Three Dark Crowns

Katharine is confined to her tent, so Pietyr goes to get her breakfast. When he returns, he initiates sex, and she can tell something has changed because “his touch is desperate and slightly sad” (289). She assumes it’s because they will soon be parted. However, he traces his finger in a line where her shoulders meet her arms and across her throat (where the priestesses will sever her head and arms from her body).

Jules helps to set up the Milones’ camp, but Arsinoe is still missing. Camden is healing from the bear attack. Jules tells Joseph that Arsinoe was never going to win, so it’s for the best that she ran off. They go inside the tent to prepare for the hunt, and she kisses him. He kisses her back, desperately. She wants things to be “right” between them and to feel like they used to.

Pietyr shows Katharine the Breccia Domain, a deep chasm that residents refer to as the island’s “heart” and “the source.” It is said to have no bottom and is so black that it seems blue. Katharine likes it, but it makes Pietyr uncomfortable. Genevieve says the bodies of queens that did not survive their Ascension Years are thrown into the Domain, and they lie in piles at the bottom. When Katharine mentions kissing Billy Chatworth, Pietyr responds jealously. She assures him that they will not have to be parted when she marries, as they’ve gotten skilled at hiding.

Jules and Joseph were together when the Hunt began, but they got separated. Now, she’s chasing a stag and hears a bear before she sees him in his den. Meanwhile, Mirabella is in her tent when Bree and Elizabeth drag her unconscious guards inside. Bree drugged them, and Elizabeth hands Mirabella a gray cloak. As Mira, Elizabeth, and Bree sneak off into the woods, a hunting party comes upon them. Mirabella hears Joseph calling for Jules. Mirabella calls to Joseph, he pulls her behind a tree, and they kiss. He wishes he didn’t have feelings for her.

Natalia commends Pietyr’s work with Katharine, as she is more self-assured and charming since his arrival. Natalia knows that the crates contain the priestesses’ serrated knives, though she hoped they’d changed plans since Arsinoe’s disappearance. Katharine is apprehensive about the Gave Noir, but Natalia tells her to trust that there will be no poison. She assures Katharine that her deception will succeed, and no one will be able to claim that Katharine is weak.

Jules left the brown bear where she saw him and killed the stag. Now, her family enjoys the meal. Madrigal and Matthew Sandrin emerge, giggling, from her tent, and Jules becomes enraged because he loves Caragh; Cait sends Jules and Camden away. 

Luke gives ules the dress Arsinoe asked him to make for Jules. He asks if Arsinoe really left, or if Billy took her; Jules doesn’t know. He points out how strange it is that the queen must marry a mainlander just so the island can keep mainlanders at bay. King-consorts are only figureheads—symbols of peace between the island and mainland: nothing more. Jules and Luke return to camp and learn that Arsinoe has been caught.

The Black Council assembles, with Natalia at its head. The priestesses are there, too, along with Mirabella and Jules. Billy lies, saying he and Arsinoe got caught in a storm, but Arsinoe says she masterminded the escape attempt. Arsinoe asks if Mirabella knows what Luca is planning, and when Arsinoe begins to explain, Luca issues the command to kill her and throw her body in the Domain for attempting escape a second time. Cait and Ellis remove Jules. As the priestesses hold Arsinoe down, Mirabella intercedes, creating a storm. Mirabella marvels at Arsinoe’s strength, though Arsinoe is unreceptive to her sister’s warmth. Arsinoe tells Mirabella she hates her, like she always has, but when she leaves the tent, she admits that she hates Mirabella “a little less now” (326).

Jules waits outside for Arsinoe, and the crowd pelts them with garbage. Arsinoe gathers the Milones and tells them what Billy told her about the Sacrificial Year and the priestesses’ plan to kill her and Katharine. Madrigal says that if the Temple is counting on a weak queen, then they should make Arsinoe appear to be strong. Jules suggests that they use the bear she saw in the woods, which she can manipulate with her naturalist powers, to play the part of Arsinoe’s familiar at the Quickening. Madrigal says they’ll need the bear’s blood and Arsinoe’s. Jules plans to sneak away from camp that night to get what they need.

Wearing her black mask, Arsinoe takes her place atop the cliffs for the Disembarking. She sees her sisters—beautiful Mirabella and “wicked-looking” Katharine. Most of the suitors barely acknowledge Arsinoe, but her “heart warms” when she sees Billy. He bows to her alone.

Natalia is tired, but she tells Pietyr that she has found a way to save Katharine. Her Gave Noir will consist only of food without poisons. Pietyr believes the priestesses will test it, but Natalia is confident that it will work.

Luca asks what Rho heard about the debacle with Arsinoe and Mirabella. Rho assures her that everyone believes the storm was the result of Mirabella’s rage, not a desire to save her sister. Luca picks up one of the knives and tells Rho to make sure they are all sharp.

People are growing curious about Arsinoe after her return and performance at the Disembarking. Jules and Joseph join Billy at the feast. Jules reassures Billy that his actions help Arsinoe because the public is more interested in her now. Jules begins to feel more hopeful: Arsinoe is back, they will help her win, and everything might turn out all right. Jules takes Joseph to their tent, wanting to have sex with him, but he says he just wants to hold her.

Katharine and Pietyr lie together after the feast. She asks him what is wrong, saying he’s more “tender” than usual. He calls her “foolish” and says he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He tells her he will not be present at the Quickening, but if anything goes wrong, she should come directly to him at the Breccia Domain. He makes her promise to do this.