Series: October Daye #7.2
Author: Seanan McGuire
Released: September 18^th, 2013
Received: Patreon

Forbid the Sea is set years before Tybalt had ever met October – long before she was even born. Here the King of Cats is young, lonely, and still so very driven. This is a version of Tybalt we don’t see too often, especially as he is clearly still working out what it means to be king.

The man is once known as Rand; now, King Tybalt has ruled London for the last ten years. His kingdom has been empty of Cait Sidhe, leaving him the only one in his domain. Yet this loneliness is necessary to keep his people safe.

Enter a young selkie, an adventure, and inevitably, a lesson that Tybalt will have to learn the hard way. For that is the way of the fae.

“If boredom has a form, it looks like an empty alleyway where no laughing sisters wait to tease.”

How is it that every story Seanan McGuire writes seems to cut straight through to my heart? Even the short stories carry such a beautiful impact with them. Then again, this is a Tybalt story, so of course, my head and heart are going to run away with it.

This is a story that utterly broke my heart. At the same time, I think it is an important read, especially if you want to get a feel for the formative years that made Tybalt the man (cat) that he is. There is something so fascinating and powerful about all of his stories, especially those from the earlier years.

Once again, I find myself so happy to finally be reading all of these October Daye shorts. It’s been on my list for quite some time now. Now that I’ve started, I have no intention of stopping. I need to find all of the shorts, especially the ones that feature Tybalt!