“Secrets make for poor leverage. They die with the people who keep them.”
REVIEW
Would I read it again? Yes No Maybe
Spice Level Legend How spicy is this book?
SUMMARY
TL/DR Part 1: Xaden and Violet have communication problems. General Aetos and Major Varrish set out to murder everyone who was at Resson, with great success. Violet shuts out all of her friends and is not handling her emotions very well. Violet does research on how to activate the wardstone that's at Aretia. Vi finally tells her friends what is really going on, they help her break into the Archives to get a journal. She is taken captive by Varrish, who tortures her for 5 days. Dain redeems himself by helping her escape. Xaden shows up, they (along with half of the Riders Quadrant) escape to Aertia.
TL/DR Part 2: They are now at Aertia. Violet attempts to raise the wards once, fails. Flies off to Tecarus to get the luminary, she does, and also gets 100 fliers. Venin are getting closer to Aertia. Andarna finally wakes up, her scales seem to take on whatever color she is around, shes always black but with hints of other colors. They find Solas in a cave, Andarna kills him, as a scorpion tail. General Melgren comes, asks for help. They refuse. Violet realizes Xaden has a second signet - he can read intentions. They realize that the Venin are going for Basgaith and the Vale, so they go to help. Jack Fucking Barlowe is a venin, he kills his own dragon and brings down the wards. Sawyer gets his leg bitten off, iolet almost burns out, Mama Sorrengail sacrifices herself, Andarna is the 7th species of dragon, they raise the wards. Xaden takes from the ground, kills the Sage, now he has red-rimmed eyes.
Part 1 Recap
Chapter 1: Brennan is alive. Assembly of the leaders of the rebellion gather. Most of them think that Violet is a threat and should be confined. One of them says: Viscount Tecarus isn’t over the insult Xaden delivered last summer. Imogen says that Xaden has already taken responsibility for Violet. Andarna is still sleeping.
Chapter 2: Naolin, the dude who burnt himself out trying to save Brennan, was Tairn’s previous rider. Brennan’s reasoning for staying away is dumb. He was injured, once he healed, he refused to go home and fly for Navarre after knowing they were lying to their people and letting innocent people die. He refused to talk to his mother and listen to her reasoning.
Venin come out of the Barrens, sucking the land dry of magic, moving on. Wyvern, two breeds, one that produces blue fire and a faster one that breathes green fire. Wyvern created by venin, they channel power into wyvern.
Iron box found in Resson is Navarrian, Brennan thinks it's a lure.
Aretia has a wardstone that is dormant. Luminary would intensify dragonfire hot enough to smelt alloy into weapons to kill venin. Vi wants to figure out how to fire up the wardstone to enable wards.
Something killed off the venin six hundred years ago in the Great War.
Andarna is huge now…and black..she can no longer stop time and she is mouthy as fuck.
They need to go back to Basgaith or they run the risk of them killing marked ones.
Chapter 3: First Six Riders were desperate to save their people when they approached the dragons six hundred years ago. Those dragons formed the first Empyrean.
They make it back to Basgiath. Vi gets the letters from Liam's room that he wrote to his sister, and gives them to Rhi for safe keeping. Xaden tells her he will tell her anything she asks about HIM but that he will always have secrets because he is leading a revolution. Which is perfectly logical but not to Violet. As they come out to the courtyard, they are announcing the deaths of Garrick and Xaden and Xaden yells “this is awkward”.
Chapter 4: Xaden goes onto the dias, tells Aetos, Sorrengial and Panchek that they were attacked by gryphons and that 2 of them died, and Violet almost did. Mama Sorrengial believes Violet and tells them to get back into formation. Aetos gets up in Xaden’s face and was like we both know you weren’t attacked by gryphons and Xaden’s like ok, well we can tell everyone the truth? Which obviously he doesn’t want to do.
Dain is happy to see Vi and she tells him not to touch her. Xaden also warns him not to ever touch her and then is like she chose me, everyone knows it, deal with it.
Chapter 5: Xaden is leaving for his outpost - the front lines. Aetos meets them in the courtyard with their new vice commandant, Major Varrish, and gives them their missives. They are only allowed to travel to see each other every seven days for 2 days. Tairn and Sgaeyl are never apart for more than 3 days. Aeto says “Secrets make for poor leverage. They die with the people who keep them.”
