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Look. I have my knife, I have my jacket, I have my sarcastic tag-along . . . what else is required for the position?

–Toby, Chimes at Midnight

October "Toby" Christine Daye is the main protagonist of the titular October Daye series. A Dóchas Sidhe changeling, Toby's blood frequently shifts the balance between fae and human. She is the second-born daughter of Amandine and a human man, Jonathan Daye, as well as the younger half-sister of August Torquill and the biological mother of Gillian Marks. She is also the legal daughter of Simon Torquill through his marriage to her mother.

About[]

Appearance[]

Toby dresses casually, typically in jeans and a comfortable shirt. She tends toward darker clothing because of her tendency to bleed all over herself, and has to replace her wardrobe with unfortunate frequency. She owns a leather jacket gifted to her by Tybalt, which she is very protective of; if she knows ahead of time she's going into a situation that might ruin her clothes, she will leave the jacket somewhere safe.[2] She is inexperienced enough at dressing for Court that Stacy and May tend to help her before formal events.[3][4]

When glamoured to look human, Toby's ears are blunted and the angles of her face are less sharp, As a fae, she has slightly pointed ears that sharpening with every shift of her blood toward fae. She tends to wear her hair down so she can easily hide her inhuman features since she is not skilled at weaving glamours to hide them. Her dark brown hair and fog gray eyes are unusual for a Daoine Sidhe, and after she understands she is Dóchas Sidhe the coloring makes more sense. Her hair gains blonde highlights and her eyes become even more colorless as her blood shifts toward fully fae.

Although Toby is in her sixties, her time in the Summerlands, the koi pond, and her fae heritage mean she appears to be in her thirties.

Personality[]

Toby begins the series depressed and world-weary. She has significant low points after losing Cliff and Gillian, and again after losing Connor. Both times, a combination of hero-quests and genuinely caring relationships slowly bring her back to a healthy mental space.[5][6] Quentin has remarked that whenever Gillian is brought up, it is even odds whether Toby would gush about Gillian and remark that Quentin would've liked her, or flat-out refuse to talk about her.[7]

Toby is both determined and foolishly heroic. She is notorious for launching herself into dangerous situations expecting to die; this especially disconcerts her companions after May joins the team, since the Fetch is concrete evidence that Toby's actions are going to kill her soon. The Luidaeg is furious when she realizes she sent Toby into Blind Michael's lands after her Fetch appeared.[8] The Luidaeg herself claims that she is the one who will kill Toby one day,[9] and the Luidaeg cannot lie, although Toby's advanced healing has brought her back from the dead.[10]

She also tends to blind herself to truths she doesn't want to see. She ignores Tybalt's increased shows of affection for several years, although looking back she recognizes that she had desired him for much of that time.[11] May, as her Fetch, knows her true feelings about Tybalt and encourages her growing closer to the Cait Sidhe.[12] Similarly, the truth of her heritage was an open secret among the fae who knew her mother, but it took nearly dying before Toby acknowledged her remarkable blood magic abilities.[13]

Toby also hates lying, even if it means protecting herself. When Toby discovers that Sylvester has lied to her about Simon being her stepfather, that single act -- and his continued loyalty to keeping Amandine's secrets -- begins her estrangement from her liege.[14] When Tybalt lies to her about the rules of marriage to ensure Toby's ignorance would keep Simon from claiming offence, Toby is understanding but upset that this was kept from her.[15] She does acknowledge the difference between Sylvester's and Tybalt's motivations, with Tybalt's being that of selfless love.

After being trapped in the koi pond for fourteen years, Toby is terrified of water to the point that she can't even take a bath.[16] Circumstances frequently force her to be submerged, however, and though she still doesn't like the water she has learned to bear it in the name of heroism.[17][18]

She attributes her tendency to offer refuge for her assorted teenagers to her childhood first with Amandine and then Devin. She (and May) knows what it's like to grow up hungry and without somewhere safe to go.[19]

Abilities[]

Sleuthing and Deduction[]

Trained as a private investigator in the human world, Toby is far better at sleuthing than the majority of fae. Her reasoning is that the fae, with centuries of time on their hands, don't see the urgency of preserving crime scenes or hunting down clues.[20][21] She uses her skills for both human and fae clients. Humans tend to hire her for cheating and divorce proceedings, while fae cases are more likely to involve murder and kidnapping.

She takes advantage of her PI status when she must interact with humans on a fae-related case:

  • When Toby is investigating Simon Torquill and Oleander de Merelands in 1995, Cliff thinks she's on a normal job.[22]
  • When Rayseline kidnaps Gillian, Toby refers to her PI experience while questioning Cliff.[23]
  • When Chelsea is missing, Officer Thornton is suspicious of Toby's involvement given her history with missing child cases.[24]
  • When Gillian goes missing again, Cliff begs Toby to investigate. Toby uses her PI experience to trick the mortal police into letting her enter Gillian's on-campus housing to investigate.[25]

Physical Combat[]

Devin of Home instructed her in street fighting, and she can hold her own with a knife. She doesn't hesitate to fight dirty in order to win, which offends traditionalists like Quentin and Etienne.[26] Once she is knighted, Etienne gives her lessons on swordcraft, but she never becomes very good at it.[27] She always carries her silver knife on her, but her sword has a bad habit of remaining in the trunk of the car.[28]

Illusions and Basic Charms[]

Toby believes herself to be a weak Daoine Sidhe for most of her life because of Amandine's lies. She can cast basic charms such as glamour and house wards, but too many of even these smaller spells give her a headache and magic burn. In these early days, she tends to use marshwater charms such as spelled sachets to cast illusions in order to conserve her power, and finds she is better at illusion spells when angry.[29] However, she discovers that her shortcomings are because she was comparing herself to the Daoine Sidhe, who inherited illusion magic from Titania. In fact, she is a child of Oberon and among the most skilled blood workers in all of Faerie.[30] Her skills also improve as she pulls the humanity out of her blood, but she loses access to marshwater charms the closer she moves to fully fae.

Knowledge of Magical Signatures[]

Amandine drilled Toby as a child on recognizing the different types of fae.[31] When she is mostly human, Toby can usually recognize one general aspect of someone's magic, i.e. Dare and Manuel being apples and cinnamon respectively.[32] As Toby becomes stronger and more fae, she gains an innate knowledge of the face races and their signatures and can detect the subtle shifts in an individual, i.e. Simon's magic as it becomes more corrupted or pure.[33]

She can identify a fae's magical signature with high accuracy even if she has never smelled it before or doesn't know the name of the source.[34] She doesn't realize how unique this is until her allies point out that they can identify the broad strokes of someone's signature but not zero in on, for example, a specific strain of rose from a specific location[35][36]

Riding the Blood[]

Spoiler warning!
Ahead are significant details from Be the Serpent (2022). Read at your own risk!

