Iron Flame | Chapter Summary

Below is a chapter summary of Iron Flame, the second book in Rebecca Yarros’s The Empyrean series. For the Fourth Wing chapter summary, please visit my previous blog.

Chapter 1

Violet is stationed in the fortress of Aretia, also known as Riorson House. It’s been three days since she and the other riders defended Resson from the venin and wyvern. She has slept through her 21st birthday. She learns that Brennan has taken on the alias of Lieutenant Colonel Aisereigh. 

She listens in on an Assembly meeting. The leaders of the meeting discuss negotiations with a man named Viscount Tecarus, apparently wanting a luminary from him, which is a sort of weapons forging device. They discuss potentially taking Basgiath’s luminary instead. However, they decide against this, as Navarre needs this to replenish their weapons stores at their outposts, which impacts countless civilians’ lives. 

Being low on weapons and having limited time to turn things around with the war, the Assembly leaders decide to bring back some cadets from Basgiath. As they discuss who among them should go to do this, it’s clear that some of the Assembly members don’t trust Violet. She stands up for herself, however. Xaden tells Violet to stay and talk to her brother, and that the eight of them who fought at Resson will decide what to do together.

Chapter 2

Violet talks to Brennan. She learns that Mira doesn’t know he is secretly alive. Violet asks him why he never came home. He tells Violet about Naolin, Tairn’s previous rider, who died to save him. He says he woke up on a cliffside not far from Arieta, and that there were other dragons nearby who had saved him and his dragon Marbh. He tells Violet that Marbh has been hiding in the valley with these other dragons for days, keeping watch on Andarna with Tairn and Sgaeyl. 

Violet asks Brennan why he is here, to which he responds that he couldn’t stand by, safe behind the barriers of Navarre’s wards, and watch innocent people die at the hands of dark wielders because their leadership was too selfish to help. He tells Violet that they have known about the wyvern for a few months, and that there are two breeds of them, one that produces blue fire and a faster one that breathes green fire. However, he didn’t know that the wyvern were created by venin, nor does he know where they are coming from. He and Violet observe a large map, and he tells her that the wyvern have been expanding in numbers and territory, and that they have six months or less until they are strong enough to come to Navarre. 

They note that Arieta is beyond the Navarrian wards, meaning it is not protected by the magical shield provided by the dragons’ hatching grounds in the Vale. Arieta has a dormant wardstone, however, but it is useless because the art of creating new wards is considered a lost magic. Violet wonders if these wardstones could be used, however, to generate protection for people in Arieta and as far out as Poromiel. This way, they wouldn’t need as many weapons to keep their neighbors safe. Violet thinks there could possibly be knowledge to create new wards somewhere within Basgiath’s archives. 

Brennan doesn’t agree with this approach, however. He tells Violet that something killed off the venin six hundred years ago during the Great War, and that they’re actively searching for that weapon. He says that forging daggers will keep them in the fight long enough to find it, as long as they get the luminary they discussed. He claims that weapons, not wardstones, will win this war.

Later, Brennan, Xaden, Violet, and all of their dragons meet up. Tairn and Sgaeyl have been guarding Andarna, who is almost twice the size she had been just a few days ago. Her scales have also turned black now. The events at Resson had caused her to grow at an accelerated rate, after using up so much energy to stop time. She is an adolescent now, and cannot stop time anymore.

Violet says they have to go back to Basgiath. Brennan protests against this, arguing that Dain could touch her and read her recent memories. Xaden says he will train Violet to shut Dain out. They decide to fly back to Basgiath for graduation, which is in 48 hours.

Chapter 3

Violet and the other riders land on Basgiath’s flight field before sunrise. They slip back into the quadrant, and to Violet’s relief, it seems that no one is aware of what really happened to their squad during the War Games. She shares the news of Liam’s death with Rhiannon. Xaden tells her that she cannot tell Rhiannon nor Ridoc the truth of what happened in Resson.

Violet wants to know if Xaden will tell her everything about the revolution once she can properly shield. Xaden says that he would tell her everything about himself, but not necessarily about the revolution. He says she should still trust him, but to some degree, he is always going to have secrets from her as the leader of a revolution. Violet tells him that if he’s anything but 100% honest with her from now on, she will get busy unfalling for him. Xaden is skeptical.

In the courtyard, Captain Fitzgibbon reads Garrick and Xaden’s names out on the death roll. Xaden comments out loud that this is awkward, and every head turns in their direction.

Chapter 4

Violet’s mother is relieved to see her alive, which means that she likely wasn’t in on Colonel Aetos’s plan. Xaden lies to Colonel Aetos and Violet’s mother, saying that they were attacked by gryphons at Athebyne, which killed Liam and Soliel’s dragons. Colonel Aetos doesn’t believe him, and asks Violet to confirm Xaden’s story. Violet is able to repeat the same lie as Xaden. Violet’s mother then criticizes Colonel Aetos for being irresponsible with the war games, as he emptied out a strategically invaluable outpost beyond the wards. She tells him to correct the death roll and to commence the graduation.

Later, Dain approaches Violet and Xaden. Violet yells at Dain, telling him not to touch her. Xaden tells Dain that Violet has chosen him over Dain. He tells Dain to remember Athebyne if he ever thinks about touching her face again. Dain backs down. 

The graduation ceremony commences, and Commandant Panchek announces that the third years will be commissioned as lieutenants in the army of Navarre. They will have until morning to depart for their new duty stations.

Violet and her fellow riders officially become second-years. Out of the eleven first years who came through their squad during the year, only five of them are left standing—Violet, Ridoc, Sawyer, Rhiannon, and Nadine.

Chapter 5

The cadets celebrate graduation. Violet, Rhiannon, and Ridoc talk about visiting a nearby village called Chantara, which is open to second-years from all the quadrants save for the riders quadrant. Ridoc is hopeful that the ban will be lifted. Violet’s squad has been named the Iron Squad, as they have lost the fewest cadets between the Parapet and the Gauntlet.

Violet’s fellow riders ask her what it was like being under attack at Resson. They are surprised at Violet’s lie—that the gryphons could take down full-grown dragons. Imogen steps in, saying it was a bad experience, and the rest of the riders leave it at that, giving a toast to Liam. 

Later, Violet meets up with Xaden. She follows him into the commons, where he grabs his rucksack with his swords. Violet asks if he is leaving tonight. He says he is unless she is offering up her bed to him. Violet says that she won’t sleep with him until he gives her full disclosure on everything.

Colonel Aetos interrupts them. He introduces Violet to her new vice commandant, Major Varrish, who is supposedly there to “tighten the ship.” They hand Violet and Xaden their missives. Violet is only given two days of leave every fourteen days to fly with Tairn directly to and from Sgaeyl’s current duty station or location. Any other absence from her classes would be considered a punishable offense. 

Chapter 6

Xaden has chosen Samara as his duty station, the easternmost outpost of the Southern Wing. It’s a day’s flight away from Basgiath. Sgaeyl and Tairn will only have hours together every time they make the flight. Andarna, meanwhile, is supposed to be settling in for her Dreamless Sleep, a two month period of deep sleep for adolescent dragons’ growth and development.

Xaden says he will be back in seven days, and he warns Violet to be careful, saying she can only fully trust the riders who were at Resson. He also says not to risk trusting the other marked ones.

Later, Rhiannon breaks the news to Violet that Dain is their new wingleader. 

Chapter 7

Violet sits in Professor Grady’s class for orientation. He informs them that second years will take a Rider Survival Course (RSC) to learn what to do if they fall off their dragons. He also says that he will instruct them in navigation, survival techniques, and how to withstand interrogation in case of capture.

After orientation, Violet heads to the Archives. She asks Jesinia if she has any older books about the founding of Basgiath, wanting to learn information about why they chose its current location for the wards. She hopes this information will help them protect Aretia. Jesinia hands over two tomes written more than a hundred years ago.

Chapter 8

It’s Conscription Day, and Violet is tasked with taking the final roll before parapet. She and her fellow second years watch as the first-year cadets attempt to cross. Despite their being more cadets now, fewer dragons have agreed to bond this year because of the venin. Violet wonders when Xaden will arrive that day.

Violet recognizes one of the candidates as King Tauri’s third son. His name is Cam, but he has taken on the alias of Aaric Graycastle. Another one of the candidates is Liam’s younger sister, Sloane Mairi. Sloane recognizes Violet, and she blames Liam’s death on her, telling her to go straight to hell. Despite Sloan’e vitriol, Violet advises her to stick her arms out on the parapet for balance so that she doesn’t die. Sloane makes it across.

Seventy-one candidates fall from parapet, which is four more than Violet’s year. An hour after the numbers are calculated, the quadrant assembles in formation, and the first years are divided into squads. Sloane is assigned to Violet’s squad. 

Later, the ceremony starts to welcome the first-years, and several dragons arrive and perch themselves on the courtyard walls behind the dias. A first year gets nervous and runs, and two others follow him, making a break for it.

Major Varrish’s dragon, Solas, incinerates the first-years, but he also nearly kills Violet and Sloane in the process, and he takes out one of their squad’s first years and at least half of Third Squad. A rider named Ciaran has perished, too. Violet wonders if Solas’s attack was aimed at her and the others in her squad.

Tairn then arrives on the scene, enraged. He lets loose an earth-shattering roar in Solas’s direction. Solas retreats from Tairn. 