Chapter 6: Xaden leaves; Rhi gets promoted to squad leader, Dain to wingleader
Chapter 7: We find out about a second year class, Rider Survival Course (RSC). Basically, teaches riders how to survive torture. Vi asks Jesinia for some books on the founding of Basigaith so she can try and figure out the wards.
Chapter 8: Conscription Day. Cam, or Aaric Graycastle, King Tauri’s third son. His older brother died during Threshing (at the hands of Xaden) three years ago. King doesn’t know he's there. Sloane, Liam’s sister is there, she hates Vi, blames her for Liam’s death. Both go into Vi’s squad, thanks to Dain. When the wingleaders dragons, plus Varrish’s, show up, we got runners. Varrish’s dragon, orange daggertail with one eye, Solas, goes to toast them, but aims a little bit at Violet’s squad. Most of the Second squad ducks, but the Third squad didn’t hear and most get torched. Another person starts running, Solas opens his mouth again, and then Tairn is there. He threatens him, “I will devour his human whole and let him rot within me while his heart still beats, and then I’ll take the eye I so graciously left him.”
Chapter 9/10: Vi starts running every morning with Imogen, making Rhi suspicious. Rhi shares concern she thinks the school is hiding stuff from them. She took someone to see Nolan, the mender, and he looks awful. Varrish told her not to ask questions, and Nolan went back into a guarded room in the back of the infirmary.
During assessment day, Sloane tries to challenge Violet, someone says Violet's last name, and a big dude (that threw someone off the parapet on Conscription Day) comes up, and Nadine jokingly says she is Violet, and the big dude snaps her neck. Violet and him start fighting, he gets on top of her and is choking her and she notices that his eyes are rimmed in red as if he's on something. He leans down and says "secrets die with the people who keep them”. Violet ends up killing him, and spends the rest of the day covered in his blood. When she gets back to her room, Xaden is there. They talk for a bit, but he has to leave with Bodhi on a weapons run, but he gives Violet a letter. He's been writing her letters since they are apart.
Chapter 11: Jesina shows up at the Riders Quad to ask Vi for some help translating a dead language. They see a second year being dragged by two riders and Prof Markham, Jes says that might be her fault because she has to record every request, and that kid just requested something yesterday.
Vi gets a letter from Mira, with half of it blacked out. Someone read her letter and redacted it.
Varrish shows up on the flight field, wondering where Andarna is. He says he expects to see her next week. Then says “Ironic, don’t you think?...your father was writing a book on feathertails - dragons which haven’t been seen in hundreds of years - and then you ended up bonded to one.”
Bodhi and Vi are walking out so she can leave, Bodhi lets slip Cat’s name. Saying he has never seen Xaden care like this about anybody, not even Cat.
He wants her to forget he said that because he doesn’t want his ass kicked next week since he’s sore from fending off another assassination attempt. He’s been jumped twice in the bathroom that week. Varrish shows up before Vi can leave, searches her bag. Bodhi tells her that Imogen and Eya were also attacked today.
Chapter 12: Reminder that Sgaeyl was bonded to Xaden’s grandfather.
Violet arrives at the outpost where Xaden is. She doesn’t find him in his room, he is fighting for a weekend pass to be able to spend it with Violet. Him fighting turns her on, and she gives in to her feelings and kisses him. Xaden doesn’t want just sex, not this year, this year he wants her love. And he won’t fuck her unless she admits she still loves him. They've switched roles.
Alloy blades kill venin. They help boost the wards and extend them. More of them, stronger the wards. It only holds so much power, and then it has to be imbued again. A rider pours their power into it and it stores in the dagger. Aretia needs a forge to smelt the alloy to make more weapons. They need a luminary to intensify dragonflies to make it hot enough to smelt.
Chapter 13: Varrish has demanded Andarna to the flight field but she's supposed to be sleeping so she's unable to. Plus, no one knows she grew a shit ton. When she arrives back from seeing Xaden, Carr and Varrish are waiting. Varrish makes her do so many lightning strikes she almost burns out. Tairn makes them stop, Bodhi and Imogen help her back to her room. Vi hasn't told any of her friends what is going on.
They are watching the first years practice sparring. When they head to class, they get jumped. It's time for their first torture session for class.
Chapter 14: They are taken to the middle of the forest with minimal supplies, some infantry, a scribe, and a healer. Given some water spiked with something to cut off their communication with their dragons. They got lost and were wandering for 2 days. Vi missed Xaden. One of the infantry got killed by Jack Barlowe's dragon.
