What happened in One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake - Recaptains

The basics

Title: One Dark Throne

Author: Kendare Blake

Series: Three Dark Crowns #2

- Three Dark Crowns (2016)
- One Dark Throne (2017)
- Two Dark Reigns (2018)
- Untitled

Add it: Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

The battle for the Crown has begun, but which of the three sisters will prevail?

With the unforgettable events of the Quickening behind them and the Ascension Year underway, all bets are off. Katharine, once the weak and feeble sister, is stronger than ever before. Arsinoe, after discovering the truth about her powers, must figure out how to make her secret talent work in her favor without anyone finding out. And Mirabella, once thought to be the strongest sister of all and the certain Queen Crowned, faces attacks like never before—ones that put those around her in danger she can’t seem to prevent.

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.

Here’s our recap of what happened in One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake. Read on for a full plot summary to help refresh your memory!

in short

The queens are all going at each other now. Arsinoe and Mirabella eventually make up. Arsinoe is presumed dead at one point and Mirabella goes to fight Katharine. Katharine is currently possessed or something by the dead queens from the Breccia Domain (damn you, Pietyr) and is super creepy. Arsinoe returns and she and Mirabella get arrested. They escape their cell after Katharine is crowned and sail away to the mainland.

what happened in One Dark Throne?

• • Nicolas Martel is the only suitor to come for Katharine, who has changed a lot.

• • Arsinoe is sick of all the attention she’s getting after performing well with the bear at the ceremony.

• • Billy wants to talk to Arsinoe about the suitors, and potentially kiss her but she has just eaten hemlock so she pushes him away.

• • Mirabella is still angry with Arsinoe and wants to kill her sisters now.

• • A young servant girl tries on a glove that Katharine sent intended for Mirabella and finds out it’s poisoned. Her arm has to be cut off to stop the poison.

• • Mirabella leaves with her friends to find her sister.

• • Arsinoe hears that Mirabella is coming after her. She goes to meet her, stopping by at Madrigal’s place. They perform a spell that links her with the bear.

• • Madrigal and Cait talk about Jules’s legion curse – meaning she has both a naturalist gift and a war gift. This would normally be enough to send someone mad, so they decided to bind her war gift.

• • Arsinoe and Mirabella meet. Mirabella attacks with lightning. Arsinoe says they should let Katharine win.

• • Jules tries to help Arsinoe but Joseph stops her. Branches start to fall from trees until he lets go.

• • The bear runs into the clearing and Arsinoe leaves with it.

• • Katharine practises knife throwing on her family.

• • Joseph leaves Wolf Spring with Billy to visit Mirabella. Billy is going to become her new taster and cook, and Joseph wants to apologise to her.

• • Madrigal falls pregnant with Matthew’s baby.

• • Tommy and Michael, two of Arsinoe’s suitors, are poisoned at dinner and die.

• • Billy tells Mirabella that Arsinoe didn’t send the bear after her at the ceremony. Mirabella now questions her decision to fight Arsinoe.

• • A priestess is killed by a poisoned dress.

• • Madrigal performs another spell on Arsinoe, who realises that she doesn’t want to kill her sisters.

• • Madrigal sees a vision in the tree when Arsinoe stops the spell. She saw something about the baby.

• • Katharine decides she likes Nicolas a lot more than Billy, and that she thinks Nicolas will kill Billy during the stag hunt.

• • Arsinoe and Jules argue about the war gift, as Jules has been getting more and more angry lately.

• • Billy and Arsinoe meet up briefly before the festival.

• • The wreath ceremony takes place at the waterfront.

• • Katharine challenges Mirabella and Arsinoe to a hunt against Natalia’s wishes. Everyone heads to the forest.

• • Jules and Joseph missed this whole thing, and they have to run to find Arsinoe once they realise what’s going on.

• • Arsinoe encounters Katharine. Mirabella hides in a tree. Katharine shoots Arsinoe with a poisoned arrow. Jules knocks Katharine away using her war gift, and steals the horse to get Arsinoe away from her.

• • Katharine tells everyone that Arsinoe is dead, but that Jules stole her body. This is against the rules as Arsinoe needs a proper burial. Katharine also tells everyone that Jules has the war gift.

• • Jules is taking Arsinoe to a healer as she’s not dead yet. They arrive at Aunt Cara’s house. Willa is also there. Willa knew that Arsinoe is a poisoner. Willa starts to heal Arsinoe.

