The novel continues to use foreshadowing and dramatic irony to ramp up the tension before and during the Quickening, which serves as the climax. Mirabella and her friends sense that something is wrong: The priestesses “are even more hard and aloof than usual. And some seem afraid” (354). Bree says that “[t]here is something in the air […] that [she does] not like” (354). Unaware of Luca’s plan to assassinate Mirabella’s sisters, however, they remain in the dark. Further, neither the crowd nor the enemies of each camp know that Katharine and Arsinoe’s performances are fictions, which build narrative strain through dramatic irony: The unraveling of these fabrications could endanger these two queens.

The earlier foreshadowing created by Pietyr’s strange behavior comes to fruition in this section when he murders Katharine, ostensibly, to protect her from a more brutal and painful death at the hands of the priestesses. He says to her: “I hoped it would not come true […]. I hoped that Natalia was right. That she had it under control. I am so sorry” (376). The irony here is that neither Pietyr nor Katharine knows the full truth. He doesn’t know that Katharine’s Quickening performance was a success, and Katharine doesn’t know about Luca’s plans. As a result, Pietyr acts out of misplaced fear and attempts to murder Katharine unnecessarily. She comes to meet him for a brief respite from the Beltane mayhem, while he believes she is fleeing failure and death. Their misunderstandings lead to an unnecessary betrayal of trust.

Tension is also heightened through the Temple’s internal fractures, which highlight The Moral Complexities of Fighting for Survival. Rho’s behavior after Arsinoe’s performance indicates that she will not obey Luca’s orders. Though Luca admits that “[t]hey have lost,” Rho reacts violently: With “eyes full of blood,” she “bares her teeth and reaches for the handle of the knife at her side” (365). This metonymic detail—focusing on Rho’s eyes—connects her rage to the blood she is eager to spill. Rho has no intention of backing down from the priestess’s plan, though Luca doesn’t recognize this. This creates dramatic irony and deepens suspense.

In addition, Arsinoe’s bear can be interpreted as a symbol of the queen herself, underscoring the theme of The Impact of Power and Expectations on Identity. Like the bear, who is controlled by others, she has long been regulated and contained, forced to return to Wolf Spring after her attempted escape, and compelled to attend the Ascension Year festivities after Billy tried to rescue her. The bear’s apparent loyalty is orchestrated through Jules’s intervention rather than Arsinoe’s gift, which still hasn’t appeared. Yet once people believe that the bear is her familiar, they “smile at her in the torchlight. Her whole life they have thought her a failure, yet at the first hint of hope, they move to follow her, as if it is what they wanted all along” (358). Then, during her demonstration of power, she “throws her arms around [the bear’s] neck and hugs him tight” (364), cementing this shift in perception. The people metaphorically embrace Arsinoe, no longer associating her with weakness.

This symbolic parallel harkens back to an earlier story Katharine told Pietyr about a mainland queen her mother read about: “She was called Arsinoe too. So when Arsinoe was born weak, that is what [Camille] named her. Arsinoe the naturalist” (106). This story reinforces the idea that Arsinoe was named with low expectations—she, like the bear, is misjudged and controlled. However, also like the bear, she has power and agency and is capable of regaining them. The bear lashes out when it realizes it is being manipulated, and this symbolism foreshadows later events in the series: Arsinoe will unleash her full power at the people who have oppressed her.