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The Innocent Sleep

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Spoiler warning!
Ahead are significant details from The Innocent Sleep (October 2023). Read at your own risk!


The Innocent Sleep (2023) is the eighteenth book of the October Daye series. It covers the same events of Titania's Faerie as Sleep No More, from Tybalt's point of view.

“ Methought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more!

Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep,

”

–William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Author's Summary[]

On October 24th, we get to see Tybalt's side of things, in THE INNOCENT SLEEP. He's living through the same events [as Sleep No More] from a very different perspective, and he is not a happy kitty.[1]

Synopsis[]

For one bright, shining moment, Tybalt, King of Cats, had everything he had ever wanted. He was soon to set his crown aside; he had married the woman he loved; he was going to be a father. After centuries of searching for a family of his own, he had finally found a way to construct the life of his dreams, and was looking forward to a period of peace—or at least as much peace as is ever in the offing for the husband of a hero.

Alas for Tybalt and his domestic aspirations, fate—and Titania—had other ideas. His perfect world had been complete for only a moment when it was ripped away, to be replaced by hers. Titania, Faerie’s Summer Queen, Mother of Illusions and enemy of so many he holds dear, has seized control of the Kingdom, remaking it in her own image. An image which does not include meddlesome shapeshifters getting in her way. Tybalt quickly finds himself banished from her reality, along with the Undersea and the rest of the Court of Cats.

To protect his people and his future, Tybalt must find the woman he loves in a world designed to keep her from him, convince her that he’s not a stranger trying to ruin her life for no apparent reason, and get her to unmake the illusion she’s been firmly enmeshed in. And he’ll have to do it all while she doesn’t know him, and every unrecognizing look is a knife to his heart.

For Tybalt, King of Cats, the happily ever after was just the beginning.

Plot[]

Chapter One: Toby tells Tybalt that she’s pregnant. They are interrupted by Titania, who casts her massive illusion spell.

Chapter Two: Tybalt awakens in a rarely used corner of the Court of Cats and finds it packed with indolent cats. He visits Toby’s home, which is locked up and Cagney and Lacey wailing outside. After bringing them to the Court, he visits the Luidaeg but finds only an angry mortal living there.

Chapter Three: Tybalt visits Muir Woods to find Arden’s knowe gone as well and begins to realize how broken the world is. He thinks through the Firstborn he might seek aid from and lands on throwing himself into the ocean to get Amphitrite’s attention.

Tybalt awakens in Saltmist days later to an enraged Amphitrite, Dianda, and Patrick who are desperate to break whatever is cutting the Undersea off from their loved ones on land.

Chapter Four: After Tybalt shares the news of Toby’s pregnancy, Dianda takes him to visit the Almere, the Undersea’s equivalent species to the night-haunts, to help Tybalt access the Shadow Roads and return to land. One of the Almere is Bradwyr, a Selkie Tybalt knew back in Londinium. Amphitrite and Dianda distract the Almere while Tybalt travels into the shadows.

Chapter Five: Tybalt returns to Dreaming Cats and is greeted by a frantic Raj. Several days have passed while Tybalt was in Undersea. Raj and Ginevra have been running ragged trying to feed all the cats trapped in the Court.

Chapter Six: Tybalt visits Shade in Berkeley to find her even worse off, with more mouths to feed and fewer royal cats to do it. He then goes to Shadowed Hills and is stopped by Etienne and the guard. He tells them he is a traveler looking for his wife, and is welcomed into the hall as a stranger.

Chapter Seven: They encounter Quentin, who is spoiled and rude. Then Garm escorts him to Sylvester, pausing first to note that Tybalt is the only person he’s ever met who is not under an illusion. Tybalt tells him about the real world and Garm agrees to take him to the Library of Stars to investigate further.

Tybalt is introduced to Sylvester and granted hospitality at Shadowed Hills as a home baste to search for his missing wife. He goes to investigate Amandine’s tower where he finds August and October, neither of whom recognize him. August drives his cat-form off.

Chapter Eight: Tybalt returns to his court and announces that he will leave October with her false family for now. Tybalt takes a brief break to walk among his subjects, including changeling Cait Sidhe who are primarily felines,  until darkness falls. Then with the help of Raj, Ginevra, and several of his people, he coordinates a supply raid on Costco. He also insists they do a run for Shade despite Raj and Ginevra’s exhaustion.

Chapter Nine: Tybalt then goes to meet with Garm for a trip to the Library of Stars. They are joined by Grianne, who Garm trusts and usually acts as his ferry to the Library. They take the trip in several hops so Garm can breathe, since the Library has relocated out to Wild Strawberries.

Magdalena has her full memory and is relieved to see Tybalt.

