The Stolen Heir ending
Wren… what was that ending??
I spent the entire book rooting for Wren. She was traumatized, she was interesting, she was finally getting some agency after spending years being controlled. Then the second she realizes she has real power… she turns around and puts the bridle on Oak.
Oak’s crime was… not telling her that her heart belonged to Mellith. He didn’t imprison her. He didn’t torture her. He wasn’t planning on using the bridle on her. In fact, he promised that he never would and gave it to her willingly. So why is her immediate response to magically enslave him, throw him in the dungeons, possessively call him “mine,” and leave the bridle on long enough that she’s worried it’ll scar his face??
The worst part is that Wren knows exactly what that bridle represents. She spent years being abused with it. She knows how violating and dehumanizing it is, and then she does the exact same thing to someone who’s spent the entire book protecting her. I just couldn’t get behind that decision at all.
It felt like Holly Black went, “Things are going too well. Time to put the male love interest in magical captivity again.” I’m sorry, but why is this such a recurring thing??
The second Wren bridled Oak and threw him in the dungeon, all I could think was, “Please don’t tell me we’re doing this again.”