Head-scratcher of an ending

Over the last month or so, my work commute reading has been the Sevenwaters trilogy by Juliet Marillier, which you may have seen me mention in those book memes or whatever. The series is set in medieval Ireland, with all the inherent lore (druids and fairies and magic), and each book centers around a heroine (three generations of the same family) who must complete some perilous task and/or journey in order to save her family and possibly all of Erin. The first two books were really good, if somewhat predictable (and a little iffy on the feminist values - she has to save her brothers by... sewing? Really?), while the third was somewhat unsettling, since the narrator is from the black sheep side of the family and thus is working against all the people we've come to love in the first two books. But it was still, on the whole, enjoyable... until I got to the ending.

( Spoilers, obviously... )

Uh, that said, the first two books were definitely worth reading, and I really haven't spoiled anything for those books if you want to check them out. They are, in order: Daughter of the Forest, Son of the Shadows, and Child of the Prophecy.