Chapter Ten: May is also in the Library, trapped by the illusion. There’s been no sign of Jazz, but May doesn’t want to find her if Jazz won’t recognize her.

Magdalena has been doing research. Titania has rewritten history before, but this time Mags suspects she wants to make it permanent on Samhain, Moving Day. He also learns Devin exists in this reality. He meets a family of Hamadryads who are thinking of fleeing Wild Strawberries, and Tybalt recommends they wait until Moving Day.

Chapter 11: They fall into a waiting pattern. Tybalt goes through the motions of searching for his wife from the base of Shadowed Hills while actually repeatedly testing the wards of Amandine’s tower. May has to hide every time Simon visits the Library. The hamadryad Eion provides intelligence from the court of Wild Strawberries. Tybalt continues to support both his and Shade’s courts with the help of Raj and Ginevra. He also learns more about the false history of this world.

After a few weeks, Tybalt takes Ginevra to the Undersea to update their allies. This time, he is confident enough to take the Shadow Roads there. Patrick demands details of Simon and August and is horrified to learn Simon is back under Amandine and Eira’s influence. Dean has not been located yet, but based on May’s situation Tybalt suspects he was shunted off somewhere out of the way.

Mary the Roane tells them to wait until Moving Day to act. When Tybalt mentions Toby’s pregnancy, Mary makes a strange comment to Dianda about the importance of taking care of “herself” for the good of the baby. She also tells them they need to find the Luidaeg.

Chapter Twelve: Ginevra encourages Tybalt to search around the Court of Cats for lost things to find the key that will help them reach the Luidaeg. They find Toby’s leather jacket and the Summer Roads Key during their search; Ginevra encourages Tybalt to leave the jacket in the Shadowed Hills lost and found in hopes that it finds its way to Toby and sparks her memory. Ginevra also tells Tybalt he cannot be the one to accompany October when the time comes.

Chapter Thirteen: They wait. Garm introduces other Gwragen to Tybalt, Magdalena, and May. Grianne too becomes a frequent companion. Tybalt limits his visits to the tower to once a week, and is always chased off by August. Amphitrite keeps pushing the boundaries keeping her in Undersea and gets closer to the surface every day.

In a final planning session, Ginevra once again insists that she accompany October once they convince her to go with them, not Tybalt. Tybalt responds with violence but Ginevra holds strong.

Tybalt asks Grianne why she helps him, and Grianne explains that the Cait Sidhe are needed to keep the Shadow Roads open, and the Shadow Roads give the Candela purpose.

Sylvester is throwing a party, and Tybalt formally meets this version of Simon. They celebrate the arrival of Moving Day.

Chapter Fourteen: After the party, Tybalt makes his customary walk to the tower. He encounters Eion and his family, who have just been turned away from the kitchens by October. Then he sees August and October walking over to Shadowed Hills and uses the opportunity to break into the tower and search for any sign October was being mistreated. He finds none.

When he returns to Shadowed Hills, he smells October’s blood and learns of Quentin pushing her. Simon arrives at the knowe and goes to see Sylvester.

Chapter Fifteen: August complains about Quentin. Simon is suspicious of Tybalt, who he has seen frequently in the Library of Stars with Garm and Grianne. He realizes Tybalt - and Ginevra, who is also present - are not Daoine Sidhe as they claim. He identifies them as Cait Sidhe.

Tybalt is furious to learn October has been sent away on an errand with Etienne, but cannot explain his upset to the Torquills. Simon questions his interest in October, and Sylvester locks the wards to prevent the Cait from leaving through the Shadow Roads. Tybalt and Ginevra are taken into custody and locked in the dungeons.

Chapter Sixteen: Garm and Grianne are also taken into custody, as co-conspirators. Simon and August come to visit them and Simon prods until Tybalt tells him this world is an illusion and October is his mysterious wife. Simon is skeptical, but in turn he shares that there have been rumors of Titania taking the fae deeper into Faerie and abandoning the changelings. Part of Simon’s reasoning for sending Toby to Dreamer’s Glass was to see how she would fend for herself outside her family’s immediate protection. Now, however, Toby has gone missing.

Raj breaks through the wards to announce Toby has been arrested by the Queen’s guards for murder.

Chapter Seventeen: Tybalt and Ginevra bring Simon and August through the Shadow Roads to Golden Shore, Grianne and Garm accompanying them. Raj has returned to the Court of Cats. They encounter Arden. Simon asks her help rescuing Toby from the Queen’s dungeons; Arden is mistrustful. Tybalt introduces himself as a King of Cats and is allowed an audience with the monarchs, where they tell their story and again ask for help rescuing Toby. Simon offers his alchemical skills in creating a potion to let Arden and Nolan withstand the iron of the False Queen’s dungeons. Chrysanthe, Theron, and the Windermeres agree to rescue Toby in order to restore the proper reality.