16: The second year that was being dragged off was found dead, beaten, in his room.
Vi asks Jesinia how come she never got questioned when she asked for the fable book last year. Jesinia did not record it. She felt it was weird it was not in the archives. She's also not recording what Vii is asking for this year. Vi tells her she needs to know how the first 6 built the wards. She says she will help her, one book at a time.
Vi blackmails Sloane into training with Imogen. By holding Liam's letters hostage.
17: Bodhi has been changing their flight times so that Varrish doesn’t notice that Andarna is not there. Rhi gets a letter from home saying there are flyers floating around saying “Beware of strangers seeking shelter. In this time of unprecedented violations of our sovereign borders, we count on you, our border villages, to be our eyes and ears. Our safety depends on your vigilance. Do not take in strangers. Your kindness could kill.” Prof Markham takes the missive from her and tells Battle Brief about how people seeking shelter might just be trying to steal their shit and kill them. He says the same people distributing these are also saying dragons are destroying villages. Vi knows its wyvern and not dragons and she knows that Markham knows it too. She gets so pissed she runs out at the end of class, and lets lightning off in the courtyard. Then she runs to the Archives but she doesn’t know why she ends up there. Jesinia is there and Vi ends up telling her that if she can’t find the right book about wards that people will die.
18: Xaden finally gets to visit. Vi is surrounded by books, both her own and some she borrowed from Jesinia. Xaden figures out what she is doing and gets pissed because he doesn’t want her risking her life. When he finds out she has a friend helping her in the Archives he gets even more pissed and says “There’s a reason we don’t fuck around int he Archives. That's the beating heart of the enemy.” He wants to meet Jesinia. Vi says you can’t just look at her and know if she's trustworthy and he replies “I’ll know. I’m an incredible judge of character.” FORESHADOWING Heading to the Archives, they find Nolan (mender) in the hallway. He says he is waiting for someone. Mending a soul is hard work, he’s been doing it for months now. Who was he waiting for? Caroline Ashton. Aka one of Jack Barlow’s close friends.
Xaden and Vi basically argue this whole chapter and he leaves. With the last things they said to each other in anger.
19: Varrish threatens to punish Vi again for Andarna not showing up and Tairn has fucking had it. He grabs Varrish’s dragon, Solas, around the neck, and threatens to kill him unless Varrish agrees there will be no punishment and remember that humans do not summon dragons.
20: Vi goes to Samara to see Xaden. Mira is now being stationed there. Vi almost tells her about everything. She questions her about wards.
Xaden wants her to start weaving Tyrrish knots.
21: Attack on Eastern Wing leaves Masen dead. He was also in Resson. Dain challenges Vi on the mat because he wants to talk to her. She tells him their friendship died the day he stole her memories and got Liam and Soleil killed. Dain swears he only told his dad because he saw a flash of a memory that Xaden and Bodhi went to Athebyne and second-years aren’t allowed to do that. He swears he didn’t know they would be attacked. He also doesn’t know about the venin. He tells Vi that her mom is to blame for the 107 scars on Xaden’s back. He didn’t touch her so he didn’t get anything. Rhi questions her, and puts together that the ones who went to Athebyne are now being targeted, she realizes they saw something they weren’t supposed to, Vi begs her to drop it. Aaric needs to be taken to the infirmary for a broken wrist and he admits to Vi that he knows what is going on and that's why he is there.
22: Xaden is taking Vi to the forge when they run into Varrish, Prof Grady, and Vi’s squad. It's their time to be taken. Xaden tells Vi that Varrish will use this opportunity to kill Vi for what Tairn did to his dragon. Vi says You can’t possibly know that and Xaden says “His intentions are pretty fucking clear. Trust me” FORESHADOWING
23: The squad is taken for interrogating aka beating the shit out of them to prepare them for torture. They bring Dain and Varrish says he is testing a theory before their friend arrives. Vi tells Xaden he needs to stay away. Dain tries to stand up for Vi and say she is injured so she shouldn’t be participating but Varrish doesn’t give a fuck.
