#patrick lorden

Simon Torquill/Patrick Lorden/Dianda Lorden- October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire

Who are they?

A reformed villain, a violent mermaid, and the man who loves them both. Here is their wedding scene; it’s beautiful.

Simon Torquill starts the series off as a villain. In the first chapter of the first book, he turns the protagonist into a fish. She gets better, but not before losing fourteen years of her life. From there, he’s something of a personal boogeyman for her.

Then, in a later book, we learn a piece of information that recontextualizes everything: in an attempt to save his missing daughter, Simon had essentially sold his soul to a being so powerful he literally couldn’t say no to her. Turning the protagonist into a fish had been his way of following orders without killing her. We also learn that he is legally the protagonist’s father. It’s complicated.

Dianda and Patrick Lorden begin the series happily married, with two children. Dianda is essentially a mermaid, and she was raised in the warlike Undersea culture. As a result, she’s more inclined to throwing punches than diplomacy. Patrick balances her well, though he doesn’t shy away from violence if his family needs protecting. Theirs is basically an interspecies marriage, so they’ve faced a fair amount of social consequences, including estrangement from their families. But Patrick and Dianda are in love.

In a later book, we learn that it was thanks to Simon that Patrick and Dianda’s marriage was able to take place. He and Patrick were childhood friends, and when the being he would later come to serve attempted to prevent the marriage, Simon interceded at great personal risk.