Toby's blood magic allows her to relive a person's thought's and experiences from the the moment they bled similarly to how Daoine Sidhe ride blood. She teaches the skill to Quentin.[37] This skill has been important numerous times:

  • Searching for Evening's killer.[38]
  • She is unable to ride the blood of the ALH victims, which is its own clue to solving their deaths.[39]
  • Demonstrating Tybalt's absolute trust in her, when he gives her access to his blood.[40][41]
  • Understanding Samson's full plot to overthrow Tybalt.[42]
  • Confirming Simon's sincerity when they become uneasy allies.[43]
  • Investigating Jessica's death.[44]
  • Drinking Oberon's blood for the power and accidentally experiencing his memories of early Faerie.[45]

Like Daoine Sidhe, Toby can also access fae powers through their blood:

  • She accesses Tuatha teleportation through Arden and Nolan's blood, but her handicap is that she needs the specific memory of that power in the blood to use it.[46]
  • She gives her own blood to Aethlin Sollys to lend him her healing abilities. Her blood is powerful and overwhelms him with the memory of her consciousness.[47]

Rebalancing the Blood[]

Toby's Dóchas Sidhe abilities allow her to change the balance of a person's blood if they have mixed heritage:

  • Shifts the balance of her own blood to increase the effects of goblin fruit.[48]
  • Shifts Gillian's blood when Gillian makes the Changeling's Choice to remain human.[17]
  • Shifts Chelsea's blood to full Tuatha to contain her out of control powers.[49]
  • Forcibly shifts the Queen of the Mists's blood to remove the Siren heritage[50]
  • Shifts Rayseline's blood to remove the Blodynbryd, with Rayseline's consent.[51]
  • Shifts the blood of a number of changelings in the Kingdom of Silences, including making Jolgeir's daughter a pureblooded Princess of Cats.[52]
  • Binds selkie skins to their wearers in order to turn them Roane. The Luidaeg knew that Amandine's line would produce this ability, and banked on Toby's ability to work blood magic to bring back the Roane, an act which repopulates the near-extinct race back to a sustainable population.[18]

She can also communicate with people affected by elf-shot through changing their blood. If they are pureblooded and don't have anything to change, Toby will shift her own blood towards fae in response.[53]

Toby also shows resistance to forced re-balancing. She shifts her own blood unconsciously as a consequence of being forcibly addicted to goblin-fruit, but her magic doesn't let her turn fully human.[48] She is also able to resist August forcibly changing her blood when August would have rendered her fully human.[54]

Healing[]

She also heals remarkably fast and has survived death and near-death numerous times. Her tendency to be covered in her own blood is a running joke among her allies. She sometimes grumbles that she heals so fast, her body doesn't become numb to the pain and actually hurts worse than if she were to go into proper shock.[55]

Near-death experiences include:

  • Stabbed with blades, stakes, etc. in locations that should be fatal to anyone else.[56][57][58][59]
  • Drowned when trying to enter Goldengreen on the hunt for Evening's killer.[5]
  • Fell from the treetops of a redwood forest some three hundred feet up.[60]

She also regularly bleeds to power the Luidaeg's spells and cuts herself to take power from her own blood, with full knowledge that the wounds will heal quickly. This particularly distresses Tybalt.

Deconstructing Enchantments[]

Spoiler warning!
Ahead are significant details from Be the Serpent (2022). Read at your own risk!
Spoiler warning!
Ahead are significant details from Sleep No More (September 2023). Read at your own risk!


Toby has shown to have the ability to tear down high-level enchantments:

  • She stops a transformation spell that Simon cast upon Jazz and, with May's help, tears it apart.[61]
  • She recognizes and neutralizes a geas that August placed on Madden.[62]
  • She pulls apart a heavily layered compulsion spell that Simon cast upon Quentin.[63]
  • She is able to undo the binding that Oberon once placed upon Titania.[64]
  • The Luidaeg believes Toby has the ability to undo the geas that Titania placed upon her. However, the Luidaeg also says that if Toby were to do so, the Luidaeg would probably disappear to the bottom of the ocean for a few centuries and she'd rather stick around and be helpful.[65]
  • Toby and August are both able to pull apart the illusions of Titania's Faerie, although neither can remove the enchantment on themselves.[66]

Property[]

Residences[]

As a child and young adult, Toby lived in Amandine's Tower in the Summerlands. The clothes commissioned by Amandine are still in her bedroom there, and she and May occasionally raid the Tower for Court-appropriate attire.[67][68]

After she ran away, she spent several years living at Home, which was essentially a flophouse.[5] After discovering she was pregnant, she moved out of Home and in with Cliff.[69]

When she first returns from the pond, she lives in a grungy apartment procured with the help of Evening Winterrose. It is a rent-controlled, ground-floor unit with an outside door and attached parking garage.[70][29] Toby lives there with Cagney and Lacey, Spike, and for a short time May.

For all of two months, Toby holds the Duchy of Goldengreen and its associated knowe. It is granted to her by the Queen of the Mists as "repayment" for service to the realm, but really just gives the Queen more authority over her. Although Toby never lives in Goldengreen, she sends the displaced people of Lily's knowe to stay there. She quickly passes the County on to Dean Lorden, and its people become his responsibility as well.[71]

After she takes Quentin on as a squire, he is expected to live with her the majority of the time; Jazz has also essentially moved in with May. Toby's household has grown too large for her apartment, so she accepts use of a historic Victorian home rented from Sylvester. The house overlooks [Mission] Dolores Park. [72] The neighbors are displeased that their free parking space is now occupied by the house's new inhabitants.[6] Permanent residents of the house include Toby, Cagney and Lacey, Spike, May, Jazz, and Quentin. Tybalt and Raj are regular visitors and eventually call it home in practice if not in name.[73][74]

Tools[]

Her weapons include two knives: one iron, one silver. The silver knife originally belonged to Dare Lorimer.[5] Toby treasures it, and goes back into a dangerous house to retrieve it when it gets lost in a fight.[74] The iron knife is given to her by Acacia, along with the knowledge that iron and silver together will kill a Firstborn. She combines both knives to kill Blind Michael. The iron knife burns her when her blood leans toward fae, and she has to abandon it after a confrontation that makes her too fae to touch it.[75]

Toby also has basic knowledge of swordplay. She owns a sword but tends to leave it in the car.

Toby has a lock-picking kit and has gifted both Quentin and Raj kits of their own.[76]

Cars[]

  • A cheap junker that Toby drove off-road and across San Francisco's streets, destroying it.[5]
  • A lemon yellow 1974 VW Bug[77] that was destroyed when a portcullis gate fell upon it and it blew up.[20]
  • Another VW Bug that has been banged up and even flattened by a stray Afanc but so far survived her adventures.[78][79] After the Afanc, Toby gets it repaired by Danny's Coblynau mechanic Connie, who adds several magical upgrades.[80]

Biography[]

1950s[]

Toby was born to Amandine and a human named Jonathan Daye. Her father did not know of his wife and daughter's true nature.[5] Amandine is suspected to have played faerie bride with Jonathan and Toby to deal with her grief of losing her eldest daughter, August. While Toby was young, Amandine tried to shift her blood to be purely human in an attempt to save Toby from the prophecy that Amandine's line is destined to bring back Oberon--the prophecy that caused August to disappear. Toby fought the shift so Amandine had to do it a little at a time; Toby does not remember this, but Amandine says it was horribly painful.[73] Toby only remembers Amandine as a loving and doting mother.