24: Dain refuses to use his signet on Violet after she says No and he leaves the interrogation room. Varrish punches Vi’s dislocated shoulder so hard he knocks her unconscious and has to bring Nolan in to mend her. Nolan tells them that Varrish has extended their interrogation for another day and they better find a way out. Nolan goes out into the antechamber and tells Varrish that his other patient has spent the night in the infirmary again, that he thinks he's done all he can for him, and maybe Varrish can come see if his particular skills could be of us, tells him Vi will be sleeping off the mending for another hour. Using Sawyer’s signet, he melts the doors hinges and they get out into the antechamber. They get their weapons and realize the other door has a ward and they can’t get that unlocked. Vi is holding a Tyrrish dagger with the runes, and its tingling as it's close to the door, she bumps it against the door handle and it unlocks.
25: A scribe cadet walks by Vi with the hood up. That's weird she thinks since they aren’t usually in the quadrant. Train felt Sgaeyl get very angry last night. They find a sheet of parchment on their chairs in battle brief telling them that two days ago Zolya has fallen to the blue fire dragons. Third largest city, 10K people died, including the general of the Gryphon fleet. Everyone is questioning Vi if it's real and she said she isn’t sure. Prof Markham reads it and basically calls them all stupid for not being able to tell what's propaganda and he makes them all pass them to the front of the class. He then announces the return of someone who was crushed under a mountain but that Nolan has spent months mending. Fucking Jack Barlowe.
26: Prof Devera tells them that Samara was attacked yesterday evening. Devera looks at Vi and says one rider was severely wounded. Devera then scratches the left side of her neck before looking away. Vi immediately jumps up and heads out. Markham yells at her that she can’t leave but bye Felicia, she’s gone. Bodhi chases after her and gives her his flight jacket so she doesn't freeze.
27: When she lands, she immediately sees Mira and knows she is fine and goes off to find Xaden. He is sparring with Garrett. She still can’t get Tairn’s emotions out of her head. Xaden takes her into the showers and the cold shocks her enough she is able to build her shields back up. He questions how she is there early and then realizes she didn’t get leave but before he could get mad at that he says “Who the fuck’s flight jacket are you wearing?” He was wounded by the way but mended. They finally communicate the best way they know how - with sex.
28: Vi goes with Xaden to drop off some daggers across the wards to some gryphon riders, which happen to be Syrena and Cat. We learn that Viscount Tecarus wants to see Vi yield lightning and he’ll give up the luminary but Xaden says no. Xaden gives Vi an alloy dagger, because those are the daggers they can use against venin.
29: Prof Emetterio (gauntlet guy) gives Vi advice and to blame Tarin on the leave and suggests maybe Xaden should help her build her shields to block Tairn out. He says he doesn’t have “favored students” but then implies Vi and Xaden are two of them. Varrish and his thugs are waiting outside of her room when she gets back. If she’s caught with the dagger, it’ll be a shitshow. Prof Kaori is there and tells Varrish he will stay because all power must be kept in check and then says “I think you abuse your power in general.” Varrish checks her bag and her jacket but thanks to Rhi’s signet and Vi’s nonverbal skills, Rhi is able to summon the knife through the wall. Prof Kaori tells Varrish that he spoke with Panchek and told him that her very powerful, worried, mated dragon was clearly in charge of Vi’s decisions for leaving and she should be cleared of all charges, Panchek agreed, which SUPER pisses off Varrish. Since Rhi saved her ass with the dagger, Vi feels like she owes her the truth and tells her, Sawyer, and Ridoc what the dagger is for - killing venin.
30: Vi tells them everything - except for Aretia and Brennan. Rhi immediately wants to problem solve and Ridoc tells them he bets the First Six wrote about it in their journals. Lyra and Warricks journal are in a sublevel vault in the Archives according to a ledger Ridoc read in Vi’s moms office first year. They work with Jesinia and are able to read 4 times as fast with the 4 of them working. Imogen tells Quinn since Vi spilled the beans to her friends. Varrish has been doing whatever he can to keep Xaden and Vi apart- they've been able to fly to each other but the other is always off doing something.
At Threshing, Vi has to go take watch over the Burn Pit, Ridoc goes to Jesinia to get a tome, Rhi is doing squad leader stuff, and Sawyer is at Threshing. (Aaric bonds a Blue Clubtail and Sloane a Red Daggertail). At the Burn Pit, 4 Infantry soldiers arrive, paid for by Aetos to murder Vi. Vi manages to kill two of them, the girl (Eya - another marked rider who was in Resson) she was taking over for gets one before they get her. The other gets Vi and is dangling her over the edge of the turret before he gets stabbed in the spine by none other than Jack Fucking Barlowe.
