The Cruel Prince: Prologue–Chapter 8

by Holly Black
Seventeen-year-old Jude, who was kidnapped by a faerie soldier when she was a child, fights for a position of power in the faerie kingdom. This is the first book in the Folk of the Air trilogy.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 8, Chapters 9–14, Chapters 15–20, Chapters 21–25, Chapter 26–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. progeny
    the immediate descendants of a person
    They are the progeny of my wife and, thus, my responsibility.
  2. comely
    very pleasing to the eye
    Try to bring glory to the general’s household tonight by appearing as comely as we can make you.
  3. gossamer
    so thin as to transmit light
    Imps and hobs, goblins and grigs. Gossamer wings and green nails, horns and fangs. I have been in Faerie for ten years.
  4. speculative
    showing curiosity
    Vivi gives her a speculative look and then shakes her head.
  5. amiss
    not functioning properly
    Oriana looks us over carefully, as though she expects to find something amiss.
  6. redolent
    having a strong pleasant odor
    The room is redolent with burning rosemary and crushed herbs.
  7. debauchery
    a wild gathering
    I suppose I could throw myself into debauchery and hope to impress them.
  8. declaim
    recite in a skilled and formal way
    Several mortals have found favor in her circle, but since I have no real skill with a lute or declaiming, I have no chance of being one of them.
  9. tryst
    a secret rendezvous, especially a romantic one
    The palace of the King of Elfhame has many secret alcoves and hidden corridors, perfect for trysts or assassins or staying out of the way and being really dull at parties.
  10. cloying
    overly sweet
    Oriana thinks we can’t tell the difference between regular fruit and faerie fruit, which blooms a deep gold. Its flesh is red and dense, and the cloying smell of it fills the forests at harvest time.
  11. diadem
    an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
    Nicasia’s hair is the blue-green of the ocean, crowned with a diadem of pearls.
  12. scourge
    something causing misery or death
    If we didn’t have to take lessons alongside them, if I didn’t know firsthand what a scourge they were to those who displeased them, I’d probably be as in love with them as everyone else is.
  13. obeisance
    bending the head or body in reverence or submission
    Though I hate it, I sink to the ground on one knee, bend my head, and grit my teeth. By my side, Taryn does something similar. All around us, people are making obeisances.
  14. panoply
    a complete and impressive array
    Faeries make up for their inability to lie with a panoply of deceptions and cruelties.
  15. capricious
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
    Twisted words, pranks, omissions, riddles, scandals, not to mention their revenges upon one another for ancient, half-remembered slights. Storms are less fickle than they are, seas less capricious.
  16. alight
    settle or come to rest
    I sit there for a long time, watching the rising sun gild the sky, listening to the waves crash as the tide goes out, when a creature flies up to alight on the edge of my window.
  17. changeling
    a child secretly exchanged for another in infancy
    Changelings have been brought to the High Court before, but none of them has been raised like Gentry.
  18. effusive
    uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm
    I will take a frustrated nod in place of effusive praise.
  19. machination
    a crafty and involved plot to achieve your ends
    She has tried to persuade us to stay home with her, but if Taryn and I cannot manage the machinations of the children of Faerie without quitting our lessons or running to Madoc, how will he ever believe we can manage the Court, where those same machinations will play out on a grander and more deadly scale?
  20. formidable
    extremely impressive in strength or excellence
    Madoc trained me to be formidable even with a wooden sword.
  21. parry
    blocking a lunge with a circular motion of the sword
    Instead, I find myself thinking through combinations—strike, thrust, parry, block.
  22. filigree
    delicate and intricate ornamentation
    She’s holding up the golden pin, with a tiny cluster of filigree hawthorn berries at the top.
  23. countenance
    the appearance conveyed by a person's face
    When I was little, I used to sit at the bank all day, staring at faerie countenances instead of my own, hoping that I might someday catch a glimpse of my mother looking back at me.
  24. fealty
    the loyalty that one owes to a country, sovereign, or lord
    Although her subjects gather at each new coronation to renew their fealty, authority still rests in the crown.
  25. euphemism
    an inoffensive expression substituted for an offensive one
    As far as I can tell, the Land of Promise is their euphemism for death, although they do not admit it.
  26. conciliatory
    intended to placate
    After a moment when we both are silent, he gives me a conciliatory half smile.
  27. opulent
    rich and superior in quality
    I’d love to have a Court dress like the ones I have seen in Oriana’s wardrobe, opulent patterns intricately stitched on skirts of gold and silver, each as beautiful as the dawn.
  28. pretension
    creating a false appearance of great importance or worth
    But then I go too far and imagine myself in that dress, sword at my hip, transformed, a true member of the Court, a knight in the Circle of Falcons. And Cardan watching me from across the room, standing beside the king, laughing at my pretension.
  29. confound
    be confusing or perplexing to
    It is no small thing to confound the High King’s general, to sneak out of Faerie with his baby in your belly and hide for almost ten years.
  30. glamour
    cast a spell over someone or something
    When I was fourteen and Oak was four, he glamoured me. He didn’t mean to—well, at least he didn’t really understand why he shouldn’t.
  31. lark
    any carefree episode
    They push us through the woods, laughing. I hear a whoop from one of the boys. I think I hear Locke say something about larks being over quickly, but it’s swallowed up in the merriment.
  32. vermilion
    a vivid red to reddish-orange color
    My inkpot shatters on the rocks, turning the river vermilion.
  33. scathing
    marked by harshly abusive criticism
    He gives her a scathing look, and she pouts.
  34. derelict
    in deplorable condition
    Faerie exists beside and below mortal towns, in the shadows of mortal cities, and at their rotten, derelict, worm-eaten centers.
  35. don
    put on clothes
    Vivi isn’t the only faerie from our islands to sneak across the sea and into the human world with some regularity, although most don mortal guises to mess with people.
  36. metamorphose
    change completely the nature or appearance of
    She will metamorphose into a wife or consort and raise faerie children who will adore and outlive her.
  37. consort
    the spouse or companion of a reigning monarch
    She will metamorphose into a wife or consort and raise faerie children who will adore and outlive her.
  38. riposte
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    Vivi looks immensely pleased with herself for that particular riposte.
  39. perverse
    marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict
    Now, though, his threats are the only reason I have to fight—the sheer perverse glory of not backing down.
  40. doublet
    a man's close-fitting jacket, worn during the Renaissance
    “I don’t know what you said to her, but don’t you ever go near my sister again,” I tell him, my hand still on the front of his velvet doublet.
Created on Mon Jul 01 17:04:17 EDT 2019 (updated Thu Jul 25 11:34:00 EDT 2019)

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