By the time Toby is seven, Amandine has pulled almost all of the fae out of her. The Luidaeg visits to meet her niece and is horrified to discover what Amandine has done, both out of familial affection and because she has plans for Toby's Dochas Sidhe abilities in regards to the Roane.[18] When Amandine refuses to see reason, the Luidaeg convinces Syvlester Torquill to give Toby the Changeling's Choice.[81] Toby chooses Faerie, wanting to be like her mother. A fire is staged at their house and Jonathan is led to believe that his wife and daughter both died. Toby is taken to live with Amandine in her tower.[5]

1960s-1970s[]

For nearly twenty years, Toby lives in Amandine's shadow, and in that time, Sylvester hadn't revealed to her that Simon was her father by fae law. She attends parties and wears pretty dresses, but Amandine no longer shows her any affection.[5] Amandine later reveals that she didn't dare touch Toby, lest the Luidaeg catch her shifting Toby's blood again.[73] Toby grows close to her Uncle Sylvester, who acts as a surrogate father during Amandine's neglect. She makes friends with Kerry, who is the changeling daughter of one of Sylvester's Hob servants, as well as changelings Mitch, Stacy, and Julie. Toby also has a brief romance with Connor before his family forbids him to see her.[5]

1980s[]

Tired of being treated like Amandine's pet, Toby and her changeling friends run away from the Summerlands around 1977-1978. Although Toby is twenty-five, due to the different passage of time she appears barely sixteen years old. They starve in alleyways, face down monstrous fae such as Kelpies and barely avoid the human police. Devin finds them just as Toby is ready to give up. He takes her and the others to Home, where he gives them refuge in exchange for favors. Those favors build up, become bigger and more dangerous assignments, and Devin also initiates a sexual relationship with her. She becomes known among local fae as one of "Devin's kids." She likes the feeling even less than being Amandine's pet.[82]

1990s[]

Toby eventually begins a relationship with the human Cliff Marks. In September 1992, she realizes she's pregnant with his child. Toby asks Devin to leave his service, and he promises to release her only if she can get the pureblood fae to publicly acknowledge her. She does so by finding the Queen of the Mists a new knowe where she can hold her Court, along with the help of Evening Winterrose. At Toby's request, the Queen resolves the debt by acknowledging her and allowing her to train as a knight in Sylvester's court.[83] She and Cliff raise their daughter Gillian together, although Cliff does not know about Toby's true nature. Toby gets her private investigator's license and they are happy.

Etienne incorrectly assumes that Toby was aware of her parentage as Simon's legal daughter, and believed that Toby didn't earn her position.[citation needed]

Toby's Knighthood[]

The order of events surrounding Dawn's murder and Toby's knighthood are unclear, as she has told several different versions of the story:

  • Evening "was the woman who yelled until they let Sylvester knight me"[84] ... "Sylvester and Evening were the ones who insisted he be allowed to knight me for services to the Crown when [the false Queen's] original Court was destroyed...the services I'd performed were too large to be ignored, and because Evening was pushing for it."[85] Leaving Home was "part of the price" of being knighted.[86]
  • The queen’s knights were looking for Dawn’s murderer and the queen’s scouts were looking for a new knowe. Toby found both. The Queen tried to convince her not to take any credit, and Toby would have accepted that, but Sylvester argued on her behalf.[87]
  • The false Queen's knowe began caving in and the Queen put out word she was looking for another. Then Dawn Winterrose was murdered and Toby found both the man who knifed Dawn and a new knowe. The Queen opened the knowe and Toby earned knighthood, but had to renounce claim to the knowe herself.[88]
  • Toby was looking for a way out of Home because she discovered she was pregnant. Devin challenged her to make the nobles acknowledge her as an equal. On her way to see the Queen, Toby encountered the false Queen's knowe in the middle of a cave-in. Evening was distraught because Dawn's memorial globe was inside the knowe, so Toby retrieved it and them borowed it for help finding the seaside knowe. Toby convinced the knowe to open for her, then gave it to the queen. This earned Toby the right to try for her knighthood, but had to formally declare that doing so settled the false Queen's debt.[83]
  • Note: When asked about these order of events, McGuire says she was not aware of any discrepancies. She said she tried to keep it consistent and any discrepancies are less "Toby is is an unreliable narrator" and more "Toby has an unreliable author."[89]

In the Series[]

Rosemary and Rue[]

When Simon Torquill kidnaps Rayseline and Luna, Sylvester puts Toby on the case. She tails Simon to the Tea Gardens, but it is a trap laid with the help of notorious assassin Oleander. Rather than kill Toby as he was instructed to, Simon transforms her into a fish. Toby loses fourteen years before she is able to break free of to curse, and by that time both Gillian and Cliff wanted nothing to do with her, thinking she abandoned them. Toby falls into a severe depression. Her friends reach out, but she shuts them out; Tybalt also bumps into her occasionally during her six months of reintegrating into society.

When Evening is "murdered," Toby is geased into investigating her death. This forces her to return to Faerie and the people she'd left behind. Her investigation leads her to slowly reconnect with her old friends and allies, so that after she uncovers Devin's role Evening's death she is willing to return to Sylvester's service as a knight of Shadowed Hills. She is still heartbroken over Gillian's rejection, but she is beginning to heal.

Blood balance: Mostly human. Shifts herself slightly to break Simon's curse.

A Local Habitation[]

Toby has struck up a friendship with the Luidaeg; she visits weekly to play games and hang out.

Toby is sent to Tamed Lightning with Quentin to investigate a series of murders. During the investigation, she finds herself growing fond of Quentin's company. She summons the night-haunts, an unheard-of feat, and also manages to bring Alex Olsen back from the dead. She and Alex have a brief flirtation, influenced by his Gean-Cannah powers, but she manages to stop it before going too far; she ignores Connor's male posturing over the matter.

An Artificial Night[]

Toby investigates the disappearances of Stacy's kids, along with a handful of Cait Sidhe children and Quentin's human girlfriend. Around this time, May appears into her life. Despite the clear omen of her impending death, Toby goes all in to rescue the children from Blind Michael's lands and discovers just how strongly her friends care about her. Although she is successful in the rescue, she is forced to kill Blind Michael.

Late Eclipses[]

When Lily is poisoned, Toby, as the new Countess of Goldengreen, tries to hunt down the killer only to realize that Oleander and Rayseline are responsible. Fingers are pointed at Toby as Luna and a number of Cait Sidhe fall ill as well, and in the chaos Toby is elf-shot. Amandine changes the balance of her blood closer to fae to save her life, and Toby discovers her heritage as a Dóchas Sidhe and daughter of a Firstborn. Toby solves the mystery and is pardoned for the murder of Blind Michael.

Blood balance: Somewhat closer to fae.

Near-death experience: Elfshot. Saved by Amandine rebalancing her blood.

Through This House[]

Toby reclaims the knowe of Goldengreen with the help of Quentin, May, and Danny. After an initial rejection, Toby negotiates with the knowe and its resident pixies to allow her friends from the Japanese Tea Gardens to stay there as well.

One Salt Sea[]

Toby starts dating Connor after his marriage to Rayseline is annulled on account of her treason. When Rayseline kidnaps Duchess Lorden's sons, Toby's investigation forces her to face her fear of water as she journeys to the underwater duchy of Saltmist to search for clues. She loses her composure when Gillian is kidnapped by Raysel as well. Although Toby manages to rescue the kids, Gillian is elf-shot, forcing Toby to give her the Changeling's Choice and shift her blood save her life. Gillian chooses human, and Toby must commit to staying away from her if Gillian is to forget the existence of Faerie. Connor, too, is shot and fatally wounded.

Ashes of Honor[]

Toby falls into a year-long depression after Connor's death. She goes on a vigilante quest to rid the San Francisco streets of goblin fruit, and her allies become increasingly worried about her well-being. Etienne recruits her to help locate his missing daughter, and the mission along with support from Tybalt, Quentin, and her other friends slowly pull her out of her self-destructive spiral. In the middle of a bout of danger, Tybalt confesses his love for Toby; she realizes she's been in love with him, too, for a long time. They rescue Chelsea and defeat Duchess Riordan.