Chapter 9

Violet has been running every morning. She is worried about Xaden, who was supposed to visit yesterday but never showed up. Imogen joins her on her run. They bump into Rhiannon, who is surprised they are running together, since the two of them aren’t exactly friends. Violet tells her she will meet up with her later.

Imogen asks her why she’s been running, and Violet explains that it’s because of the way in which the venin had killed Soleil at Resson. Soleil had been on the ground when the venin had killed her, his magic spreading so quickly that Soleil couldn’t outrun it. Violet contends that if she were to be away from Tairn and on the ground, she wouldn’t be able to outrun magic like that fast enough to escape.

Later, Violet sits in on the first Battle Brief of the academic year. She seethes at Colonel Markham, since it’s likely he knows everything about the venin and the wyvern and is doing nothing to stop it. Professor Markham announces that there were two attacks on their border by drifts of gryphons in the past week. He says the drift was routed by three dragons on patrol from the local outpost, but by the time they arrived, most of the damage had been done. Supplies were stolen and homes were burned. Violet questions them, wondering if they are telling the truth.

Professor Devera says that a second attack occurred at the outpost of Athebyne three days prior. Professor Markham says that the Poromiel trading post nearby, Resson, was leveled by Pomorish unrest a couple of weeks ago, and that they think they may be trying to disrupt communication lines about their outpost. Violet intuits that the gryphon riders near the outpost were raiding it for weapons.

Later, Bodhi gets angry at Violet for trying to help by asking questions. She, Imogen, and Quinn agree to go to lunch. Quinn says she thinks the school is hiding something from them. Violet worries about something happening to her. Violet skips out on lunch so she can read one of the tomes Jesinia gave her to try to learn the secrets of ward-building. It doesn’t have any new information for her, however. Rhiannon wonders if Violet is mad at her because of the way she has been acting lately.

Later, during mat challenges, Sloane challenges Violet. However, they are interrupted when a giant first-year arrives and asks who Violet Sorrengail is. Nadine playfully jokes that she is Violet, but the first year takes her seriously, thinking she is Violet, and snaps her neck and kills her.

Chapter 10

Violet announces that she is the real Violet Sorrengail. The big first year attacks her, and Violet is able to defeat him, plunging a blade into his back. Violet believes that Colonel Aetos had sent him, and that she and the others who had been at Resson are being targeted.

After Violet kills the first year, the mat challenges resume, and Sloane fights “Aaric,” King Tauri’s son, instead of Violet. She loses, and it’s clear that she wasn’t fostered with fighters like Liam was.

After classes and dinner, Violet finds Xaden in her room, much to her relief. She asks him what it was like at Samara. There are still some trust issues between them. She learns that Xaden has warded her room to let in whomever she pulls through. She refuses to sleep with him again until he decides to be fully transparent with her, rather than giving her what he deems as enough of the truth. He tells Violet that the second year at Basgiath is when everyone loses their humanity, and that it’s all part of the process of turning them into effective weapons.

He shows Violet that he is going to let her in as much as he can by writing her a letter. He hands it to her and heads for Samara, where they will reunite later. 

Chapter 11

Violet and Imogen finish a post-run cooldown, entering the courtyard a half hour before breakfast. Violet is still glowing from the letter Xaden wrote her. She questions whether or not she and Imogen are truly friends. 

Jesinia finds her in the courtyard, and hands her a copy of a book called The Gift of the First Six. She asks Violet to help translate a couple of sentences in a dead language for her. The words are the name of an ancient king, but the book was copied recently from an older text, so it holds no real value for Violet.

They are interrupted by a rider who is dragged screaming from the academic building. He is in trouble for requesting a book the other day that Jesinia had recorded.

Later, Rhiannon meets up with Violet. She asks if she and Xaden are together. Violet tells them they are not because Xaden won’t tell her the full truth. She also tells Rhiannon that someone is censoring her letters from Xaden. Ridoc then meets up with them, asking about another black dragon in the vale, which is Andarna, who was seen by some other dragons before she went into the Deep Sleep.

Later, General Varrish confronts her, asking to see Andarna. Violet says that she cannot bear a rider, but that she will go through maneuvers on easier days. Varrish demands that Andarna flies with her the next week. Dain performs a maneuver where he is able to land on the ground from his dragon while it is still moving.

After this, Bodhi asks Violet to tell Xaden that they are working on the next “shipment,” but he won’t tell her what this e shipment is. He accidentally tells Violet about Xaden’s ex-girlfriend, Catronia, and that he himself has survived multiple assassination attempts. Varrish interrupts them to search Violet’s bag. Bodhi, knowing this was coming, claims he was using Violet as a test. The “shipment” he was referring to is already secured on Tairn’s saddle. She flies with Tairn to go see Xaden in Aretia.

Chapter 12

Violet finds Xaden sparring with another rider in what looks to be a storage pit. He is fighting a man named Jarrett for a lieutenant’s pass for the weekend so he can spend more time with her. He wins the match.

When he and Violet are alone, they kiss and things heat up. He chooses not to sleep with her, however, because he refuses to use sex as a tool to get her back. He wants to hear that she loves him before sleeping with her again, determined to “do things differently” than he had done in the past year.

Later, Violet asks him about the daggers they had used to kill the venin, guessing that they are made up of the same material that powers the wards. He tells her that the alloy in the daggers are not powerful in and of themselves, but they can hold power, allowing them to boost the wards and extend them, and that the more material there is, the stronger the wards are. He says there is an entire armory of these daggers in Aretia to boost the wards. He explains that outposts like this are placed strategically in order to keep their borders from developing weak points.

He also explains how the process of imbuing the dagger’s material with power works. A rider must pour their own power into it, which is a skill not a lot of them have. They also need a forge to smelt the alloy and to make more weapons, which consists of both a dragon to fire a crucible, and a luminary to intensify the dragonfire hot enough to smelt the material. 

He refuses to go deeper into the subject, however, insisting they work on Violet’s shields instead of worrying about Navarre’s shields. Despite being tired, Violet agrees.

Chapter 13

Violet is punished by Varrish for not bringing Andarna out to the flight field, being forced to repeatedly wield her lightning until she is exhausted to the point that it nearly kills her. Tairn takes her to a river to cool down from her burnout. He also calls for her friends to come aid her. Imogen, Bodhi, and a girl named Eya help walk her back to Basgiath for food.

Later, she and Imogen attend the first-years’ sparring session to watch over Sloane. They watch as a first-year with the last name of Jacek spars against her angrily. Jacek’s brother was the rider who had been hauled away from the scribe quadrant the other day, who Violet learns has now been killed. She thinks it’s because he asked for something from the archives that he shouldn’t have asked for.

As Sloane fights, Imogen tells Violet that the likely reason Sloane isn’t a trained fighter is because of how Xaden had climbed the ranks at Basgiath; some of the families in charge had stopped training the marked ones when they had seen this. Jacek handily beats Sloane, causing Rhiannon to call the match.

Later, Violet and Rhiannon walk to a physics quiz, and Rhiannon asks her if everything is okay. A bag is thrown over both of their heads. 

Chapter 14

The cadets have been kidnapped for their first joint land navigation exercise, led by Professor Grady. Violet, Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Sawyer join some cadets from the infantry, along with a scribe to record the event, and healers in case anyone gets hurt. The riders have been dosed with a mixture of herbs that dulls the connections to their dragons as well as their signet powers. They are competing against another group on the far side of the forest, whose dragons will be hunting them.

During the exercise, the riders and the infantry are very quick to argue with one another about how to navigate the forest. Suddenly, they are confronted by Jack Barlowe’s dragon, Baide. It approaches Violet, but does not attack her, likely out of fear of Tairn’s wrath. An infantry cadet named Gwen runs away in fear, and another cadet named Tomas chases and yanks her down. Baide incinerates Tomas.

Chapter 15

The group fails to reach the extraction point by the end of the next day because of two mismatching maps. Rhiannon tells Violet she thinks something is off with her.

The next morning, the professors arrive on a convoy of horses and wagons, signaling the failure of the cadets in the land exercise. The effects from the herbs wear off, and Violet is able to communicate with Tairn again. She mounts his back and heads for Basgiath.

Chapter 16

Violet visits the archives again to research the wards. She finds Jesinia there and asks what book Jacek had requested that got him killed. Jesinia says he was looking for an account of a border attack that didn’t exist.

Violet comments that last year, Jesinia didn’t record it when she asked for a book that wasn’t in the archives’ records. Jesinia said she didn’t record it initially because she was embarrassed. She had decided to reach out to other libraries looking for a wider collection of folklore, implying that it was for a personal passion to collect forgotten folklore from border regions. The responses she got made it clear they didn’t have the most comprehensive selection, however. Jesinia also says that she hasn’t recorded anything that Violet has looked for this year. 

Violet asks Jesinia for the most comprehensive texts she has about how the First Six built the wards. Jesinia tells Violet to only meet her on Saturdays when the Archives are less busy, but she has a favor to ask in return.

Later, Violet worries about Sloane during her mat challenges. Ridoc mentions to them that Nolon has been working on something secretive with Varrish for a long time. To help Sloane during her mat challenge, Violet brings a vial of Ardyce powder with her. She coughs the powder out at Sloane’s challenger as she is breathing in, disorienting her, and Sloane wins the challenge. 

Violet tells Sloane that she did that for her brother, and that she has several letters that Liam had written for her. She says she will give Sloane one letter for every week she trains with Imogen.

