The novel’s concluding revelation—that Arsinoe is a poisoner and not a naturalist—explains why her power never materialized and highlights The Impact of Power and Expectations on Identity. Since queens are supposed to identify their infant daughters’ gifts at birth, everyone accepted Camille’s declaration that Arsinoe was the naturalist of the triplets. As a result, even Arsinoe grew up believing this would be her role, and she has measured herself against it for her entire life, which led to her finding herself inadequate and weak. Even her mother’s choice to name her after another “weak” queen from the mainland seemed to confirm and seal her fate. Now, however, Arsinoe tells Jules: “All this time I thought I was nothing. But I’m not nothing” (398). Arsinoe spent years trying to force herself to become the person others expected her to be, even though it never felt right and caused her to doubt her worth. These false expectations and judgments nearly killed her by leading her to face a wild bear and also led to the deaths of others during her performance at the Quickening. 

Arsinoe’s lack of power and her attempts to conceal it have shaped her life for years: They have led to her escape attempt that resulted in Joseph’s five-year exile, Caragh’s isolation in the Black Cottage, Madrigal’s use of low magic, and even Joseph’s infidelity to Jules after Arsinoe destroyed the love charm. Arsinoe and the Milones attempted to construct her identity around a standard she was, evidently, never meant to fulfill—all because of an assumption from her infancy. This illustrates the lasting influence of parental expectations on their child’s identity, even when that parent is largely absent from the child’s life. Additionally, these circumstances highlight the harmful consequences of misjudging a child’s nature and enforcing these judgments. Camille’s apparent error in identifying Arsinoe’s nature also indicates that she was wrong about Katharine, too; if Arsinoe is the poisoner, then Katharine—according to the community’s history and lore—must be the naturalist. This would explain how Katharine survived her fall into the Breccia Domain.

By the novel’s conclusion, all three sisters have evolved significantly. Katharine, once timid and overshadowed by her perceived lack of power, has become charming, confident, and ambitious, warming to her role as an eligible queen through her training with Pietyr. Upon returning to Greavesdrake, she tells Natalia: “I want revenge. And then I want my crown” (390). Before this, Katharine has never expressed a keen interest in power; however, her traumatic experience at Breccia Domain has transformed her. Meanwhile, Arsinoe has grown more self-assured and independent, giving Madrigal’s low magic a chance and even allowing her feelings for Billy to develop. She’s also softened a little toward her sisters, admitting to Mirabella that she “hate[s] [her] a little less now” (326). Further, the knowledge that she is actually a poisoner and not a naturalist will empower her to resist the authority of the Black Council and the Temple. 

Finally, Mirabella—appalled by the bear attack at the Quickening—experiences a stark shift in perspective. She now hopes Arsinoe will provoke her, saying, “I want her to push me and push me until I hate her” (387). The narrator notes that Bree and Elizabeth “knew it would come to this. Everyone knew, except for Mirabella. But she is through being sentimental. Seeing that bear, and Arsinoe’s cold face behind that mask, showed her the truth” (387). The irony is that Mirabella’s perceived “truth” is a misunderstanding. It was Jules who sent the bear to attack Mirabella, not Arsinoe. Mirabella’s new hardness toward her sisters is rooted in error and will shape the trajectory of their stories in the series. 

All three sisters are now in a stronger position to engage in the brutal task that is looming before them: They must kill each other. Katharine feels newly determined and seeks vengeance after surviving Pietyr’s murder attempt; Arsinoe is now aware of her true gift and can use this to her advantage; and Mirabella, believing that “[t]he sisters she loved at the Black Cottage are gone” (387), hardens herself emotionally and is willing to engage in battle with them. They are each responding to someone else’s actions—Pietyr’s violence, Camille’s error, and Jules’s bear attack—but their focus has turned inward, toward their own identities, as they redefine themselves and prepare to confront each other.