No Sooner Met[]

Tybalt and Toby go to Cat in the Rafters for their first official date. They survive an attempted poisoning over dessert, and Toby makes cookies for Tybalt to make up for the disruption.

Chimes at Midnight[]

Toby and Tybalt are settled into a comfortable relationship. As changeling fatalities due to goblin fruit rises, Toby confronts the Queen of the Mists who banishes her from the kingdom. Toby, Tybalt, and Quentin follow a trail of clues to realize that the Queen is not the rightful holder of the throne, and they depose her in favor of Arden Windermere. In the process, the Queen makes Toby overdose on goblin fruit and Toby unconsciously shifts her blood toward human, so far that she can't shift herself back. She later uses a hope chest to shift herself further to her fae nature than before, then during an insurrection she, her allies including a willing Arden, Shadowed Hills and the Undersea, forcibly removes the Siren blood out of the false Queen to stop the false Queen's manipulative abilities. A few of her loyalists take the False Queen to safety, but Toby is there to witness High King Aethlin confirm Arden as the rightful heir.

Blood balance: Shifted to nearly full human while on goblin fruit, then closer to fae than before using Arden's hope chest.

Near-death experience: Goblin fruit addiction.

The Winter Long[]

Toby lets herself relax now that Arden is recognised as the Queen, and she is named Hero of the Realm. But Simon Torquill's return forces her to confront Sylvester about secrets he kept from Toby - especially that Simon is Amandine's husband, which is the main reason that Simon chose to turn her into a fish instead of killing her - and the existence of August, Toby's long lost sister. The Luidaeg is murdered, but Toby brings her back to life. She discovers Evening Winterrose's true identity and villainous role. Ultimately, her relationship with Sylvester and Luna suffers greatly from all the secrets revealed. Tybalt proposes marriage and Toby accepts.

A Red-Rose Chain[]

Toby serves odd jobs for Arden that keep the kingdom safe. After one such job, the Kingdom of Silences declares war on the Mists unless they turn the throne over to the deposed false Queen. Arden tries to run from her responsibilities, but Toby forces her back into it. In punishment, Arden assigns Toby as her diplomat and has her sent to Silences to try and talk King Rhys and the unstable False Queen. In the process, she helps reverse-engineer a cure for elf-shot and restores the rightful royal family to the throne of Silences.

Once Broken Faith[]

Toby enjoys time with her found family as Quentin hosts a sleepover for his teenage friends. She and May love having all the teens in the house, feeding them and watching them argue over movies. Tybalt and Jazz, too, join their domestic scene, and Tybalt makes it clear he considers himself a responsible member of the household.

The fun is interrupted when Arden forces Toby to accompany her to wake up Madden and Nolan up against High King Aethlin's orders. The High King arrives and, when Toby talks back to him, commands her to attend the upcoming conclave with Quentin as a "punishment." During the conclave, Toby meets many monarchs of the Westlands and works to solve the serial attacks that crop up. Tybalt gets gravely wounded in the process and Toby works desperately to save him. When he then gets elf-shot, she realizes that she would be willing to remove all of her humanity in order to wait for him.

Ultimately, they identify the attackers and the elf-shot cure is approved for general use, but High King Aethlin realises that Toby's recklessness has the potential to to politically destabilising all of Faerie; she has deposed the false Queen and Rhys and contributed to the deaths of Blind Michael, Kabos, and Verona. High Queen Maida calms her husband and offers the Sollys knowe in Toronto for Toby and Tybalt's wedding.

Near-death experience: Harpoon-style rosewood stake to the back; falling from the treetops.

The Brightest Fell[]

Toby attends her bachelorette party, and her friends delight in making her uncomfortable with karaoke as she has made them uncomfortable with her tendency to launch herself--and them--into danger. Afterward, she and Tybalt take the rest of the evening for themselves but are interrupted when Amandine appears, demands Toby find her missing sister August, and kidnaps Tybalt and Jazz to ensure Toby's good behavior.

Toby must convince Sylvester to wake Simon from his elf-shot slumber, even using Rayseline as a bargaining chip. Toby has a tough time trying to forgive Simon, though she knows that Simon was the only Torquill who never lied to her - as Sylvester had lied to her about Amandine's marriage to Simon, Luna had lied about her heritage and Rayseline almost killed Toby and Gillian. Toby sets out with Simon, and on their journey learns much about Amandine's history and her own. They succeed in finding August, but Augusts shifts Toby's blood enough to make her a merlin in the process. Toby must finish her mission with severely limited magical abilities, and as she struggles she realizes how integral Faerie has become to her identity over the last few years. When Simon takes on August's debt so that August can go home, Toby empathizes with the feeling of being rejected by one's child.

August is returned to Amandine, and Jazz and Tybalt are released. Tybalt is especially feral and Toby has to appeal directly to the memory of his magic that she has tasted on his blood in order to bring him back to his human form. Amandine dismisses Toby entirely, wrapped up in her reunion with her eldest daughter. Toby uses a hope chest to restore her fae nature and tries to support her now-broken found family.

Blood balance: August shifts Toby's blood to nearly human. Toby uses Arden's hope chest to restore her balance toward fae.

Of Things Unknown[]

Toby and Quentin help April and Li Quin restore the victims of the ALH murders back to life.

Night and Silence[]

Toby is desperate to help Tybalt, who has been distant from her ever since Amandine's attack. Toby herself suffers from nightmares. The trauma increases when Cliff and Miranda accuse her of kidnapping Gillian, and then ask her to find the real kidnapper.

Toby, Quentin and May trace Gillian's tracks, discovering Miranda true identity as Janet and the false Queen's escape from the Kingdom of Silences. Tybalt rejoins her for the search and promises to stop distancing himself from Toby. She tracks down Gillian, but her daughter is elf-shot. Toby trusts Tybalt to take Gillian to the Luidaeg while she finishes taking down the false Queen and Dugan. Sylvester arrives to clean up the scene, and he and Toby reconcile. Toby learns that the Luidaeg turned Gillian into a Selkie to save her life and Toby and Gillian have a tense reconciliation themselves now that Gillian understands all that Toby has kept from her.

Toby reconciles with Cliff, promising that Gillian will be home soon, and then she and Tybalt visit the Kingdom of Silences to ask Jolgeir's daughter to stand as Tybalt's regent while he takes time to recover from his trauma. He swears that he will let Toby back in so that they can work together to heal him.

The Unkindest Tide[]

The Luidaeg calls in her debt with Toby, and with the Selkies. She takes Toby with her to a convocation of Selkies and Roane in order to give the seal skins back to the Roane. Gillian is upset to learn this will make her a permanent member of Faerie, and she shows icy resentment toward Toby during the event. Toby gets herself involved when Peter Lorden is put in danger, refusing to let Dianda lose her son. She also initiates a murder investigation for a dead Selkie, seeking justice that Faerie law won't bother to provide. After Gillian is released as Torin's hostage, Gillian refuses to have anything to do with Toby but does recognize that Toby's fourteen-year disappearance wasn't intentional. Ultimately Toby recuses Peter, finds the murderer, and devises a best-case workaround for the Selkie-Roane issue.

Near-death experience: Serrated fishing knife through the stomach/spine.

