Chapter 10 begins with Aisling asking why he and Unsa were riding in the main car, with Merry and her main men. He actually says “We all know that you have your favorites, and we are not among them.” and Merry whines about it, like having favorites is such a bad thing to do! Yes, Merry, yes it is, when you’re actively fucking 15-20 men at a time, there tends to be feelings involved, you idiot.

Also, she spends some time describing what each of the men are wearing – Aisling is wearing a white veil (remember, one look upon his face and everyone would fall helplessly in lust/love with him) that matches his white tunic and pants because there hadn’t been time to make new clothes for the newest guards. Excuse me? You just said you had been back for a FEW WEEKS. Just have someone run to Rodeo Drive or wherever and buy some ridiculously expensive totally out of fashion (this is a LKH book, remember) clothes for all the new men, jesus. Unsa is wearing jeans and a suit jacket because he borrowed clothes from someone else instead of wearing old fashioned faerie gear outside the faerie mounds. This is so ridiculous. No time to make clothing, come on.

Merry asks Aisling and Unsa if they knew what happened when Taranis attacked, so we get a fun retelling of the attacks. Taranis tried to use his full hand of power on Doyle, but Doyle was able to deflect it with his gun, as his gun was made of metal. This caused Taranis to begin shooting his hand wildly in the room, not really aiming for anyone, just shooting to kill/injure whoever. Galen and Abe were instructed to take Merry from the room, and as they’re leaving, Abe is hit in the back. Galen then sped away with Merry, phasing right through the door as if it weren’t there. After they leave the room, Taranis’s own guards took him down.

“Was the king so easily subdued?” Aisling asked.
“No,” Frost said, “he used his hand of power three more times. The last time Hugh stepped in front of him, and used his own body to shield the room and the people inside it.”
“Hugh the Firelord was able to take Taranis’s power at point-blank range?” Aisling asked.
“Yes,” Frost said.
“His shirt was scorched, but his skin seemed untouched,” I said.
“And how did you see Hugh,” Aisling asked, “if Galen had gotten you outside to safety?”
“She came back,” Frost said, and his voice was not happy.
“I could not leave you to the Seelie’s treachery,” I said.
“I ordered Galen to take you to safety,” Frost said.
“And I ordered him not to.”
Frost glared at me and I glared back.
“You couldn’t leave Doyle hurt, maybe dying,” Unsa said softly.
“Maybe, yes, but also if I am ever to rule, truly rule a court of faerie, I must be able to lead in battle. We aren’t humans who keep their leaders in the back. The sidhe lead from the front.”

This chapter is really just a rehashing of everything we’ve already learned in previous chapters. Taranis was stopped from attacking some girl by a Cu Sith. Hugh offered Merry the throne. Merry needs to talk to Andais first. Yadda, yadda, yadda. And the chapter that didn’t even need to fucking exist, because we already learned everything mentioned it in by READING IT AS IT ACTUALLY OCCURRED finally ends with Merry wondering what’ll happen when she tells all that happened to Andais.

I can’t wait. Another chapter full of telling someone else who wasn’t there about the events that happened already in the book that we’ve already read. Some good storytelling here, no doubt.

Also, remember to check out my book giveaway, if you haven’t yet!