The next day, Jesinia brings Violet The Unabridged History of the First Six. Violet gives her The Fables of the Barren in return. Varrish searches Violet’s belongings and questions why their squad didn’t have flight maneuvers. Violet responds that they had some injuries from the running landings. He says he will have to meet Andarna next week, then. 

Violet then flies to Samara, but Xaden is on 24-hour duty in the operation center, so she can’t see him yet.

Chapter 17

Violet thinks the Basgiath leadership is keeping her and Xaden apart as a punishment for not producing Andarna. She talks to Imogen about Xaden, and Imogen tells her she is lying to herself if she thinks she wants to be with someone normal.

During battle brief, Rhiannon hands Violet a regional notice that says to beware of strangers seeking shelter and to not take any strangers in due to unprecedented violations of Navarre’s sovereign borders. Violet wonders if Pomorish civilians are fleeing a new offensive.

Markham notices the parchment and uses the regional notice to teach the battle brief class about the efficiency of propaganda and the role civilians play in supporting a war effort, saying that lies are powerful tools. However, Violet thinks he is lying. She leaves the class, barging into the Archives and making a scene. Jesinia talks to her and says she will bring her a new selection of tomes that night. She warns Violet to only meet her on Saturdays, or she will get them both caught. 

Chapter 18

Xaden barges into Violet’s room as she is poring through every history text she owns. He asks her why she is researching the First Six. He worries that she is putting herself in danger for researching classified material, particularly because Jesinia knows about it. Xaden wants to meet her, and Violet reluctantly brings him to do just that. They run into the healer scribe Nolon along the way, who has lost an extraordinary amount of weight and looks quite haggard.

As they make their way through the tunnels to Jesinia, Xaden asks her why she loaned The Fables of the Barren to Jesini, angry because that text could get Violet turned in. They argue about trusting one another, and Xaden leaves.

Chapter 19

Two days later, Violet is attending flight maneuvers. She still hasn’t brought Andarna, and worries about her punishment because of it. She practices several lightning strikes with Professor Carr before her temperature spikes, not hitting a single point that she aims for. Ridoc and Rhiannon wonder why Varrish has it out for her.

Major Varrish announces that he is charging Violet with dereliction of duty for Andarna’s refusal to appear for flight maneuvers. In response, Tairn attacks Varrish’s dragon, Solas, until Varrish agrees that Violet will not be punished for Andarna’s refusal to be present. He also forces Varrish to say that it is not in his authority to summon any dragon.

Later, Rhiannon accuses Violet of not talking to her, running away with Imogen, locking herself away reading, and spending every possible Saturday with Xaden. She tells Violet not to forget that Liam was her friend too. Violet gets angry, saying she doesn’t know what it was like to see Liam die, and that she doesn’t know what’s out there. She tells Rhiannon that there is a reason Basgiath wants them to watch their friends die—because they are weapons, and Basgiath is the stone they use to sharpen them. Rhiannon apologizes.

Varrish interrupts them, demanding to search Violet’s belongings once again. Rhiannon asks her why they search her things, and Violet lies, saying that it’s because they can’t trust Xaden. Violet apologizes for getting angry with her, and Rhiannon says she prefers her screams to pretending that everything is alright with silence.

Chapter 20

Violet flies to Samara. She and Tairn argue about whether or not she should attempt a running landing. She finds Xaden in a courtyard with several riders behind him. Xaden tells him to kiss her for show, but she loses herself in the kiss. She runs into her sister Mira, and finds out that she is stationed at Samara now. Mira warns her not to trust Xaden, and notes that she is in love with him.

Violet takes the opportunity to ask Mira about the wards. Mira tells her that the wards are woven to the ground in Samara, and that they act like an umbrella—the wardstone is the stem, and the wards take the shape of a dome over Navarre. However, just like how an umbrella’s spokes are strongest at the stem, by the time the wards reach the ground, they’re too weak to do much without a boost.

Violet then also asks Mira if she trusts the reports about the missions to check the Pomorish cities for damage. Mira says she does. Violet raises the idea that wyvern could’ve destroyed the Pomorish cities, rather than gryphons, and that there could be an entire war they know nothing about. Mira shakes it off as Violet reading too many fables.

That night, Xaden returns from a mission. He tells her that some civilians were trying to cross the border and that the infantry ended up killing them. He says this kind of thing doesn’t get briefed at Basgiath. He reassures her that Mira is fine. 

Violet apologizes for not telling Xaden about Jesinia and her research on the wards. She implies that she only did so because he kept secrets from her, too. Xaden tells her she is allowed to have her secrets, so long as they don’t risk everything he has worked toward for the last few years. He says he won’t withhold information that could change how she makes decisions, and he asks the same of her. 

Violet later tells him that she can’t sleep because she has nightmares about Resson. However, being next to Xaden comforts her enough to lull her into a half-sleeping state.

Chapter 21

Violet has to wear a sling on her shoulder because of the running landings she has been practicing. In class, Professor Devera announces that a boy named Masen Sanborn has died in an attack on the Eastern Wing. During class, they discuss how several provinces lost their languages during the Unification of Navarre, and a boy claims that you can still recover translated Tyrrish texts in the archives. Violet argues against this, saying that only the translations only go back four hundred years, leaving out the original texts. 

Later, Violet joins in on the last mat challenges that will take place for months. Dain approaches Violet, but she snaps at him, telling him that they are no longer friends. 

Conveniently, Dain is paired up with Violet during the mat challenges. As they spar, Dain tells her he just wants to talk to her, but Violet has to keep her shields up for fear of him tapping into her memories. Still, Dain presses on, telling her that he had nothing to do with the gryphons who ambushed them at Resson. Violet still fights with him, and he tells her that her mother is responsible for the scars on Xaden’s back. 

Later, Rhiannon confronts Violet, asking her what killed Deigh. Aaric is able to distract her, however, and he tells Violet that he knows about what the faculty are up to at Basgiath.

Chapter 22

Violet awakens from a nightmare. Xaden leads her down to Basgiath’s forge for her torture and interrogation training. 

Varrish interrupts them on their way to the forge. Xaden says that she is in no condition for the training she is about to go through. Varrish says he will take away her leave for the next weekend if she doesn’t follow through. Violet agrees to go through with the training, requesting Xaden to return a book on her desk to the archives. 

Chapter 23

Violet is taken to the torture chambers for her official interrogation with the other cadets. She, Sawyer, Ridoc, and Rhiannon are all bound in a windowless, guarded cave. Professor Grady informs them that they have been given classified information to protect. He asks them all to share a secret that no one else outside of the four of them could possibly know, claiming they will try to force it out of them, along with some secret phrases they have already been given. Violet decides on her secret, telling her fellow cadets that their infantry is killing Poromish civilians at the border. 

Professor Grady leaves them. Two riders Violet has never seen before enter and begin interrogating them. The woman slaps Violet around, claiming she’s the weakest, and the rest of her fellow cadets have been carrying her along. They then turn to Ridoc, hitting him in the face. They decide to leave them and the cadets wait around for hours.

The torturers return, but this time, Varrish walks in, dismissing them. He brings Dain inside, claiming that he will be able to break them in record time.

Chapter 24

Dain argues against interrogating Violet, since she is injured, and the rules say that she must be healthy before interrogations begin. Varrish wants Dain to use his signet on her, supposedly only to draw out the secret phrase. He goads Dain on, saying he can find out what really happened the day the marked ones were killed at Resson, and that he can learn why she truly chose Xaden over him. But Dain refuses because it’s against the rules, and walks out. Varrish punches Violet’s shoulder out of her socket, and she passes out. 

Violet awakens under Nolon’s care. He is on orders to remain in the torture chamber for the rest of Violet’s interrogation, which Varrish has extended until the next day. Nolon tells Varrish that Violet will have to sleep off her mending, and asks him to come with him to attend another patient, claiming his “particular skills” could be of use. 

Once Varrish is gone, Sawyer metals the hinges off the door, and Violet uses her knife to open the lock. The cadets escape their torture chambers.

Chapter 25

Violet and her fellow cadets escape the cave and receive a patch from Professor Grady for completing their interrogation assessment. 

Later, in class, Violet and the other cadets receive a memo that says Zolya, the third largest city in the Braevick province, has fallen to blue fire dragons and their riders. However, the leaflets are fake, and Professor Markham chastises the class for being unable to tell that they are propaganda. Violet suspects there is a hint of truth in these leaflets, however, and notes that Markham is distracting them from the actual truth.

He then brings Jack Barlowe in to the class, who has been mended and resurrected as one of Nolon’s special projects. 

Chapter 26

Violet shrugs off Jack’s return, feeling a newfound confidence in her hand-to-hand combat skills, while Jack has only been healing in the infirmary.

Markahm tells the class that there has been an unprecedented attack at Samara, and that this is not propaganda. He says that the outpost was successfully defended by three riders who were not on patrol, but he does say that one rider was severely wounded. Violet believes this rider to be Xaden, and rushes out of the classroom to fly to him.

Chapter 27

Violet makes it to Samara just before nightfall, and the outpost is nearly in ruin, as chunks of masonry are scattered about the courtyard and there are scorch marks on the walls. She discovers that Xaden has not been wounded, however.