31: Jack says he heard screams, he didn’t know who it was, but riders don’t die at the hands of Infantry. He tells her that you don't know who you really are until you face down Malek, he got a second chance, he gave Vi a second chance, they’re even. Then he leaves. Ridoc shows up and says Jesinia knows where the journals are - They’re in the royal sublevel vault. They need someone of royal blood to open the wards.
32: Vi tells Xaden who all knows now and they have a plan to break into the royal vault tonight. He is not happy. Aaric hates Xaden because Xaden killed his brother. They all head down to the Archives. Only Xaden, Aaric, Imogen, and Violet go into the Vault, everyone else stays out.
33: Aaric pulls only Violet through the wards surrounding the actual vault. While Xaden and Imogen are left outside of it. They find the tomes with just a few minutes to sprint their way all the way back to the door of the Archives but they all make it.
34: Quinn says her signet is stronger because her dragon was her great-aunts. “But she’s not a direct descendant, so I don’t have to worry about going mad like those whose dragons bond in the direct familial line”. Vi gives Xaden one of the journals and she is keeping the other. Xaden is leaving tonight because he won’t be expected to so he won’t get searched. Nolan appears and gives Vi something to drink - which she shouldn’t be so trusting. It has the signet blocking thing in it, along with something to knock her out.
35: “The only signet more terrifying than an inntinnsic is a truth-sayer. And yet we let them live.” Nora, one of Varrish’s thugs that beat up on Violet, is a truth-sayer.
Varrish lets Nolan try to get answers first but Violet answers every one truthfully - selective but truthful. Then Varrish starts torturing her when she won’t give him the answers he wants. Liam shows up, as a hallucination? Or is his spirit really there? It's up for debate. But they are forcing Vi to drink the signet blocking drink every day, so it can’t be her signet? Varrish says his signet is seeing peoples weaknesses. Varrish admits he is setting a trap for Xaden. He said “I’m sure you think he’s indestructible, but let me assure you, I was lucky enough to glimpse the most powerful rider of your generation fumble his shields like a novice once. It was for less than a second, but that was all I needed to see what it would take to shatter him. We’ll have all the information we need in a matter of days. You’re not the prize, Sorrengail. You’re the tool.”
Varrish breaks her. Nolan mends her. Liam never leaves. 5 days later, Varrish brings in Dain. Leadership is being called to the borders, there’s mayhem happening. Xaden deserted days ago, and they’ve started gathering the marked ones. Dain redeems himself (sortof, kinda, I’m still mad) and stabs Varrish and helps Violet out of the chair. He’s holding her up, and tells the Nora to move and he’ll let her live when another voice says “I make no such promises”.
36: Xaden and Garrick have arrived, Xaden kills Nora, and turns his weapons to Dain, but Vi stops him. Xaden helps Vi kill Varrish. Liam is still there but when she’s out of the cell, with Xaden, he tells her “But he didn’t break you, Violet” and takes steps backward into the shadows. Vi’s mom shows up. Tells them that she has been in Calldyr for the past week and just got back. She assumes Xaden is responsible for dragons dropping off dead wyvern along the borders? Says that she pushed Vi into the Riders Quadrant because she knew that Vi would never keep the secret if she became a scribe. She also said she gave Xaden and the marked ones a chance at life in the Riders Quadrant with a favor to be called in whenever she wanted. Vi was the favor. If she survived crossing the parapet, all Xaden had to do was make sure she wasn’t killed outside of challenges. She also admits that she put the 107 marks on Xaden’s back - it's a Tyrrish custom. Before they leave, Vi wants to give everyone a chance to hear the truth and leave if they want. After Tairn shows dragons his memory of Resson, some of the dragons choose not to share with their riders. Three scribes, including Jesinia, four professors, 200 dragons, over half of the Riders Quadrant (101) head to Aretia. And more will come later - with the hatchlings. Brennan is not happy when they show up. With the state of Violet and with the fact that she brought all these people with her.
Part Two Recap
37: The Assembly is not happy. They really don’t like Violet but Xaden tells them that his life is tied to Violets and if they want him in that chair then they will accept her. Oh, and Andarna FINALLY wakes up.
38: Andarna scorpion tail looks kind of green? No, maybe black, Violet says they’re so shiny they reflect some of the color around her. She can’t fully extend one of her wings. Tairn says lots of things contributed to her awkward growth and now one of the muscles didn’t form. He says they believe she will fly, but never bear a rider.