• • The Arrons go looking for the body of Arsinoe’s bear. Mirabella is not impressed.

• • Billy and Mirabella decide to get married, even though they’re not in love. They’re both upset about Arsinoe’s death.

• • Mirabella announces that she’ll be challenging Katharine to a duel.

• • Madrigal tells Joseph that she thinks Arsinoe is dead. They decide to go to the Black Cottage in case Jules has gone to Cara.

• • Nicolas asks Katharine to send Pietyr away but Katharine refuses.

• • Joseph and Madrigal arrive at the Black Cottage to find Arsinoe alive.

• • Katharine learns about Mirabella’s challenge. Katharine wants to throw a ball the night before the duel. She knows she’ll win because “they” are on her side… whoever “they” are.

• • Madrigal tells Cara about the baby and that Matthew is the father. Cara isn’t entirely shocked, but she is sad.

• • Arsinoe learns about the duel and decides to help Mirabella win it.

• • Natalia says that the Arrons have nothing to worry about when it comes to the duel, as Mirabella won’t be fighting at full strength. She plans to have William Chatworth poison her.

• • Katharine attacks Pietyr, before slicing herself with her knife. She’s currently possessed, and tells Pietyr that she hasn’t been Katharine since she escaped the Breccia Domain.

• • Pietyr goes to the Breccia Domain to search for answers.

• • The ball takes place. Mirabella and Billy dance. They spot Joseph, who tells them that Jules is there as well.

• • Jules follows a figure that’s been moving in the shadows. It is Arsinoe, who was supposed to stay behind. Jules makes her leave.

• • Katharine dances with Mirabella and threatens her.

• • Pietyr ventures into the Breccia Domain. He gets super creeped out, and he realises that the souls (or something) of the dead queens are down here.

• • Mirabella is weakened from the poison. She recovers overnight, but not enough to use her powers properly.

• • Katharine is confused as to why Mirabella isn’t using her powers. She realises she has been poisoned by Natalia.

• • Jules saves Mirabella using her war gift.

• • Arsinoe enters the arena. She declares the battle to be over.

• • Mirabella, Arsinoe, Jules and Joseph are imprisoned.

• • Billy leaves to see Cara and Madrigal.

• • The council meets. Natalia and Luca decide to kill Arsinoe in private, but that Mirabella needs a public execution.

• • Billy meets up with Cara and Madrigal, who think they should go to the citizens of Wolf Spring for help. Billy plans to find his father.

• • William Chatworth tells Billy that he is to marry Katharine. Billy tells him he’ll do it if Arsinoe and Mirabella are rescued. William says it’s too late for that.

• • Natalia tells Katharine that she must choose Billy to be her king consort.

• • Katharine is crowned – Luca tattoos the crown onto her head. She then chooses Nicolas as her king consort.

• • Katharine visits Arsinoe and Mirabella in their shared cell. She poisons Arsinoe, who pretends to die. Mirabella is distraught. Except, obviously, Arsinoe is a poisoner so she’s not actually dead.

• • Katharine and Nicolas marry.

• • William Chatworth isn’t happy with Natalia and Katharine. He chokes Natalia during an argument. Rho walks in and kills William for killing Natalia.

• • Arsinoe and Mirabella escape the cell and rescue Joseph, Jules, and Camden. They fight the prison guards and it’s pretty cool.

• • Katharine and Nicolas consummate their marriage.

• • A group of war gifted people arrive and want to take Jules with them to Bastian City. Billy is with them. Joseph gets wounded.

• • Katharine wakes up to find Nicolas dying. She poisoned him with her touch. Katharine is quite upset. Pietyr isn’t angry when he arrives, and comforts her. Genevieve tells Katharine that Natalia is dead.

• • Mirabella and Arsinoe plan to leave the island for the mainland. Joseph wants to go with them, especially as Billy says surgeons on the mainland can heal him. They escape on a ship.

• • Katharine learns that Mirabella and Arsinoe have escaped their cell. She realises that Arsinoe must be a poisoner queen as well. She doesn’t plan on sending anyone after her sisters as she doesn’t think they’ll return, leaving her to rule anyway.

• The group sails through a storm, which Mirabella fights off using her powers. Joseph dies from his wound. Jules decides to return to the island instead of staying with Arsinoe.

This is a full plot summary of what happened in One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake. Check out our recap list for more recaps. If you can’t find what you need, you can request a recap from us!

Other recaps for this series:

• Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3)
• Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1)