Xaden sees that Violet is wearing someone else’s flight jacket and gets jealous. Violet gets angry with him, telling him that it’s Bodhi’s jacket, and she only wore it because she was in a rush to get to him.  She’s angry, too, because she recklessly rushed to him when he wasn’t even hurt. However, he shows her a mended scar, running from his shoulder to his bicep, indicating that he nearly lost his arm. Violet softens up, and Xaden kisses her, saying she rushed to him because she still loves him.

Violet then fondles Xaden, and she is tempted to sleep with him, but she accuses him of using sex as a weapon to get her back. He reminds her that she was the one that told him she cannot separate emotion from sex. She gives in, telling Xaden that she needs him, and they sleep together. After they have sex, Xaden suggests they fly out together to the rendezvous to drop the daggers.

Chapter 28

Violet, Tairn, Xaden, and Sgaeyl land at the rendezvous point, and they are greeted by a full drift of gryphons. Two women named Syrena and Catronia (Cat) greet Xaden. He chastises them because one of their gryphons nearly took him out at Samara. Xaden warns that if any of their fliers steal daggers from outposts or if any Navarrian wards are weakened by flier thievery, he will cut their shipment of weaponry to them. 

He then tells them the forge is their highest priority, and that as soon as they secure a luminary, they will be operational and able to supply them in full. For now, he is giving them 23 daggers. Syrena agrees to do what she can to lessen the attacks on their outposts, but tells Xaden that until he can openly say he’s supplying them, her forces will not trust him. 

Violet notes that it seems as though Xaden and the woman named Cat know each other, and that she even seems to desire him. As they are leaving, Violet is horrified to note that Cat is looking at him as though they have shared memories together, showing that she may possibly be an ex-girlfriend of Xaden’s.

Chapter 29

Violet asks Xaden if Cat is his ex, which he confirms. Putting off her anxious feelings for the moment, Violet asks Xaden about Viscount Tecarus, wanting to know what he wants in exchange for the luminary that Xaden refuses to give to him. Xaden says that Tecarus will let them take the luminary to Aretia if he can see Violet wield her lightning. Violet thinks this seems easy enough, but Xaden doesn’t want to risk it. He states that Tecarus will only let them use the luminary, and not keep it, and that he doesn’t trust him anyways, because he is known to keep precious things (like Violet) against their will.

Later, as Violet makes her way to her squad chambers, Varrish confronts her. He notes that she is wearing a jacket that is not hers, and accuses her of impersonating a commissioned officer. However, professor Kaori is nearby, and defends Violet. Still, she is forced to hand over her jacket, which she knows has one of Xaden’s daggers in it, and will certainly land both her and Xaden into  a lot of trouble. However, as Varrish searches the whole thing, he does not find anything and leaves. 

Violet had gotten lucky, because Rhiannon had used her magic to pull the dagger out of her jacket and through the wall before Varrish could get to it. Finally, Violet decides to tell Rhiannon the truth, stating that the dagger is for killing venin.

Chapter 30

Violet tells Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Sawyer everything that has happened, aside from her brother being alive. They ask her how long it will be until the wyvern and venin are at their borders. Violet tells them a year, maybe less, and warns Rhiannon to get her family to leave their home since they are close to the border. 

Much to Violet’s relief, Rhiannon is not angry at her for hiding all of this from her, and her friends are eager to help. They decide to assist her in researching the wards. Violet tells them that there has to be a record somewhere about how the First Six created the first wards, but Jesinia has not been able to find it yet, since she does not have access to every classified tome; Violet tells them they need a primary source. Ridoc points out that two of the First Six kept journals, according to a classified ledger in Violet’s mom’s office. He said he had thumbed through it when they were looking to steal something during the Squad Battle. Based on the ledger, the journals should be in some sublevel vaults within Basgiath.

Later, as Jesinia hunts for more information on the sublevel vaults, Violet and her friends pore over every book about ward weaving and the First Six she can give them. Eventually, Jesinia finds the sub vault and sends for Violet to meet her in the archvies. Violet, however, has to take the next watch on the walls of Basgiath, so Ridoc is sent to meet up with Jesinia. 

Violet goes to the academic wing for her watch, relieving a girl named Eya from the turret. However, as she does this, they are ambushed by four infantry assassins. The two of them are able to kill off three of the assassins, but not before Eya is slain. As the last assassin attempts to throw Violet over the parapet, someone shoves a knife through his spine. 

Chapter 31

To Violet’s surprise, Jack Barlowe has taken out her attacker. He tells Violet that his own death was a second chance for him, and that he is giving her a second chance, too. 

Ridoc then meets up with them, saying that the journals of the First Six are in the royal sublevel vault, and they will need someone with royal blood to open it. Violet immediately thinks of Aaric. 

Chapter 32

Violet lets Xaden know that she has told the others about everything that’s happened since Resson, aside from Aretia, Brennan, and the luminary issue. Xaden agrees with her plan to let the others help her read through the archives to find more information about the wards and the First Six. Ther bring their plan of retrieving the two journals of the First Six from the royal subvault to Aaric. There is tension between he and Xaden because of the feud between the royal family and the marked ones, but he agrees to help, mainly because of his hatred for his father, King Tauri. 

Jesinia takes Xaden, Aaric, Violet, and Imogen down to the vaults. They have forty-five minutes to retrieve the journals before the doors of the vaults seal them in.

Chapter 33

Xaden takes out two of the guards at the end of the hallway. Aaric takes Violet with him through the wards that surround the royal subvault, and together, they search through the books to find the journals of Lyra and Warrick, the two of the First Six who wrote them. 

Violet finds the journals beneath a glass centerpiece in the room. As Aaric reaches for them, he reels back in pain as the wards surrounding the journals burn his hands. The group rushes out of the sub vaults just in time before the vaults’ giant doors close and seal them in. 

Chapter 34

Aaric has a rebound burn on his hands. Because of this, they decide to change their plans. Ridoc takes Aaric to his room and keeps his hands hidden. Rhiannon goes to the infirmary to ask for a person named Dyre to help with Aaric’s wounds. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the group meets up with Quinn, who has been projecting as both Violet and Rhiannon to keep any suspicion off of them. They pass by the infirmary before splitting up in the quadrant. 

Imogen and Quinn take the stairs to their rooms, while Bodhi and Sawyer head to the commons to make a scene so as to be remembered, and Xaden and Violet climb the first floor to escape into the courtyard.

Violet then reads through Warrick’s journal, learning that after they placed the last rune, they placed a wardstone where the dragons would feel the deepest currents of magic run. With that last step complete, Warrrick states the protections fell into place at the birth of an iron rain. Violet tells Xaden to take the journal to Brennan so he can translate it. 

When Violet leaves Xaden, she runs into Nolon, who offers her a mug. Violet drinks from it without realizing he’s put something in it. Varrish shows up as she’s on the verge of passing out.

Chapter 35

Violet awakens in the brig. Nolan, Varrish, and a woman named Nora question her about why she stole Lyra’s journal, which is now in their possession. Violet dodges their questions, and Varrish tells Nora to order an immediate formation and check the hands of every cadet in the quadrant, likely looking for something like the blisters on Aaric’s hands from reaching through the wards. Despite her situation, Violet is reassured because Xaden has Warrick’s journal, which means they already have what they need to raise Aretia’s wards. Still, this doesn’t stop Varrish from torturing Violet, as he first dislocates, then breaks one of Violet’s fingers.

Some time passes, and while she is in the brig, Violet begins hallucinating her dead friend Liam, whose mirage is a comforting presence for her. Varrish returns, and he learns from Nora that none of the cadets have hand injuries (likely because Dyra had healed Aaric’s hands already). Varrish pushes for more answers, coming dangerously close to the truth as he asks Violet what she is trying to ward.

Varris then indicates that part of his signet is seeing people’s weaknesses. He tells Violet that her weaknesses are the people she loves, Xaden being chief among them. He says he cannot wait to torture Xaden next, as he will be allowed to do so officially when Xaden has breaks the rules by abandoning his post to come to her aid. However, Violet turns this back on him, because while he is hunting Xaden, Tairn is likely hunting Varrish’s dragon Solas. Varrish says that won’t stop her from torturing her in the meantime, and Violet worries that Xaden will not come to her rescue, and that he will choose the revolution instead of her. 

Finally, Varrish brings Dain in to question Violet. He tries to turn Dain against her, telling him that Violet stole those journals in the vaults so that she could learn how the wards were built and where they were built so she could unravel them. Varrish also says that while Xaden had deserted Basgiath a few days ago, they are currently in the process of gathering the marked ones. Violet worries about Liam, Bodhi, and Sloane.

Dain agrees to look into Violet’s memories, and Violet throws at him her memories of the wyvern, of how they were sent to Aretia to die, and about the venin. She shows to Dain that Varrish and the others have erased their very history to avoid conflict and keep them safe while innocents die. She shoves her memorie’s of Liam at him, along with the torture Varrish has been inflicting upon her these past few days. 

Dain requests the knife from Violet so he can observe what they’ve been stealing from them. He then plunges the knife into Varrish, and frees Violet from her constraints. Nora tries to stop them, but Xaden arrives at the last minute, slashing her throat. 

Chapter 36

Xaden is full of rage, and wants to hurt Dain as well, but Violet defends him. Together, he and Violet kill the now-wounded Varrish, plunging a blade into his heart. When Violet voices her concerns about Xaden losing his rebellion and homeland for her, he tells her that he is in love with her and would do anything for her. 

