronger, it had also left its scars.”
  • See also: Goodreads Quotes

References[]

October Daye Series
Novels
Rosemary and RueA Local HabitationAn Artificial NightLate EclipsesOne Salt SeaAshes of HonorChimes at MidnightThe Winter LongA Red-Rose ChainOnce Broken FaithThe Brightest FellNight and SilenceThe Unkindest TideA Killing FrostWhen Sorrows ComeBe the SerpentSleep No MoreThe Innocent Sleep
Bonus Novellas
Strangers in Court (R&R) • Never Shines the Sun (CAM) • Full of BriarsDreams and Slumbers (OBF) • Of Things Unknown (TBF) • Suffer a Sea-Change (NAS) • Hope is Swift (TUT) • Shine in Pearl (AKF) • And With Reveling (WSC) • Such Dangerous Seas (BTS) • Candles and Starlight (SNM)
Free Downloads
In Sea-Salt TearsForbid the SeaNo Sooner MetHeaps of Pearl
Anthology Shorts
The Fixed StarsRat-CatcherThrough This House
Patreon Shorts
Stage of FoolsIn Little StarsThe Voice of LionsThe Act of HaresShore to ShoreInstruments of DarknessWith Honest TriflesIn Deepest ConsequenceWrite in WaterLive in BrassThese Antique FablesJealous in HonorQuick in QuarrelThe Ambitious OceanAnd Thrice AgainOf Strange OathsSun Sets WeepingDreams and SighsWishes and TearsPoor Fancy's FollowersOur Trial PatienceEarth for CharityMean and MightyAnd Deeps BelowSacrifice Your TearsInto the SeaIn Safety RestUpon Your HonorWith Sweet PeaceLike a DreamGive Sorrow WordsDistinction of PlaceNotes of SorrowDrown the Lamenting
Browse POVs
Toby ShortsTybalt ShortsLorden ShortsLuidaeg ShortsOther POVs
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