Titania is finally pregnant. It will be the first faerie born for a long time. Auberon is worried, since there are so few new fairies, and this will be their heir.
Tamlin, her lover, wants her to return with him to Earth. He hates that she is with Auberon. However, she is not willing to break her bond with Auberon, being queen means too much to her. She does not know who is the father of the child.
Titania's pregnancy is hard, and her health is not good. Tamlin has been avoiding her, and the king has been away. He leaves Bridey, a midwife, and the Amadan to take care of her.
Titania is in pain during the labor, and Auberon is gone. She cries for her Gran, and the midwife seems to know who she is, saying she's away north; she also knows her true human name of Maryrose. The delivery is difficult, but the boy is finally born--a pink human boy, with none of her green coloration.
They know this is dangerous, so she, the midwife, and Amadan make a plan to spirit the baby away and say she had a miscarriage.
Bridey takes the child away, although she fears for her own life as well, now being the bearer of a great secret. She wonders if she should tell Gran. However, Tamlin secretly protects her against assassins from Amadan.
When Amadan tells Auberon of the "miscarriage," he makes it sound like it is Bridey's fault, and Auberon puts a price on her head. Auberon is truly hurt by the child's "death."
Back in the current time on Earth, we once again see Auberon tell Tim that he has no faerie blood, and so could not be Titania's son--but now we understand that Tim was the son of Titania and Tamlin, who were both humans, although Auberon doesn't know that.
Back in Faerie, Queen Dymphna, who was turned into a tree, begins to turn green and leafy, signifying that the truth is soon to be known.
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