Later, as they make their way up the staircase from the brig, Violet’s mother shows up, handing her an antidote for Nolon’s serum. Violet learns that her mother has been working with Xaden, and that she had struck a deal with him back in her first year—she gave Xaden a quadrant and allowed his marked ones a chance to survive at Basgiath. In return, Xaden was to protect Violet in her first year in the Rider’s Quadrant. This is why Xaden didn’t kill her the night she eavesdropped on him and his marked ones while she was hiding in a tree. Violet also learns her mother was the one who gave Xaden those scars on his back.

Violet’s mother still doesn’t know everything, however, as she learns now that Xaden is the one who has been stealing weapons from Basgiath. Moreover, she still has no knowledge of Brennan being alive.

At this point, Xaden wants to gather the marked ones and leave immediately, but Violet insists they tell everyone at Basgiath the situation and give them the choice of whether or not to leave.

So, Dain announces to all the students that Basgiath’s leadership is trying to cover up what’s happening on the borders with the wyvern and the venin. This is met with general shock and disbelief, and several of the students argue with one another about what to believe. 

To get them on their side, Violet has Tairn share the memory of Resson with the students. When this occurs, many of the students believe Dain’s words, and decide to follow Violet, Xaden, and the rest to Aretia in one of the biggest riots Violet’s has ever seen, which includes over two hundred dragons and one hundred riders (nearly half the quadrant).

When Violet arrives at Riorson House, she is greeted by her brother, who is quite surprised at what a large army she has brought them.

Chapter 37

At Riorson house, Violet wakes up next to Xaden and performs oral sex on him. They loudly have sex in his room, and they decide to sleep together in that room from now on. 

An hour later, they walk around a crowded Riorson house, filled with all the riders who flew over to Aretia with them. They make their way to the Assembly room, where six members are grilling Bodhi, Garrick, and Imogen about Resson. Xaden tells them if they are to yell at anyone, they can yell at him, because he was the one calling the shots at Resson. 

The council wants to know what they are supposed to do with all the cadets who have showed up in Aretia, and they worry that Melgren will know where they are because of the massive riot that has arrived at their doorstep. They also have trouble trusting Dain and his newfound loyalty. 

Xaden is fierce with them, and gets the council to concede that they will trust Violet. He also suggests they get the cadets back into class, as they have brought four professors over to Aretia with them as well. 

Suddenly, Violet hears Andarna’s voice in her head, and she realizes the dragon has finally awakened from its dreamless slumber. 

Chapter 38

Violet finds Andarna in the valley above Aretia, surrounded by several dragons. She is asleep when Violet approaches her, and has a green shimmer to her scales now. She awakens upon Violet’s arrival, and, to her horror, Violet realizes that her left wing doesn’t fully extend. 

Tairn informs her that because she expended a massive amount of energy at Resson, this forced Andarna into a rapid rate of growth. Had she been able to enter the Dreamless Sleep right after this, she would’ve been fine. But since she couldn’t be safely sheltered for the Dreamless Sleep right after Resson, and instead flew immediately to Aretia, Andarna missed that critical resting period.

Now, her growth is unpredictable because of this. For example, there normally is a second set of muscles that form along the fronts of the dragons’ wings during their growth, but Andarna’s did not. The elders believe she will still fly once she’s strengthened her existing muscles to compensate, but she will never be strong enough to bear a rider.

This is on Violet’s mind as she returns to her classes, headed by the professors who flew with them to Aretia. Rhiannon asks her if she’s had any luck with the wardstone, to which Violet responds that she has translated the section from Warrick’s journal that they need three times, and that she is getting close to figuring it out.

Professor Devera walks in, announcing their first official battle brief as “traitors.” She tells the class that the outposts have successfully dispatched with the wyvern Xaden has gifted to them, and that General Melgren has kept the news from reaching the public, and that they are still turning away Poromish citizens at the border. 

Violet also learns that Samara was attacked four days ago, and she worries for Mira. She figures that their enemies were looking for weaponry in Samara, since their armory is there. Further, the venin have taken the town of Anca, which is close to the recently fallen Zolya. It seems as though their enemies are organizing and basing out of Zolya, using as a destination for a supply trip for an ongoing campaign.

Suddenly, Tairn alerts Violet that a riot is approaching. They fly out to find Mira and Teine, and Tairn mistakenly attacks Teine. Mira dismounts, telling them that Xaden had come for them, dropping a wyvern at the front gates of Samara. Their mother had arrived about ten hours later and told all the riders stationed there the truth. She had given the riders an hour to decide what they wanted to do, and about half (forty or so riders) chose to leave. Violet is surprised to learn that her mom and Melgren would’ve just let them go like that.

Just then, Mira recognizes Brennan, shocked that he is still alive, and punches him in the nose.

Chapter 39

Brennan is bleeding profusely from his nose, which Mira may have broken by punching him. Xaden greets them, and Violet lets them know that they need the blood of the six most powerful riders in order to raise the wards. 

Violet, Xaden, Brebbab, Feliz, Suri, and Bodhi are designated as the six best riders. The group follows a path to a man-made canyon inside of a mountain, where the wardstone is located. Etched in its center are a series of circles, each fitting within the next and boasting a rune carved in along its path, which matches what Violet had found in Warrick’s journal. 

Each of the riders draws  blood, pressing their palms flat against the stone, but nothing happens.

Failing to raise the wards, Violet demands Xaden to take her to Tecarus so they can at least secure the luminary to forge weapons, but Xaden refuses. Violet then asks Mira for help.

Chapter 40

Violet trains with Felix in an attempt to improve her aim when it comes to wielding lightning. He hands her a glass orb, which serves as a sort of conduit for her powers. He explains that it has runes etched into it, which are woven to draw on her specific power. He implores her to practice with it so that she can learn to wield smaller, controlled lightning strikes, rather than big and powerful ones. He says she is a threat to everyone else if she cannot learn this.

Later, Violet leaves with Mira and Brennan for Cordyn. When she is escorted into Tecarus’s palace, she is shocked to learn that Xaden is waiting for her there.

Chapter 41

Tecarus forces Violet and her siblings to dress up and attend dinner before they can discuss any business matters. Xaden warns Violet about the danger that she’s in, but Violet gets angry with him for always wanting to keep her safe, saying that he has become like Dain.

Later, as she is being escorted to dinner, Violet feels animosity towards Xaden’s girlfriend, Cat, and briefly doubts if Cat knows him better than her. This is part of Cat’s signet ability, however, which is to heighten the emotions of the people around her. Xaden explains this to her at dinner, and he apologizes for being overprotective. 

While at dinner, Tecarus asks Violet to demonstrate her wielding abilities to him. She is brought to a gaming arena where everyone at his table can watch her, while a large, metal chest is pushed out  into the middle of a grassy field. The Rybestad chest is the same one Xaden’s father had brought to Tecarus when they were in some negotiations for a highly valuable item in the past. 

Tecarus gives Violet a simple offer—as long as Xaden doesn’t step foot into the arena and Violet strikes the chest with her lightning, they will open discussions for the luminary. 

However, what Violet doesn’t realize is that there is a venin hidden inside of the chest. The guards release the venin from his imprisonment, and the venin attacks.

Chapter 42

Violet wields her lightning, unable to strike the venin. She is able to strike him with a throwing dagger, however. The venin responds by throwing the Rybestad chest at her along with a couple of daggers, which pin Violet to the ground. She is able to escape, however, tearing her dress in the process. 

But now the venin slams his fist into the ground, which spreads death across the battlefield rapidly, threatening the lives of Violet and her siblings. Mira is able to block this by throwing a shield up over the three of them. This drains her, and Violet tells Brennan to escort her away while she deals with the venin.

At this moment, Tairn finally arrives at the battlefield, and right as he picks Violet up in his talon, she sends a lightning strike over the wet grounds of the battlefield, effectively electrocuting the attacking venin to death.

Now that the danger has passed, Xaden nearly chokes Tecarus to death with his shadows, angry over him having put Violet in such danger. He wants to know if Tecarus has captured more than just the one venin. Tecarus assures Xaden he will tell him everything once he puts him down. Xaden obliges, and Tecarus apologizes to Violet. The negotiations for the luminary begin.

They agree to offer Tecarus the weapons they will be able to create with his luminary, saying they will put it to use supplying his drifts with the weaponry they need for the venin he cannot capture without it. Tecarus also wants them to take the hundred flier cadets he has given shelter to after their academy was destroyed back to Aretia along with the luminary. They agree, so long as the fliers take crossbolts with them.

Chapter 43

Violet and the others have been hiking the Cliffs of Dralor with the fliers they promised to bring back to Aretia. They have already delivered the luminary to an offshoot of the valley above Aretia where the new forge is located. Brennan has asked them to hike along a risky path so that their dragons can fly patrol. He also pairs the flying squads of Basgiath with drifts from Aretia to make the assent, hoping that they will gain some mutual ground and build a partnership. Violet is paired up with Cat’s drift.

Specifically, she is paired up with Maren, Cat’s best friend, as they make their daunting hike. Maren admits she was happy Cat and Xaden broke up. Sloane chimes into the conversation, saying that Liam didn’t like Cat himself, being Xaden’s foster-brother and all. Sloane tells Violet that she doesn’t hate her, and that she is now reading through Liam’s October letters.