Chapter Eighteen: Tybalt offers Simon a sample of his blood to help him believe their story. He focuses on the memory of the wedding and Simon accompanying Toby to the altar. Simon also sees Tybalt’s memory of their childhood together, including all three of Simon’s parents, which is a closely guarded secret in this changeling-hating reality.

Nolan returns to report that they rescued Toby and she’s sleeping in the Windermere’s bedchambers. He and Arden take a quick trip to Dreamer’s Glass to confirm some of the things Toby said during her rescue.  The others all settle in to wait for her to wake up.

Chapter Nineteen: Tybalt takes the opportunity to return to the Court and check on Raj. He encourages Raj to get in touch with April via text.

Tybalt returns just as October is joining the party and barely holds himself back as she reunites with August and Simon, then is introduced to the monarchs. Tybalt and Ginevra are introduced, and Tybalt has to move away from the pain of October’s personality changes and not knowing even his species. Ginevra tells Toby that this reality isn’t real.

Chapter Twenty: Ginevra uses her claws to make Toby bleed, and Tybalt attacks Ginevra for it. When Toby yells at him, he flees to Dreamer’s Glass where he asks Li Qin and January about what happens to a person’s memories once they are broken free of the illusion. He also asks April to pass along a message to Peter to ask for Amphitrite’s help.

When he returns to Golden Shore, Nolan challenges the idea that his life would be better in the other reality, where he suffered so much more. Tybalt argues that at least it would be real, and that too many people are suffering in this version.

Chapter Twenty-One: They attend dinner at the Court. Ginevra asks Toby to help them locate the Luidaeg, while Tybalt struggles to observe Toby in her current state and has to step away from the table. He visits the Alectryon fowl before getting a handle on himself and returning to the hall, where Ginevra and Toby have just left via the Summer Roads Key.

Chapter Twenty-Two: In order to return to the Mists, Tybalt convinces Simon that muscle memory will allow him to drive a car. With Garm in tow, they head for Muir Beach in time to see Amphitrite, Dianda, and Patrick break through. This version of Simon thinks Patrick died in the earthquake and embraces his lost friend.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Patrick kisses him, and Simon is so shocked that August has to break the illusion on him for his own good. Simon spirals even worse with his memories restored, but verified that he has not been to Amandine’s bed while under the illusion. Dianda is fiercely relieved for his sake.

Tybalt asks for Amphitrite’s help in breaking Titania’s Ride. Then the spell drags the seafolk back to Undersea.

The False Queen’s guards approach, so Tybalt drags everyone through the Shadow Roads to escape. They are caught anyway and arrested.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The four are knocked unconscious and locked up in the False Queen’s knowe. Eira comes by to gloat. Some time later, they are joined by the also captured  Luidaeg, October, Dean, and Rayseline. Ginevra is with the guards getting patched up. August and October reunite, and October learns Simon’s memories were restored. She tells August she’s not on the tower wards anymore, not considered family by Amandine, and August finally agrees to remove the illusion from her sister.

Once the illusion is broken and Toby reassures August, she reunites with Tybalt himself. They verify through the blood that the baby is still well, and are both relieved.

The Luidaeg offers herself up as a lockpick against the iron bars  and gets them out.

Chapter Twenty-Five: They stop for a snack in the kitchens before finding Titania, Amandine, and the host in the stables. They have a verbal confrontation before all but Amandine disappear, taking Simon with them.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Toby and August both confront Amandine. Luidaeg brings them all onto the Moorland Trail and catch up with the Ride, where both Simon and Quentin are astride white horses.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Toby and August claim Simon while Luidaeg and Dean claim Quentin, but Tybalt is also pulled into an illusion trial. Titania offers to give him back his dead loved ones: His sisters, Chalcedony, September. He resists their lure, then comes back to the present to find that Simon and Quentin have successfully been rescued and Titania is forced to give herself to the Heart of Faerie.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Many of their party faint with the illusion’s breaking, and Luidaeg passes out from iron poisoning. Tybalt and the other conscious people carry them through the Summerlands to Luideag’s home, where Poppy greets them.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Three months later, Toby and Tybalt attend Arden’s Yule Ball.

Characters[]

See also: Titania's Faerie

Mentioned[]

Places[]

Mentioned[]

Continuity[]

Past[]

Trivia[]

  • This title shares a quote with the previous book, Sleep No More, which covers the same events from Toby's perspective.[1]
  • The quote is spoken by the Macbeth, who feels guilty over killing King Duncan to take over the throne. He says it to his wife, who engineered the whole scheme and is dismissive of his concerns.[2]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNpQvrLXTe/?hl=en
  2. ↑ https://www.litcharts.com/lit/macbeth/act-2-scene-2
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