A Killing Frost[]

Patrick and Dianda inform Toby that if she doesn't invite her Simon as her legal father, then Evening may be able to claim offense as his liege. Toby sets out on a quest with May, Quentin and Spike to find Simon, who is currently under the Luidaeg's spell that keeps him from recognizing any of his family until the day Oberon is found. To save Simon, Toby claims Simon's debt as her own and temporarily loses her memories of the past several years, not recognizing the Luidaeg, Quentin or Walther, and thinking of Tybalt as her friend Julie's uncle who hates her. The spell is broken when Toby comes face-to-face with Officer Thornton, who is Oberon in disguise. She takes satisfaction in learning that Janet misnamed Amandine.

After her quest ends, Toby takes Simon to meet Patrick and Dianda, who surprise her by convincing Simon to divorce Amandine and marry them instead. At the divorce, Toby chooses Simon as her legal parent instead of Amandine because she cannot choose her human father, but she is unwilling to choose Amandine. Amandine is unbothered by this choice and even refers to Toby as a mongrel. Toby later provides consent to and witnesses Simon's marriage to Patrick and Dianda. August also chooses Simon, and Toby is more sympathetic toward August who has been under Amandine's care since finding her way home.

When Sorrows Come / And With Reveling[]

Toby has abdicated all wedding planning to Tybalt and her friends, so she is startled when they give her a three-day window before the ceremony. They travel to the High Court of the Westlands for the wedding, which is temporarily stalled by Absalom Shallcross's attempt to kill and usurp High King Aethlin. By the time they resolve the conflict, Toby is downright looking forward to the wedding, to Tybalt's surprised delight.

Be the Serpent[]

Toby attends Raysel's trial, speaks in her defense, and claims offense so that Raysel must live in her household for a year and a day.

Crisis strikes the Brown seers, and Toby realizes that her best friend is Titania under a geas. Conflicted at killing her closest friend and disgusted at Oberon for his avoidance of the problems he caused, Toby - armed with Oberon's blood - and Tybalt confront Stacy who is fighting Titania's consciousness to the very end. Toby and the Luidaeg force Oberon to alter Titania's bindings so that she cannot harm the Brown children or Toby's loved ones. During the fight, Toby realizes she is pregnant and accidentally shares the news with Simon.

After the fight, she steals a private moment with Tybalt to tell him the news. She is excited to have a child with him even if it is sooner than they planned. Before they can celebrate, Titania invades their home and "sends her away" to an alternate reality under Amandine's care.

Sleep No More/The Innocent Sleep[]

For four months, Toby is trapped in an illusionary form of her world serving as August's handmaiden, submissive and loyal to August, who despite her heritage within the illusion treats her kindly. She was also forbidden by Amandine to perform any form of blood magic, further delaying her imprisonment within the illusion. Toby's personality is demure and easily cowed; she has been taught her place her entire life, and subscribes to that belief.

As Toby is tasked to perform feats of blood magic, memories of her original life begin to surface and Titania's illusions begin to fall apart slowly. When she tells August to free her from the illusion, she remembers everything - including how she was pregnant with Tybalt's child.

When Titania's plan to rewrite Faerie in her own image using a Ride with both Simon and Quentin as sacrifices, Toby and August work in freeing Simon from the Ride while the Luidaeg focuses on rescuing Quentin, both rescues successful.

With Titania's plans foiled, Toby and Tybalt both focus on making up for lost time while eagerly expecting their child, with August visiting frequently.

Relationships in SNM/TIS[]

  • Tybalt: Tybalt retains all his memories and is incredibly frustrated that October has a full personality shift while illusioned. His stress over Titania's Faerie, his unborn child, and caring for the Court of Cats leads him to be downright frightening to the illusioned October.
  • Quentin Sollys: Quentin treats October like dirt. He is incredibly prejudiced against changelings and she is one of his favorite victims.
  • Cagney and Lacey: The cats are absolutely distraught when Toby disappears. Tybalt finds them locked out of the house, wailing, "Mother! Mother is gone! Who will pet us?"[90]
  • Simon Torquill: Simon helped raise both October and August and loves them equally as his daughters despite the Faerie culture of treating changelings as lesser. Simon is more a parent to both girls than Amandine, who treats October like a servant and constantly reminds October of her place. Simon publicly claims October as his daughter before the monarchs of Golden Shore, and she is incredibly touched by the gesture.
  • August Torquill: Toby grew up knowing her purpose in life was to be part of August's eventual household. August cares a great deal for Toby to the point of almost coddling her younger sister despite her heritage, and is overprotective when Toby is called for services that put her in danger. When August unbinds Titania's illusion, Toby and August retain their sisterly bond from within the illusion and even team up to save Simon from Titania's Ride. While Toby is readjusting to her life post-illusion, August regularly visits the house and learns how to bake with May.
  • Amandine: Amandine is just as dismissive of October in this reality, constantly reminding her that she was conceived to be a servant to fullblooded fae. She refuses to let October handle any knives or sharp things until her twenties but still expects October to cook for the family despite having no skill at it. Amandine expressly forbids October from bleeding and even sends her away to Shadowed Hills when menstruating. Toby nearly has a panic attack when she breaks skin cleaning up after the ball in Shadowed Hills.
  • Eira Rosynhwyr: Toby calls her "Auntie Eira" and knows her as Simon's patroness.

Relationships[]

Chosen Family[]

Tybalt[]

Tybalt and Toby have been vague acquaintances since at least her days at Home.[83] Early on, he resents her for being a changeling and for pulling Julie away from the Court of Cats[5]. After she returns from the pond and entrusts him with a hope chest, his feelings toward her begin to change although she refuses to see it herself, unsure if he's still teasing her. She later admits that she would fantasize about him,[74] and May with her memories makes her appreciation of Tybalt known.[75] Their relationship slowly evolves into friendship, with Toby calling upon him for help on her quests and being incredibly protective of the leather jacket he gives her. They kiss on several charged, antagonistic occasions and she is surprised to find herself enjoying it.[75][6] Tybalt subtly courts her, learning her coffee order and gritting his teeth through car rides for her sake, but again Toby holds on to her denial.[17] Not until he truly fears for his life does he tell her how he feels, and Toby is swept up by the realization that she has loved him for some time, as well. They kiss passionately and commit to trying out a relationship.[91]

The two settle comfortably into dating. Tybalt stands with Toby and helps her on her many adventures, although he is often pulled away by duties to his court. Neither is happy about his long absences, but they make it work. After only six months of dating, but years of growing close, Tybalt proposes marriage and Toby accepts.[79]

When Amandine kidnaps Tybalt, Toby knows that focusing on the quest to find August is the only thing keeping her from going catatonic with despair. She focuses her attention on saving Tybalt through all those trials, and uses her intimate knowledge of him to bring him back from feral once he is released from captivity.[73] He shuts her out of the subsequent healing process, and she experiences nightmares and abandonment-trauma. He comes through for her when Gillian is in trouble, however, and she fiercely tells him that they will work together to make him well again.[74]

They are slowly beginning to plan their wedding, though Tybalt teases that he is more invested in planning the event than she is. While Toby is set on marrying Tybalt, events in the Kingdom keep pulling away her focus, and she is aware of that fact. They have received offers from Arden Windermere and Aethlin Sollys to host the wedding.[92][93]

Tybalt has always been supportive of Toby's relationship, however, fragmented with Gillian; it was his idea to watch Gillian's house and he who discovered her first kidnapping by Rayseline.[17] He has shared his agony over losing his first wife Anne in childbirth as well.[91] They are surrogate parents to Quentin and Raj. Most recently, they have discussed children of their own: Toby mentions it in passing during the Selkie convocation, and Tybalt is awed and honored that she would consider having children with him, with both agreeing that Amandine will never be allowed near them. She has longed for it several times herself.[18]

Quentin Sollys[]

Quentin is Toby's sidekick, squire, and chosen family. Upon meeting, Toby quickly decides to disabuse him of his stiff Court training and stereotypes about changelings and purebloods.[5] She teaches him how to use blood magic and practical street fighting, and also tells him that torture may have to be necessary when he needs to gather information.[20][17] She also makes him do chores once they start living together, regardless of his princely lineage. When his parents consider taking him home, she fiercely defends the value of letting him remain her squire[94] He joins her on most of her adventures, and though she tries to keep him out of danger, he has been put at risk a number of times. She is more self-conscious about it after learning his true identity, but does not treat him any differently for it. Ultimately, they are both fiercely loyal to each other, putting themselves at risk to rescue one another from danger in every form. Even once he becomes a knight, he will answer to her as his knight-master until he is crowned King of his own kingdom.[74] Quentin tearfully reveals in When Sorrows Come that he views Toby as his mother more than he does Maida.