Violet learns that at Aretia’s war college, the fliers jump off the edge of a cliff onto their gryphons to be chosen. There is no danger in this initiation, because if they miss, they simply fall into a river below, and they are assigned a different branch of the military instead.

Later, the group comes upon a pressure trigger, which sends out arrows, but not from a direction they will know (much like a booby trap). They will therefore have to clear a gap of about five to six feet to be safe from this trap, and they will have to do so from an unforgiving ledge. This is when Violet gets the idea to shove a sword into the rock ledge and use it as a buoy to help them clear the danger zone (just like she had done at the Gauntlet in the previous novel).

The riders and flyers use this sword to launch themselves across the trap to safety. However, as a flyer named Luella dives over the gap, she misses her mark and lands in Violet’s arms. The groups starts to slide down the ledge, and a rider named Visia grabs onto Violet as well. Now holding two girls in her arms, Visia falls out of Violet’s grasp, and her gryphon, Cibbelair, plucks her out of the air and dumps her safely on the ledge. Luealla also falls out of Violet’s grasp, while Cibbelair looks to save her as well. Meanwhile, Ridoc has been pierced by arrows from the trap.

Chapter 44

Violet is unable to hold onto Luella, and Cibbelair is unable to catch her. Since gryphons die with their fliers, Cibbelair will die too. Dain pops Violet’s shoulder back into place, which fell out of its socket while she attempted to hold the two girls up. As Cibbelair dies, a wyvern snatches the gryphon in its mouth, flying away. 

The riders and flyers run in a panic at this, and Violet hops on Tairn’s back. They plan on keeping the wyvern distracted from the others for as long as possible. Then, Violet is able to take out four of the wyvern by forcing her lightning downward to the clouds below, lighting them up like branches on a tree, which allows the lightning to twist and turn as it is drawn to the energy harnessed within the wyvern.

Despite this victory, Violet and her friends realize the venin already know where they are at the moment—this is because venin share a collective consciousness with the wyvern they create. The venin will likely be coming for them now. 

Chapter 45

Major Devera calls out the death roll for the riders and fliers who have been fighting to fortify the villages along the Stonewater River. They have been fighting to try to divert the venin’s attention away from the valley in Aretia, where four new dragons have hatched. Violet is thankful when Mira’s name is not called. 

Tensions are high between Violet’s squad and the gryphon riders, as several of them still blame Violet for Luella’s death, believing she chose to save her fellow rider instead of their own flier. Cat, especially, has been antagonizing Violet, with antics such as wearing scanty clothing when she comes to fetch Xaden from their room.

Later on, the riders and fliers join Professor Trissa for a lesson on Runes. She explains how they’re strands of magic pulled from an individual’s power, woven into geometric patterns for specific uses, which are then placed into an object, either for immediate work or usage at a later date. This process is called ‘tempering.’

She explains that a wielder can temper a rune using as much or as little power as they choose, then place it into something, like wood, metal, or whatever object the wielder chooses. The rune can then activate when triggered and perform whatever action it was tempered for. Unlike alloys, which solely house raw power, runes are tempered with power for a specific action.

She then teaches them how to separate a strand of their power to create the rune, which is the most complicated step to learn. She explains how power can be shaped, and that every shape has meaning, and that the point where you tie the power changes that meaning. The shapes can also be combined to layer the meanings, and therefore change the rune. For example, when shapes are combined, they can inform whether the rune will activate immediately, or sit in a suspended state, or inform how many times it can activate before the rune depletes.

She says that runes are only limited to how much power you choose to temper, how long you want it to last, and how many uses it has before it depletes. She claims that if one were to get good enough at runes, they could compete with a fair amount of signets. 

For the lesson, she assigns the riders and fliers the task of creating a simple unlocking rune. Before sunset, Violet manages to weave an unlocking rune, but she is not the first to be successful—Cat is, much to her ire.

Chapter 46

A few days later, Xaden and Violet talk about runes. Violet learns that he put an unlocking rune into her dagger, and that’s how she was able to escape the interrogation chamber some time ago. He explains that he put an element of need into the rune, so that she couldn’t just walk up to any door and open it just because she wanted to—only if the dagger was on her body and she had the need for a door to unlock, would it do so.

She asks Xaden about the rune on the stone he keeps on his bed. He explains that it’s a protection rune, but it was only intended to be used once. He says that this particular rune was designed to counter the signet of the rider whose dragon would kill them, and it could only activate when the rider was going to be killed by dragonfire. Xaden had held this when his parents were executed, and this is why the rebellion relics starts on his and the other marked ones’ arms.

Later on, Professors Devera and Emetterio bring the riders and flyers into Aretia’s sparring gym. In an attempt to better integrate the two groups and have them blow off some steam, they tell them that this is their one chance to challenge one another. After this day, each squad of riders will absorb one drift of fliers, and they will become squadmates. Since challenges between squadmates are against the Codex, this truly is their one and only chance.

Several of the fliers challenge the riders in Violet’s squad, culminating in Cat challenging Violet herself. Violet feels confident in her abilities to defeat Cat, but as she spars with her, she quickly figures out that Cat has been trained by Xaden, too.

Chapter 47

Cat taunts Violet as they spar, asking if it bothers her that Xaden had taught her first and that she had had him first. She also claims that she’s not fighting Violet over affection for Xaden, but rather, she is going to war with Violet for a crown, and this was the reason she and Xaden were previously engaged. Violet retaliates out of anger, and before long, she realizes that she’s been succumbing to Cat’s signet once again, which amplifies her emotions. 

Violet nearly chokes Cat to death in her rage, but Xaden is able to disengage her at the last moment and pull her away. Violet’s lightning strikes out in her anger, much to the fear of the other cadets. Xaden brings Violet away to the assembly room, clearing it out for the two of them to be alone.

Chapter 48

Xaden sits Violet up on his father’s throne chair and performs oral sex on her, giving her multiple orgasms. He says that he needed her to see that he’s more than capable of worshiping her body without reciprocation, and that she’s not just a convenient placeholder for him to have sex with, as Cat had said whens he was taunting Violet on the sparring mat. 

He explains to her that he was betrothed to Cat, rather than engaged, and that they had tried it out for nearly a year but were not compatible. 

Xaden then points out that Violet was enraged, jealous, and felt inferior out on the sparring mat, and that Cat didn’t create these feelings in her, but rather amplified what was already there. He asks her to be honest with him, and tries to show her that she has nothing to be jealous of and no reason to feel inferior to Cat. 

He then tells her that the daggers he gave her—the ones with the intertwined Vs—-are runed to protect Violet from Cat’s signet, and he tells her to keep them on her until she finds her feet so that Cat can’t mess with her emotions anymore.

Chapter 49

Violet’s squad hands out patches to the gryphon fliers since they are officially members of the squadron now. She is also getting better at managing her anger and jealousy towards Cat with the help of Xaden’s daggers. 

Later, Violet runs to the library to study some of the books Tecarus had sent back with her and Xaden after a weapons run the day before. She is not adept at translating Krovlish, so she enlists Dain’s help. The tensions are still high between them, and she asks him if he had stolen her memories every time he touched her face during their first year at Basgiath together. While Dain denies this, he still apologizes to her, admitting he had screwed up and trusted his dad when he should’ve trusted her judgment instead. He acknowledges that this will still not do anything to bring Liam back.

Violet asks that they do not talk about Liam and Soleil again, at least not until she has more distance. She does ask him, however, if he can help her translate the Krovlish books, and he agrees to help her for half an hour each day.

Chapter 50

A week later, Violet Tairns with Felix on better aiming and controlling her signet. He tells her to strike the conduit, holding it mere inches away from Violet’s fingers. Violet argues that this would kill him, but he tells her to summon her power anyways, and instead of letting the conduit have it all, to cut off the energy herself. 

She manages to successfully send small strands of lighting to the center of the conduit. Felix then slowly draws the conduit away from her, telling her to let her energy flow in a trickle, rather than a flood. Violet is able to maintain this for a while, until her power bursts through and she must redirect a powerful lightning strike up and away from Felix to a mountain ridge some thirty feet up. Felix challenges her to improve the control she was able to maintain with the orb beforehand but at a larger distance—15 feet by the next Monday.

Once the lesson is over, Violet learns that the venin and wyvern have taken Pavis, which is only an hour’s flight east of Draithus. It seems that this is their staging point for Draithus, and it becomes obvious that they are coming for them.

Chapter 51

Violet finds Xaden sitting atop a defensive turret eating cake. He is worried about their enemies, claiming that they are outmatched and spread too thin to be anything but a nuisance to them. He tells her that he had killed a venin at Pavis, and that her sister, Mira, had ordered him off the battlefield because she couldn’t risk him getting killed because of how close he is with Violet. 

Later, Violet and Dain are working on translating the Krovlish books in the library when she realizes that they have been mistranslating the word “blood,” and that it should be “breath,” instead. This leads her to the realization of how they can raise the wards. She is unsure if they should, however.

Chapter 52

Reagan opens up her home to Violet’s squad at Rhiannon’s request, and this helps ease some of the tension between the riders and the flyers. Violet tells the group that she’s been translating Warrick’s journal, and that she thinks she knows how to raise the wards in Aretia. In order to raise the wards, however, it will mean that the fliers will no longer be able to wield. 