Aretia got organized real quick and have started having classes again.
Tairn senses a riot - Its riders from the outposts, including Mira. Xaden flew off to do god knows what, and found a bunch of riders fleeing Navarre. Vi’s mom went to Samara and told Mira and all the other riders the truth and told them they could leave if they want. Then Mira goes speechless, because she sees Brennan, and then she does what Vi should have done, and punches him right in the nose.
39: Violet thinks she knows how to raise the wards. The journal states that “The blood of life of the six and the one combined and set the stone ablaze in an iron rain.” So the Assembly, plus Violet and Bodhi, go to the inactive ward stones, cut their palms, and put their blood on the wardstones. But it does nothing. Violet wants to go to Tecarus, show him her lightning, and get the luminary. Xaden says fuck no.
40: Felix and vi go to train. He is shocked that she cannot aim and really has no control. He said that her lightning comes from her hands. That she has one Of the most powerful signets and is clueless about it. He gives her a glass ball, a conduit. Says it's Carr's fault not hers. He tells her the conduit will siphon her power and she needs to learn how to control it. Says Xaden did everything he's done for violet, that she “controls” Xaden because of his love for her.
Mira, Brennan, and Violet decide to fly to Viscount Tecarus behind Xaden’s back. So while he is out looking for more people leaving Navarre, they fly off. When they land, Xaden is already there. Sgaeyl had felt a shift in Tairn and they flew there.
41: Xaden knows his way around very well. He knows there’s butterfly gardens, that the pools are dangerous without railings when you’ve been drinking, he has a room there. And guess who is the Viscount’s niece … fucking Cat. Xaden and Violet fight…again… he wants to keep her safe, she wants him to let her be her own person, then she tells him he’s acting like Dain … BURN. Cat can ambilify emotions and she is fucking with Violet’s majorly. Cat makes some comment about how Xaden never loses control and Violet is overwhelmed by a memory of the first time they hooked up and Xaden had said “I’ve never lost control like that.”. When they get to the dining hall, Xaden approaches, throws up a wall of shadow and makes out with Violet, then announces to the room that “maintaining control is nearly impossible around Violet”.
Tecarus brings out a chest that belonged to Xaden’s dad, wants Violet to hit it with her lightning, in an arena, with everyone watching. Xaden tells Violet that his father had made an alliance that Xaden officially denied last year, that the chest is priceless, and more a statement towards Xaden than Violet. When Mira and Violet get down into the arena, two guards open the case, and a venin comes out. The deal is that Xaden cannot go down into the arena, and Vi can’t leave until she hits her target, and then they will discuss the luminary.
42: Brennan arrives in the arena to help. Mira, who can do something with wards but can’t make one just extend existing ones, manages to make a shield around them for just a minute to protect them from the venin. Brennan takes Mira off the field, Train arrives, and Violet releases her lightning and fries the venin. When she gets back to the top of the arena, Xaden is using his shadows to strangle Tecarus. Violet gets him to stop.
Tecarus gives them a book filled with all the info they have on the dark wielders. Tecarus wants them to take 100 fliers back to Aertia and train them with the riders. Then they can have the luminary.
43: Brennan decides they’re going for a hike - Up the Cliffs of Dralor to go into Tyrrendor. There are gryphon traps that need disarmed and he says riders won’t respect anyone who hasn’t crossed the parapet, so this hike will be like their parapet. The gryphons have to go too and it's really dangerous for them. Cat’s drift gets stuck with Violet’s wing..because of course.
Violet, Sloane, Maren (a flier) and her gryphon are going together. Maren tells her that everyone knows about Violet because she is a “Ransom target”, they all thought Xaden would grab her, and gift her to the Viscount his first year. Maren says they were all surprised when Xaden showed up last year ready to defend Violet to the death. Sloane says Liam didn’t hate a lot of people, but he hated Cat (same Liam, same). Sloane says its hard to hate Violet, when she’s been reading Liam’s letters, and Liam didn’t hate her. Maren tells them that the Gryphon riders, to be chosen, have to jump off a cliff and hope to land on a gryphon, but if they miss? No one dies. They just land in the water and swim back to shore.
Aretia’s first hatchling has been born.