Sylvester Torquill[]

Toby is his foster daughter and sworn knight. Sylvester offered Toby the Changeling's Choice when Amandine refused to do it herself. Later, after Toby was knighted by the Queen of the Mists, he swore her into his service and trained her as a knight. Toby loves and respects Sylvester and he feels much the same. When she returns from the pond, he continually offers her all of his resources - job, house, security - and is persistent even as she continually refuses him.[5] Still, she slowly accepts portions of his offerings as they become practical, such as upgrading from her apartment to one of his investment houses in order to accommodate her additional housemates.[6] Their relationship suffers when Sylvester reveals that he had known Simon had married Amandine, and it progressively worsens when Simon awakens and has his way home taken by the Luidaeg to save August.

May Daye[]

May is Toby's Fetch, with all of Toby's memories up until the time she was created. May became a Fetch specifically because Dare looked up to Toby as a hero.[17] Initially, May was torn about helping Toby on her adventures since it goes directly against her intended purpose.[78] However, in time Toby's wild actions cause the bond between them to split, giving them their own individual fates.[75] Now May lives as Toby's "twin sister," providing a sisterly bond and backup on Toby's adventures.

Jazz[]

Jazz is May's live-in girlfriend and, by proxy, part of Toby's small family. They are housemates and Toby is fond of Jazz and works to keep her safe from the various attacks on their house.

Raj[]

Raj is Tybalt's nephew and unofficially Toby's second squire. Toby met Raj during her infiltration of Blind Michael's skerry, and although their first meeting is tense, both Raj and Toby grow close, with Raj even defending Toby when Julie tries to attack her back in the Court of Dreaming Cats. Toby becomes a surrogate mother of sorts to Raj after his mother ends up one of Oleander's victims, and was even willing to prioritize finding Raj after Chelsea's emergence had gotten him stranded in Annwn. Raj was even willing to cal Tybalt out on abandoning Toby after Gillian was kidnapped a second time.

Spike[]

Spike is a rose goblin from Luna's garden who Toby absently gives a name, and who decides to become her pet as a result. It is generally an easy pet to care for and gets along with the cats. When it does express strong opinions, such as joining her to fight Blind Michael or visit the Kingdom of Silences, she lets it do as it pleases without protest.

Cagney and Lacey[]

Toby got her shelter Siamese cats soon after she returned from the pond, seeking companionship and living creatures to care for while trying to pull her life back together. They are fully mortal, belong to the Court of Cats, and sometimes reported to Tybalt before he and Toby started dating.[17] They are growing old.[74]

Simon Lorden[]

Simon started out as an antagonist when he turned Toby into a fish for fourteen years. It is revealed that he transformed her to spare her from being killed, aware that Evening engineered Luna and Raysel's kidnapping in a convoluted plot to kill her. Later in the series, he tried to warn Toby about Evening Winterrose returning, and turned on his employer in Toby's defense. Toby also learned that by the laws of Faerie, Simon Torquill is her legal father, although she did not consider him as such, however the latter did have a strong desire to be there for her. In the Brightest Fell, he worked with Toby to find his daughter August, and earned Toby's forgiveness in the process. When Simon and Amandine divorced, Toby chose to deny Amandine as a mother and make Simon her only legal parent in the eyes of Faerie. She acknowledges that Simon is the only Torquill who refused to lie to her. As of And With Reveling, Toby has accepted Simon as her father.

Family by Blood[]

Amandine[]

Toby is Amandine's daughter by a human man. October is a changeling Dóchas Sidhe, but Amandine tried to shift her blood to be fully human in a misguided attempt to save her from the destiny of the Dochas Sidhe. She preferred Toby to live out a human lifespan than be caught up in the prophecy that plagues their bloodline. She would have preferred to shift her blood all at once, but Toby fought it every step of the way. Toby does not remember this; it is suggested that she has blocked out the traumatic memories since she only remembers Amandine as a doting mother in those days.[73]

After Toby made the Changeling's Choice and claimed her fae heritage, Amandine became distant. Toby believed for years it was resentment for tearing Amandine away from her human life, but it may also be Amandine's fears of the prophecy. Toby's teen years and young adulthood were filled with apathy and emotional abuse, and eventually Toby ran away.[5][73]

Amandine comes to aid Toby when she is dying of elf-shot, claiming to do it on a whim rather than affection for Toby.[75] Later, Amandine lets her cruelty take over and endangers Toby's loved ones in order to get what she wants: her pureblooded daughter August back.[73] Because of Toby's constant defiance, Amandine disowns her, then makes it official during her divorce from Simon.

Luidaeg[]

The Luidaeg knows about Toby's existence from her birth, and agrees for Amandine's sake to stay away from her niece. She breaks that promise when Toby is seven years old, greeting her on the playground, and is shocked to realize that Amandine has been shifting Toby's blood toward human. The Luidaeg long knew that she needed a Dóchas Sidhe to help her restore the Roane, so she gets Sylvester to intercede and give Toby the Changeling's Choice, likely knowing that Toby would choose Faerie. Amandine is furious.[81]

As Toby develops into a hero, the two frequently trade debts back and forth, though Toby almost perpetually owes the Luidaeg for complex favors. They have saved each other from dying multiple times.[5][79][93] The Luidaeg frequently threatens to kill Toby, and she cannot lie, but the threats have less urgency as time goes on, and Toby is hoping she can break Titania's binding on her aunt before then, or at the very least hope that her advanced healing can work around the geas. The Luidaeg is genuinely fond of Toby as her niece, and counts saving Gillian a matter of family rather than of debt.[74] Toby is one of the very few people who knows the Luidaeg's true name and phone number, and can call her via magic used on her cell phone.[20]

Gillian Marks[]

As Gillian grew up without Toby, her stepmother Miranda convinced her that Toby had abandoned her and didn't love her.[74] Though Toby tries to explain otherwise, she cannot say why she disappeared for over a decade and Gillian refuses to make amends. Gillian's connection to Toby has led to her being kidnapped several times by the fae.[17] When Gillian is forced to become a Selkie to avoid dying, she finally learns everything about Faerie and Toby's history.[74] She is even more bitter toward Toby now, and treats her coldly at the Selkie convocation, eventually decided to reject Toby altogether. Gillian does understand that Toby didn't leave her behind on purpose.[18] Gillian attends Toby's wedding, and although there still is some strain, Gillian begins to rekindle her relationship with Toby with some encouragement from Tybalt.