She wants to give the fliers the choice, therefore, as to whether they want to stay in Aretia—-without the ability to channel—or if they want to risk sheltering in Cordryn instead, where they can still channel, but will be more exposed to the venin. She also says that if they stay, they will give them weapons to defend themselves, like Maorsite, a powerful explosive they’ve made by imbuing an ore. 

Six days later, the squads organize in the now-snowy valley, awaiting the squad exercises Professors Devera and Trissa have organized. They have hidden thirty summoning runes within twenty miles along the western range near the valley. It’s not only a test for the riders, but for their dragons to be able to sense them. They say the winner will get a weekend pass, with no training or homework. The riders and fliers are divided up into groups of four according to their abilities.

As they embark on this mission, Garrick lets slip that Xaden had taken down a venin outside of Draithus. Xaden also finds out that Violet knows how to raise the wards. She tells him that the six most powerful beings referred to in Warick’s journal was about dragons, not riders. Xaden wants to raise the wards now, but Violet tells him that he can’t just yet, because he will need Tairn.

Chapter 53

Forty minutes later, Violet, Sloane, Visia, and Cat are hiking down a steep, snow-covered ridgeline to a cave only accessible by foot in the sector their group has been assigned to. 

Once they are in the cave, Cat lights a torch using Violet’s conduit. The group detects an energy signature in the cave, and go searching for the rune that is presumably emitting it. They find a metal chest, which is locked into an open position by a rune on the front of it. 

As Cat counters the summoning rune, a full-grown dragon attacks them. It swats Visia out of the way with its claw, and Violet believes she dies as she smacks against the cave wall. As it prepares to incinerate them, Violet tells Tairn that Solas has found them.

Chapter 54

Andarna rushes into the cave to save Violet and the others from Solas’s dragon fire, shielding them with her wings. Once Solas’s flames die down, Andarna attacks him, but Solas bats her away easily. Violet then flings her daggers at Solas, and is able to injure him for a long enough moment for Sloane and Cat to escape.

Solas then swipes at Violet with his claw, and she falls over, cutting herself on the glass from the conduit, which has now broken into four jagged prongs upon the ground.

Meanwhile, Cat has not escaped but has returned to shoot arrows at Solas, and the dragon rears back in pain, momentarily distracted. This allows Violet to grab the shards of the conduit and run to attack Solas with it. She is able to shove the prongs into the soft joint between his scales just as Andarna sinks her teeth between his neck and shoulder. Violet then wields her lightning into the conduit’s shards. 

Solas roars and swings his tail around, catching Violet in the stomach, sending her flying and breaking her stream of lightning. She is quickly dragged away from the cave. 

Cat continues to fire arrows at Solas, while Andarna flies free, taking a chunk of Solas with her. Tairn arrives as well, and Violet hears a dragon scream in the cave, then fall silent. Sloane, meanwhile, realizes she has drained Violet, and worries that she is turning venin. Violet reassures her that she has not turned venin, and that her signet has only manifested—she is a siphon. Violet realizes that Andarna has killed Solas.

Later, Xaden bursts into their room as a healer finishes checking on Violet. He tells her she’ll be alright, and that she merely has a lump on the back of her head, and to mind the stitches on her hand. 

Xaden gets angry with Violet for having saved Cat back at the cave. Violet claims she saved her because Cat is in the line of succession to the Poromiel throne. Xaden is frustrated with this, claiming that he is both trying to respect Violet’s freedom and keep her safe, which she is making hard for him to do. He wants to know if she is finally ready to ask him about the deal he made with her mother.

Chapter 55

Violet is shocked that Xaden knew that she knew about his deal with her mother. She is angry that he let her stew on it for months, and Xaden is angry that she didn’t ask him about it. Violet wants to know how she supposed to know what to ask him, and that she had already asked him about this last year. Xaden accuses Violet of not having actually forgiven him for keeping her in the dark about his activities the previous year. 

He then claims that Violet was scared to confront him about the deal he made with her mother. Violet admits that she was worried that Xaden only kept her alive those first few months before Threshing because he had made a deal with her mother, and not because she was impressed by her or attracted to her. 

So, Violet decides to do away with her fears and test Xaden with a real question now. She asks him what his second signet is. She knows he has one because Sgaeyl was bonded to his grandfather, which makes him a direct descendant to someone his dragon has bonded with—when this occurs, the rider will either gain a second signet or succumb to madness.

At this moment, Brennan pounds at the door, announcing that a horde of wyvern have been spotted flying from Pavis toward the cliffs.

Chapter 56

Brennan, Violet, Xaden and Rhiannon make their way up to the top of a hill to meet with the other members of the Assembly. On their way, Violet worries about whether the wardstone will work or not. She can feel energy from it, which somewhat reassures her, and she knows that she, Dain, and Xaden have put a lot of time into imbuing it, so it at least holds some power.

She tells Brennan that the stone needs to be activated by a dragon of each den, and that their dragonfire triggers the embedded runes. Since Warrick and Lyra would’ve likely had more than enough dragons to create multiple wardstones, she wonders why they only created two during their time.

She then asks Tairn how Andarna is doing, and Tairn informs her that she’s been questioned by the elders for killing Solas, and that her actions were found justifiable. However, to slay another dragon is a heavy mark upon the soul, even in defense of yourself or a rider—this is why Tairn only took Solas’s eye earlier instead of killing him.

Once one dragon from each den is gathered up, the six dragons exhale their fire together to activate the stone. The stone doesn’t change, however, leaving them to wonder if this has actually worked.

Later, Violet and Tairn fly to a cliff to get a good vantage point for spotting wyvern. Sgaeyl and Xaden land next to them, and Violet is still frustrated with Xaden for not answering her question about his second signet. Xaden says Violet will immediately fall out of love with him once she knows what it is. Violet tries to guess at what it is, and she learns that he is an inntinnsic. Xaden clarifies that he is a specific type of inntinnsic, in that he can only read intentions—he cannot read thoughts, but the subconscious motivations that precede them.

Violet asks him how many times he has read her intentions, and that if he only said things that she had wanted to hear. Xaden accuses her of already falling out of love with him. Violet tells him that her love isn’t fickle, and she will have several more questions for him. At that moment, the wyvern attack. 

Seventeen venin, or dark wielders, show up on a horde of wyvern that rivals the riot Violet had brought with her to Aretia. When the wyvern cross the invisible wardstone barrier, several of them go limp and fall to their deaths. The wards have presumably worked.

Now, Violet and Xaden make their way to the Assembly chamber. They learn that Melgren has asked to meet with them tomorrow. He wants to meet with the leader of their movement, along with Violet and Mira, and asks that no more than two marked ones be allowed to meet. 

A woman named Syrena then shows Violet that she can still wield lesser magic, which means that something is still wrong with the wards they raised.

Chapter 57

On their way to meet with Melgren at Athebyne, Violet presses Xaden on his second signet, asking him if he ever used it to glean information or to influence her feelings in any way. Xaden denies doing this, but their bond has made it too easy for her to send her intentions to him without even realizing it. She asks if he still uses the signet on her, but he says he stopped the moment she was more to him than just the general’s daughter and when he realized the harm Dain had done with his own signet.

They meet with Melgren and Violet’s mom at the edge of a forest, bringing Brennan and Ulices along from the Assembly with them. Melgren chastises them for dropping wyvern on the outposts, accusing them of nearly tearing down centuries of work and a tightly woven defensive strategy designed to protect the people within their borders. Mira points out that they don’t protect anyone outside of their borders, however. Ulices tries to dismiss the meeting, but Melgren tells them the wyvern and venin are going to overrun them at Samara. 

Violet’s mother also criticizes her, upset that she took half the riot to Aretia, which she claims may very well be the reason they lose this upcoming battle. Brennan steps in and says they will not defend kingdoms who sacrifice neighboring civilians, let alone their children, so they can safely hide behind their wards. At this moment, Violet’s mom learns that it is Brennan speaking to her, and that he is, in fact, still alive. Brennan ends the meeting, saying that their hatching grounds are not in danger, and that their riot has their own to protect now. He has effectively denied their truce.

Violet’s mom requests to meet with her daughters alone, however. She tells them that whatever wards they’ve raised from the instructions in Warrick’s journal will fail, and that the wyvern are being created with stone runes. She advises them to fix their wards, and hands Violet Lyra’s journal—the same one she had been tortured over. 

Violet and Myra locate a pair of wyvern carcasses and carve out a runestone from one of them. The stone hums, and Violet thinks this may be why the wyvern have been suddenly reappearing—-someone may have given the venin runes. One of the wyvern carcasses reanimates, and Violet quickly kills it with her lightning.

They now need to figure out what Warrick lied about in his journal in order to get the wardstone to be truly working properly.

Chapter 58

Violet has been pleading with Brennan to reconsider the Assembly’s position on helping Melgren defend Samara. Xaden returns after being sent to monitor Draithus after their return from Athebyne. 

Violet makes a rule with Xaden that they don’t keep any more secrets, and that she doesn’t have to ask him to find out the truth. There must be full disclosure between them from now on. Xaden agrees. He needs to know that she won’t run and that she will never have to. Violet promises that she will stay with him no matter what. 

Xaden then explains the backstory behind his second signet. He says it showed up about a month after the shadows did, and that he lied to professor Carr when he asked Xaden if he’d had any other strange abilities emerge. Since they thought Xaden’s great uncle had bonded Sgaeyl (and not his grandfather), they had no reason to believe he’d develop a second signet, as second signets only occur in riders who are a direct descendants of their dragons’ former riders; related family members only get unusually strong signets.

