The Lost Heir

The theme of War and Power takes center stage in this section. While the war literally arrives at the SeaWings’ doorstep, this is mainly a result of the power games that accompany Blister. Like the war as a whole, this calculated surprise attack by the SkyWings is implied to be exacerbated by Blister’s careless destruction of SeaWing defenses during her personal vendetta against Webs. The message is clear: By using their enormous amounts of power to focus on their personal vengeance, Coral and Blister endanger everyone. Blister’s toxic alliance with Queen Scarlet and her manipulation of spies like Crocodile illustrate how war often hinges on secrecy and betrayal rather than open combat. The power that these queens wield is psychological, relational, and deeply rooted in misinformation. This selfish callousness is further reinforced through Blister’s manipulative power plays, threatening to reveal Tsunami’s involvement in Gill’s death. Starflight’s quiet resistance—outwitting Blister with knowledge rather than force—signals the dragonets’ growing strategic awareness and emphasizes that power can be wielded intellectually as well as physically. Similarly, while Orca’s reason for challenging Coral for the throne is never explained, the text suggests that she might have wanted to check Coral’s power and possessiveness as well. Given Orca’s secret animus abilities and creation of the murderous statue, her rebellion now appears more deliberate and principled, a demonstration of long-term reform through force.

The symbolism of story as legacy and eggs as change also closely aligns with the theme of war and power. During the fiery battle with the SkyWings, Queen Coral shows her potential to be a good monarch by sacrificing her flammable publications to save her people; this demonstrates that when she tries, she can put her citizens before herself. She is finally able to release her desperate control of the narrative: Her legacy is how her people actually remember her, not how she wants them to see her. This moment of destruction also serves as a cleansing of her ego; her meticulously preserved vision of herself is literally consumed by fire, forcing her to begin anew. This change can be symbolized by her new hatchling, Auklet. By surviving Orca’s statue and hatching successfully, Auklet heralds a new era and gives her mother new hope for the future. Coral doesn’t change immediately, but her actions show that she has the potential for further growth. Auklet’s innocence, in contrast to the violence and manipulation that precedes her, offers a blank slate—one untainted by palace politics or prophecy.

On the other hand, Morrowseer, Blister, and the Talons of Peace view these symbols in the opposite light. Rather than accept that the dragonets of destiny can make their own decisions, these conspirators seek to control the narrative and twist the prophecy to their own benefit, thus writing their own legacy. Morrowseer and Blister view prophecy only as a tool for dominance. By curating which dragonets live or die, they attempt to manipulate destiny itself, reducing identity to usefulness. To do this, Nautilus of the Talons reveals their secret backup plan: an alternative set of dragonets. While little is revealed about these new dragonets, one may speculate that these were also taken as eggs, thus representing a change from the original dragonets of destiny that will favor Blister and her allies. This second set of dragonets also suggests a chilling commodification of young dragons, each seen as interchangeable instruments in the larger war machine. The original dragonets’ bond and autonomy, then, become acts of rebellion.

In this final section, the themes of Adoptive Family Versus Birth Family and Intrinsic Culture Versus Belonging entwine as they resolve. As the plot climaxes and descends into falling action, Tsunami is also finally able to process her feelings toward her families, assigning importance to the dragons she chooses rather than who she is related to. Her experience with Coral allows her to put her relationship with Webs into perspective, realizing that he and Kestrel are her parental figures. Her time at court teaches her to value her adoptive dragonet family while welcoming Anemone and Auklet into her life. In this final balance, Tsunami embraces complexity, no longer needing a single, perfect parent figure or culture to belong. Though she cares for Riptide, she ultimately decides to keep him at a distance. Her ability to walk away from him, despite emotional ties, reflects emotional maturity and growing self-trust. While Tsunami initially considered her families opposite ends of a binary spectrum, in the end, she finds the agency to choose where she belongs. Tsunami leaves the SeaWing kingdom with a greater understanding of her heritage, realizing that she does not belong there. Anemone and Riptide both accept her for who she is; however, they both remain more closely tied to their SeaWing enculturation and ultimately stay behind. This maintains the divide that Tsunami experiences at the beginning of the book; though she has now built a bridge, the gap in identity is still there. Her decision to leave acknowledges that some divides may not be closed and that some acceptance does not require assimilation. Thus, although she considers the dragonets her safe space, the question of belonging remains unanswered.

The symbolism of language as identity compounds these thematic developments. Although Aquatic lessens in importance in this section, its appearance is still significant. Tsunami never becomes fluent in it, aligning with her departure from the SeaWing kingdom, though she reclaims it as her own when she says goodbye to Riptide. Her use of Aquatic in this moment is both intimate and defiant—a small act of cultural ownership without submission. Similarly, Riptide and Anemone, the only SeaWings to truly accept Tsunami as she is, are also the only dragons who readily translate and teach Aquatic to Tsunami; still, their fluency reflects their deep connection to SeaWing society and holds them to their kingdom, despite their complicated relationships with it. Their roles as bridges between worlds—native speakers who extend understanding—mirror Tsunami’s own liminal position as both an insider and outsider. Thus, although their relationships change throughout the book, their ultimate loyalties have not.

The symbolism of animus magic as self and power also resolves here and aligns with the themes of adoptive family versus birth family and intrinsic culture versus belonging. Although Anemone’s abilities make her a pawn for Coral and Blister, her relationship with Tsunami allows her to grasp and wield her own agency. Previously, her powers were used to benefit others, but in this section, Anemone uses them for herself, voluntarily enchanting a spear to find Tsunami’s would-be assassin and using that same spear to free herself from Whirlpool’s control. This is the first time that Anemone uses her magic proactively to protect someone she loves rather than appeasing a political agenda. By using her magic this way, Anemone regains her agency; Whirlpool’s death also provides her with newfound freedom: The queens have no choice but to believe whatever Anemone says about her animus magic, thus freeing her from the war. Her ability to lie about her magical limits becomes a form of power in itself—a rare situation where deception ensures survival. Similarly, Orca, another animus, kept her own agency through her secret powers and used them to keep Coral in check even after Orca’s demise. In this way, while animus magic can be a tool for power, it is also a path to self-empowerment. Through Anemone and Orca, the novel suggests that real power lies in the intention and boundaries behind its use.