Janet Carter[]

Toby first knows Janet as Miranda Marks, Gillian's stepmother and the woman Cliff ended up with after Toby disappeared in the pond. She has a natural hatred for Miranda as it is, which becomes even more complicated when she learns that Miranda is actually the ancient human Janet, Oberon's mistress and Toby's own grandmother. The two put aside their differences in order to find the missing Gillian, but they still are not on particularly good terms, though Janet does apologise for elbowing Toby out of Gillian's life.[74]

August Torquill[]

August and Toby didn't know each other existed until very recently. August is offended at the idea that Amandine would lie with a human, while Toby finds August snobbish and spoiled. They do not resolve their differences before Toby hands August off to Amandine, however August apologises to Toby for Amandine's actions in holding Tybalt and Jazz captive.[73] They however are on more civil terms by the time Simon divorces Amandine, and Toby feels empathy for her older sister, aware of Amandine's cruelty. Toby is willing to forgive August enough to allow her to attend the wedding, but is still hesitant in trusting her. Despite August valuing her niece, Toby is still on edge to be defensive of Gillian when August offers to chaperone the teenagers for a Disneyland trip.

After the events of Sleep No More, Toby fully considers August her sister and they have a great affection for one another.

Allies[]

Luna Torquill[]

Throughout her and Rayseline's captivity, Luna kept faith that Toby would rescue them. She doesn't seem resentful of Toby's failure to do so, but she is furious at Toby for what befalls Rayseline after they all return. After Toby lets Simon escape, Luna refuses to allow Toby into Shadowed Hills.[73]

Connor O'Dell[]

Connor dated Toby when they were both teens, but his family disapproved of a "mixed" relationship with a changeling. He still holds feelings for her, however, and tries to rekindle their relationship when she returns from the pond even though he is married to Rayseline. He stands by Toby in her misadventures, always ready to be emotional and strategic support.[5] Toby lets herself give in and they kiss during times of mortal peril[20][75] but do not start a romantic relationship until after Connor's marriage to Rayseline is annulled. They have a healthy sex life and he is a frequent guest at her apartment. Connor ultimately sacrifices his life in order to save Toby's daughter Gillian.[17]

Lily[]

Toby met Lily through Amandine, but the two became friends in their own right. Toby goes to Lily for advice and healing.[5][78] Lily was trapped by the same curse that held Toby in the Tea Gardens, but does not seem to resent her for the lost time. Toby tries to save Lily when she falls ill, but she cannot discover the source of her illness in time. She promises to take care of Lily's people when Lily dies.[75]

Danny MacReady[]

A long time ago, Toby saved Danny's sister's life. Now, he is happy to help her on her adventures free of charge in repayment.[5] They become friends, though May calls her out on not asking Danny for help with investigating a case.[17] Over time, Toby becomes more comfortable asking him for help; he frequently helps her track down fae creatures wreaking havoc on the city.[75][74]

Stacy Brown, Mitch Brown, Kerry, and Julie[]

Changeling friends from Toby's early days in Faerie and Home. Toby and Julie have fallen out of touch since Julie's boyfriend Ross died during an attack on Toby, with Julie unfairly blaming her for his death. Toby still hangs out with Stacy, Mitch, and Kerry when she is able to.[5][20][73]

Etienne[]

Etienne trained Toby as a knight, and sometimes works with her on jobs for Sylvester Torquill. When his daughter goes missing and he doesn't want Sylvester to know about it, he goes to Toby for help. As a result Etienne becomes close friends with Toby.[91] He incorrectly assumed that Toby earned her position as a knight because of Simon, unaware that Toby hadn't even known that Simon was her legal father. As of A Killing Frost, Etienne is friendly enough to even return hugs to Toby.

Walther Davies[]

Toby and Walther first meet through Lily when he works with Toby to determine the cause of Lily's illness.[75] Since then he's become a regular ally. He is accustomed to her calling him with an emergency alchemy request on little to no notice, and has learned to take it in stride. He was worried about coming out to her as trans since she was raised partially in the mortal world, but she is much more concerned with life-and-death matters and accepts him easily.[92]

Officer Thornton[]

Thornton first encounters Toby when she collapses in Golden Gate Park, but they do not properly meet until he gets involved investigating Chelsea Ames's disappearance. He asks too many questions about the inconsistencies in Toby's story and follows her all the way to Annwn.[91] He is trapped there, and on Toby's next visit she refuses to leave him behind even though it puts her and her allies in more danger. She gives him to the Luidaeg's care.[73] Later, she realizes he is actually her grandfather Oberon in disguise and "finds" him, breaking the spell that restricted his memory.[95]

Cliff Marks[]

Cliff believes that Toby abandoned him and Gillian. When she returns from the pond, he has married another woman and completely shuts her out of their lives.[5] Toby suspects that he and Miranda influenced Gillian to want nothing to do with Toby. He holds enough resentment that when Gillian is kidnapped the first time, he doesn't make it easy for Toby to investigate;[17] the second time, he accuses Toby of stealing their daughter away. After she talks sense into him, he begs her to search for Gillian.[74]

Arden Windermere[]

Toby convinces Arden to leaving hiding, claim her birthright, and become the Queen in the Mists.[91] Arden has forgiven her, mostly. She allows Toby more liberties than most of her subjects and is enough of a friend to attend Toby's bachelorette party. Arden had actually requested Toby to join her service repeatedly, but Toby politely declines out of respect to Sylvester.[93][73]

Antagonists[]

Oleander de Merelands[]

Oleander was present when Simon Torquill turned Toby into a fish for fourteen years.[5] Later, she took advantage of Rayseline's resentment of Toby to convince Raysel to help her cause trouble.[75]

Rayseline Torquill[]

Although Rayseline loved Toby as a child, after her kidnapping she blamed Toby for not coming to save her and her mother. She was also pressured into a marriage with Connor O'Dell, despite the man clearly being in love with Toby, which led to more resentment. Rayseline seems to think that her parents, especially Sylvester love Toby more than they love her. Toby shifted Rayseline's blood to fully Daoine Sidhe at Luna's request while Rayseline was asleep due to elf-shot, which eased the pressure on Rayseline caused by her mixed blood. In A Killing Frost, Toby promises Rayseline to speak at her trial, and jokes about claiming offence against Rayseline so she can live in Toby's household. Rayseline, eager to get away from her parents' pressure, actually likes the idea. However, both women reconcile the love that they have for each other, and Toby acknowledges that it was her nature that drove her to what she did. Toby acknowledges Raysel as her cousin for the first time after she is awoken from her slumber.

Evening Winterrose[]

After Evening was murdered, she put a binding curse on Toby to force her to investigate what happened. Later in the series, it is revealed that Evening is actually Eira Roshynwyr, and she had ordered Simon and Oleander to murder Toby.

Devin[]

Devin was the leader of Home, claiming to be a safe space for changelings, although Toby described him as "more Captain Hook than Peter Pan". He was Toby's ex-boyfriend, but their relationship was emotionally abusive. He hired an assassin to kill Toby, and he was finally killed by Toby instead.

Trivia[]

  • Toby has shifted the blood of Gillian Marks, Chelsea Ames, the False Queen, Rayseline Torquill, Diva Ryan, and a good chunk of the changelings from Silences including Jolgeir's daughters,
  • Toby remarked that she loved the beach and bubble baths, but after spending 14 years transformed as a fish, she is afraid of water.
  • Toby is well known among pixie colonies as someone who looks at them with respect.