During battle brief, the cadets want to know why they are not engaging with the wyvern preparing to attack Samara. Brennan tells them that the Assembly voted against fighting, since the casualty rate among riders and fliers would be far too great. He asks them what they would do right now if they were Melgren. During this conversation, Violet comes to a revelation.

She storms out of battle brief to the Assembly, believing that Samara is just a distraction, and that the wyvern and venin are waiting for all of the wards to fall before attacking. She believes they are not going to attack Samara, but Basgiath, during the winter solstice. She tells Xaden they have to fight and defend Basgiath, that if they don’t go, they are no better than they are, leaving their civilians to die. Xaden says he will bring it to the Assembly, and if they don’t support them going to war, they will simply take whoever will come with them to defend Basgiath.

Chapter 59

Cat and Maren are upset that they cannot come with Violet and the others to Basgiath. This is because as soon as they cross Navarrian wards, they won’t be able to wield any longer, making them vulnerable to the wyvern and venin. Xaden arrives and informs them that the Assembly will not be going to war for Basgiath, so they will be on their own.

Later, Violet arrives in Basgiath after eighteen hours of flying, touching ground in the courtyards. Her mother comes down the steps to greet her, Mira, and Xaden. Violet says they need to get to the wards, but her mom insists they are fine. Still, she agrees to go with them to inspect the wards. 

The group arrives at the wards to find the people guarding them have been murdered. They find the wardstone on fire, with a dragon lurking behind it. Baide greets them, being ridden by Jack Barlowe. Her mother attacks, but is swept aside. Baide collects the wardstone, but Jack stabs Baide in the neck. He then extinguishes the flames on the wardstone as he collects it himself. Violet flicks a dagger at Jack, and Jack fumbles the wardstone. It comes crashing down and cracks. The wards of Basgiath have now officially fallen.

Chapter 60

Jack is still alive, but will soon die because he killed his own dragon. Xaden tries to get information out of him, and he is able to deduce that Jack has turned venin. He has been a venin since before he challenged Violet the previous year. 

Jack claims he has already shown the other venin the way into Basgiath and has been planting weapons inside of the war college for some time now. He reaches out to imbue several stones, but Dain charges at him, grabbing a hold of him to see his memories. Jack begins to drain Dain, but Xaden knocks him out before he can do any more damage. Dain is injured, and they ask Nolon to mend him. Nolon tells him they have 119 cadets ready to fight, and the rest have been sent to midland posts and Samara. Having seen Jack’s memories, Dain says that this is not enough.

A half hour later, they have gathered everyone at Basgiath for battle brief. Dain announces that the venin know exactly where they are because Jack Barlowe had planted lures all over the college and up the path to the Vale. They make plans for battle, and Violet and her sister argue with their mother about strategy. Violet, in particular, insists that they don’t abandon the wardstone during this fight.

Later, when Violet is alone with Xaden, they are nearly tempted to run away together. They try to hastily make love, but are interrupted by a pounding at their door. Brennan shows up, saying that the fliers are going to go hunt for the lures Jack Barlowe has planted. She asks Brennan if he can mend the broken wardstone.

Chapter 61

The riders in Violet’s squad stand on the ridgeline above the main campus of Basgiath, preparing to defend the airspace above the wardstone. Violet’s mother whips up a storm in order to imbue her with her signet powers.

As a massive horde of wyvern appear, Violet releases her powers. Using her mother’s storm to her advantage, she kills several wyvern at once. However, the horde adjusts, flying away from the storm clouds, and so Violet must resort to summoning power from her conduit instead. She is able to kill a venin and its accompanying wyvern this way. Despite the success, the venin have only sent in their first wave to probe for weaknesses.

Later on, while Violet is in the thick of battle, a venin jumps from its wyvern’s neck onto Tairn’s. He says that Violet is the one his leader wants, the one called Sage. Before he can attack her, Rhiannon flies in swiftly, jumping from her dragon, Feirge, onto Tairn’s back.

Chapter 62

Rhiannon fights the venin, and the venin kicks her, causing her to skid backwards along Tairn’s scales. Violet grabs her and presses a dagger into her hand. Then, she pulls out her crossbow and strikes the venin with an arrow just before Tairn banks hard to the right. The venin falls to its death, and Rhiannon safely jumps back onto Ferige’s back.

Later on, Violet notices a wyvern is attacking Sawyer and his dragon, Sliseag. Sawyer tries to kick the beast away, but it bites off his leg. Violet rushes in to help, jumping on Ridoc’s dragon’s back, who is doing all he can to dislodge the wyvern from Sliseag. She hands Ridoc her crossbow, telling him to fire it once she is on Sliseag herself. 

Violet then hops onto Sliseag and grabs the injured Sawyer. She then tells Ridoc to fire the arrow at the wyvern. She and Ridoc tumble down Sliseag’s back and into the open air, and Tairn catches them. While in the air, Tairn tells her that her brother has mended the wardstone, but does not feel hopeful about it. Violet is able to get Sawyer to the ground and into the hands of the healers. 

But twenty feet behind her, a venin stands atop a cliff. The dark wielder slowly approaches her, and Cat runs to her aid. The venin says he doesn’t care about Cat, but that he is under orders not to kill Violet. Cat uses her signet to spin up the venin’s emotions. 

A new venin joins the approaching one, who is called Wynn. This new venin throws out a hand and knocks Cat to the ground. Violet wields her lightning and kills the venin named Wynn. The new venin then uses his magic to destroy Violet’s conduit and lift Violet off her feet, choking her as he suspends her in midair.

At that moment, Andarna moves from where she was hidden against the cliffs and attacks.

Chapter 63

Andarna roasts the dark wielder and rips his head off his body. Tairn then tells Violet that Melgren has summoned them to the vale. Xaden also arrives, clarifying that he has only summoned them, and not the whole squad. Together, they walk through the halls of Basgiath, where several wounded infantry and riders sit against the wall near one of the entrances. 

In the center of the courtyard, the leadership is meeting. Jesinia finds Violet there, saying she thinks she has found the difference between Lyra’s journal and Warrick’s journal, and that Lyra’s journal contains lies in it. She tells Violet that she thinks it’s seven dragons that are needed to activate the wardstones, and not six. Violet argues that there are only six dens of dragons, however (black, blue, green, orange, brown, and red). 

Violet then realizes how she can raise the wardstone. Meanwhile, Tairn informs her that the venin leader has arrived. She pleads with her mother to go down to the wardstone with her and to help her imbue it. She believes this is their only chance to defeat the second wave of wyvern and venin coming to attack them. 

Xaden says he is going to buy Viole the time she needs, and that the venin and wyvern will not attack yet, because they are waiting specifically for him.

Chapter 64

Before she goes to reactivate the wardstone, Violet asks Xaden if he is okay with her activating the wardstone in Basgiath, rather than the one at his home in Aretia. He tells her you ward wherever you are, which is here. Violet protests, concerned for his home, but he tells her that she is his home now.

Later, Brennan hands her the mended wardstone, and Violet channels her power into it, just like she had done with her conduit in the past. She notes that the stone can hold power, but they don’t have enough riders who can imbue it with them. Brennan says he will have his dragon, Marbh, put the word out. 

Meanwhile, Violet communicates with Andarna. Andarna says she waited six hundred and fifty years to hatch, all the way until Violet’s eighteenth summer, when she heard the elders talk of the weakling daughter of their general, the girl forecasted to become the head of the scribes, and that’s when she knew it was time to hatch. Since Violet would have the mind of a scribe and the heart of a rider, she knew she would be hers. After this, Violet reveals that Andarna is not  a black dragon, or any of the six dens they know of, but that she is a seventh breed. 

Violet returns to imbuing the wardstone, giving it all the power she can muster, willing to drain herself completely and die to power it. Violet’s mom shows up with Brennan, however, and kicks her away from the stone. Then, she puts Sloan’s hand on the stone, allowing Sloane to siphon her own powers into it. 

As soon as her power (or, more accurately, her dragon Aismir’s power) lives within the stone, she instructs Violet to fire it, which will raise the wards. Brennan and Violet try to stop their mother from doing this, but it’s too late—-she gives all her power to the wardstone and promptly dies because of it. Andarna then lights it, and it blazes with an iron fire once again. The wards have been activated once again.

Chapter 65

Wyvern bodies fall all around the battlefield, now that the Basgiath wards have been reactivated. Violet moves through the battlefield to make her way to Tairn and Sgaeyl. Xaden is standing over the body of a venin he has killed. He says that she should be scared of him. Violet notices a small ring of red in his eyes.

Chapter 66

Xaden recounts his experience with the venin leader, the one called the Sage. The Sage had told him that he must turn to their side if he wants to save Violet, and that if he fails to do so, he would wrap his hands around her delicate little neck. 

In Xaden’s fury, he holds the venin in the air through magic, and feels a deep power consuming him. Sgaeyl shrieks against this, saying that she chose him. But Xaden says that Violet chose him too. He jolts upright in bed, realizing he was having a nightmare. Violet is sleeping next to him.

He walks down to the holding cells, where Jack Barlowe is waiting for him. Xaden asks him what the cure for his condition is, to which Jack responds that cures are for diseases, and that what they have is power instead. Xaden says he will never become one of them, but Jack says that he already is one of them, and welcomes him to their messed up family.

Xaden is a venin.