With the queens' sixteenth birthday celebration on the horizon and the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them, Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine must reassess their strategic paths to the throne in light of what happened. Katharine, once the weak and feeble queen, is curiously stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering she's not a naturalist after all-but a poisoner!-must figure out how to keep her newfound talent a secret while using it to her advantage. And even though Mirabella's powers are as strong as ever, she's been facing attacks on her turf like never before-ones that keep putting her people in danger that she can't seem to prevent. But when you're a queen, fighting to the death isn't a choice-it's a must. And time is running out, for the triplets aren't the only ones on the island of Fennbirn who stand to benefit from a victory. Friends and foes alike are trying to force the hands of the sisters, pushing them together for a war sixteen years in the making-one that is quickly becoming larger and more deadly than Mirabella, Arsinoe, and Katharine could have ever imagined. In this enthralling sequel to Kendare Blake's New York Times bestselling Three Dark Crowns, Fennbirn's deadliest queens must face the one thing standing in their way of the crown: each other.