Word of God[]

  • Toby is about 5'9"[96]
  • Toby has undiagnosed clinical depression, no doubt from her experience with Amandine and the fourteen years she lost transformed as a koi fish.[97][98]
  • Toby still frequently checks the car for intruders, and Quentin has picked up the habit.[99]
  • Her only allergy is to strawberries.[100]
  • The ability she most wishes she had from another fae race is casting better illusions.[100]
  • If Toby and company were ever to play Dungeons and Dragons Toby would play “I have been forced to be the forever GM for this table full of feral teenagers.”[100]

Quotes[]

Rosemary and Rue

  • "Home was where they didn’t care what color your eyes were, or that you cried when the sun came up, or that your hair was brown like your father’s when the Daoine Sidhe are supposed to be brightly colored and fair. Home was willing to have me, and I knew I could earn myself a life there, if I was fast, clever, and heartless. I could earn my own way." (Ch. 6)
  • “You should have screamed by now. It doesn't taste as good when you don't scream. Why won't you scream for me?" "Sorry, but we only serve diet agony here.” (Ch. ?)
  • “Pointy-eared bitch . . .” — “Actually, I’m a pointy-eared slut. Only purebloods get to be bitches.” — Redcap & Toby (Ch. 14)
  • "I’ve never liked being looked at like I was a hero. I always wind up letting someone down. Sometimes I get lucky. Sometimes the only person who gets hurt is me." (Ch. 19)
  • “My manners have always been the first thing to go when I get upset, and some people say that they stopped coming back a long time ago.​” (Ch. ?)
  • “We hated each other so well and loved each other so badly...” (Ch. ?)
  • “Past experience told me he could smell my fear; it also told me that the anger accompanying it would pretty much cover the scent. It's good to know how to compensate for your own weaknesses.​”
  • “I might regret my promises, but I keep them.”
  • “Dramatic exits are the last refuge of the infantile personality," I said. "Now drink your soda and help me think of nasty names to call her next time she shows up.”
  • “There's nothing wrong with having a few monsters in the shadows. They keep me remembering what it is that I'm walking away from.”
  • “That’s where the dreams end: with the realization that it doesn’t matter where I am, whether I think I’m a woman or a fish or something in-between. I’ve never really left the pond. I still can’t breathe."
  • “I'm not body-shy--it's hard to grow up in the Summerlands, where clothes are solidly optional, and stay body-shy--but that doesn't mean I enjoy nudity. Naked people are, by definition, unarmed.​”
  • "Ever have one of those epiphanies that just screams you're a complete moron?"

Late Eclipses

  • "In the end, there's never a sanctuary. You run until there's nowhere left to run to, and then you fight, and then you die, and then it's over. That's how the world works, and if there's a way to change that, I hope someone's eventually planning to let me know." (Ch. 21)

Book References[]

  1. Be the Serpent
  2. Chimes at Midnight Ch. 2
  3. Late Eclipses Ch. 2
  4. A Red-Rose Chain Ch. 4
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 Rosemary and Rue
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Ashes of Honor
  7. Full of Briars
  8. An Artificial Night Ch. 17
  9. A Local Habitation Ch. 3
  10. Once Broken Faith Ch. 21
  11. Once Broken Faith
  12. Late Eclipses Ch. 2
  13. Late Eclipses Ch. 25
  14. The Winter Long Ch. 6
  15. A Killing Frost Ch. 3
  16. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 22
  17. 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 One Salt Sea
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 The Unkindest Tide
  19. A Killing Frost Ch. 4
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 A Local Habitation
  21. Once Broken Faith
  22. Rosemary and Rue Prologue
  23. One Salt Sea Ch. 18
  24. Ashes of Honor Ch. 11, 20
  25. Night and Silence Ch. 3, 4
  26. One Salt Sea
  27. One Salt Sea Ch. 1
  28. Ashes of Honor Ch. 7
  29. 29.0 29.1 Rosemary and Rue, Ch. 2
  30. Late Eclipses Ch. 27
  31. When Sorrows Come
  32. Rosemary and Rue
  33. The Brightest Fell
  34. Once Broken Faith Ch. 12
  35. A Red-Rose Chain Ch. 11
  36. Hope is Swift
  37. A Local Habitation Ch. 8
  38. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 4
  39. A Local Habitation Ch. 9
  40. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 26
  41. Once Broken Faith Ch. 18
  42. Ashes of Honor Ch. 23
  43. The Brightest Fell Ch. 20
  44. Be the Serpent Ch. 4
  45. Be the Serpent Ch. 19
  46. Chimes at Midnight Ch. 27
  47. When Sorrows Come Ch. 13
  48. 48.0 48.1 Chimes at Midnight Ch. 12
  49. Ashes of Honor Ch. 25
  50. Chimes at Midnight Ch. 29
  51. The Winter Long Ch. 17
  52. A Red-Rose Chain Ch. 22
  53. A Killing Frost Ch. 7
  54. The Brightest Fell Ch. 19
  55. Ashes of Honor Ch. 22
  56. Once Broken Faith Ch. 16
  57. A Red-Rose Chain Ch. 21
  58. Night and Silence Ch. 18
  59. The Unkindest Tide Ch. 18
  60. Once Broken Faith Ch. 21
  61. The Winter Long Ch. 3
  62. Once Broken Faith Ch. 18
  63. A Killing Frost Ch. 16
  64. Be the Serpent Ch. 19
  65. Be the Serpent Ch. 16
  66. Sleep No More
  67. A Local Habitation Ch. 33
  68. One Salt Sea Ch. 4
  69. Strangers in Court
  70. Rosemary and Rue, ch. 6
  71. One Salt Sea
  72. Ashes of Honor Ch. 2
  73. 73.00 73.01 73.02 73.03 73.04 73.05 73.06 73.07 73.08 73.09 73.10 73.11 The Brightest Fell
  74. 74.00 74.01 74.02 74.03 74.04 74.05 74.06 74.07 74.08 74.09 74.10 74.11 Night and Silence
  75. 75.0 75.1 75.2 75.3 75.4 75.5 75.6 75.7 75.8 75.9 Late Eclipses
  76. When Sorrows Come Ch. 7
  77. A Local Habitation, ch. 3
  78. 78.0 78.1 78.2 An Artificial Night
  79. 79.0 79.1 79.2 The Winter Long
  80. Chimes at Midnight Ch. 3
  81. 81.0 81.1 Never Shines the Sun
  82. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 6
  83. 83.0 83.1 83.2 Strangers in Court
  84. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 4
  85. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 5
  86. Rosemary and Rue Ch. 6
  87. Late Eclipses Ch 2
  88. Night and Silence Ch. 16
  89. Instagram Live, April 7, 2020
  90. The Innocent Sleep Ch. 2
  91. 91.0 91.1 91.2 91.3 91.4 Chimes at Midnight
  92. 92.0 92.1 A Red-Rose Chain
  93. 93.0 93.1 93.2 Once Broken Faith
  94. Full of Briars
  95. A Killing Frost
  96. https://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/646213182137024512/apologies-for-being-yet-another-rando-coming-in
  97. https://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/638499821285769216/hi-i-just-started-reading-rosemary-and-rue-and
  98. Seanan McGuire. Instagram Live. April 6, 2020
  99. https://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/169117969460/hi-i-love-your-october-date-books-since-i-havent
  100. 100.0 100.1 100.2 Transcript: Instagram Live 2-12-2021

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