Once they get to the top of the mountain, they have wagons to take them on to Aretia. The gryphons and fliers are struggling because they aren’t used to the altitude. There’s a six foot gap, they’re trying to cross. One of the fliers don’t do it successfully, Violet almost goes over the ledge, Ridoc gets shot by a trap, Violet is over the edge, holding onto a flier, Dain tries to grab for her, one of the gryphons tries too, but the flier slips out of Violet’s hand and falls. Cat blames Violet for killing the girl, Maren (Cat’s best friend) stands up for Violet, says she saw it all, and thats not what happened. Cat threatens to kill Violet, Dain says I’ll throw you off this fucking cliff. Sloane pipes up and agrees. Dain puts Violets shoulder back into socket, Brennan shows up to heal Ridoc, and then fucking wyvern appear. Violet and Tairn manage to kill the 4 of them with her lightning. Everyone makes it up the hill, without anyone else dying. Brennan mended Ridoc. Venin share a collective conscious with the wyvern they create. So if one of them felt the energy pulse (of the dragon hatching), then they all know what it means.
45: Riders, and fliers, are fighting on teh front lines along the Stonewater River, trying to distract the venin - four new dragons have hatched now.
Cat showed up to Xaden’s door wearing a see through silk robe, but Xaden didn’t answer, Violet did.
Rhi’s family has arrived from the border.
Runes can be strands of magic, placed into an object, for use now or later. Its called tempering. Professor Trissa gives her magic a shape, and then forms it into a shape only she can see, she then pushes it into a piece of wood, and the rune appears on the wood. Why isn’t this taught? Its a Tyrrish thing, and banned a couple hundred years after the unification of Navarre. Many outposts and Basgiath were built upon them. Riders are naturally more powerful than fliers, runes equalize that. Every marked one has learned runes, which is why Xaden left that book with Violet. Violet wonders if she’ll have to pull every single piece of information out of him and how can she ask questions she doesn’t even know exist (great question Violet).
46: Only thing that can kill a venin is power. Remember how Violet’s dagger unlocked that door? Because Xaden put an unlocking rune on it.
Liam’s mom made 107 stones with protection runes on them. When their parents were killed, that’s what gave them the rebellion relics. Violet is asking Xaden questions and he says he likes it, anything else she wants to know? She thinks she should ask about the deal with her mom and did it influence his feelings, but she can’t. She is worried it will shake their relationship. Xaden seems disappointed that she doesn’t ask anything else.
Too much fighting is happening, the professors decide its time to integrate. They are going to allow six hours of sparring and kicking each others asses and tomorrow, the wings will absorb fliers. Cat, of course, challenges Violet. She fights like Xaden…which means he trained both of them.
47: Venin - initiates have reddish rings to their eyes which come and go, depending on how often they drain. Asims’ eyes have degrees of red, and their veins distend when riled. Sage’s permanently red, veins distended towards their temples expanding with age. Mavens - highest rank - never been captured.
Cat decides to use her magic, even though its not allowed, and reves up Violet's insecurity, jealous, and anger. She says “Do you even know why he didn’t kill you that first year? I do. Because he trusted me to look ahead with him.” She tells Violet she isn’t fighting for love, or a man. She is fighting because she was promised that crown, that’s why they were engaged.
Violet finally gets the upper hand and is strangling Cat. Xaden pushes into her mind and says he doesn’t care if she kills Cat, but he knows that she will care. She says she can’t stop, she needs help. So he removes her from the mat. Violet fights against him a little and her lightning cracks inside. Xaden’s shadows snuff it out. He gets her conduit, and carries her out, into the Assembly hall, and tells everyone to get the fuck out.
48: My house. My chair. My woman.
Whilst this is happening. “Shimmering onyx wraps around my mind and everything intensifies.” She can hear Xaden’s thoughts in her head. Afterwards he says he shouldn’t have done that.
He doesn’t want to have sex, he wants her to know she isn’t a convenient placeholder for him to fuck like Cat said. He said he never loved Cat.
“I would have told you if you’d asked. That’s the problem here, Violet - you don’t ask.”
They were betrothed (its different than engaged to Xaden) for almost a year, but they weren’t compatible, and the only reason he was going through with it was to get the luminary, and he knew Tecarus wasn’t giving it up, so he ended it.
He isn’t the King of Tyrrendor - he’s the Duke of Aretia. Lewellen is currently ruling Tyrrendor.
Tells Violet to keep her daggers on her, they have protection runes, and Cat won’t be able to fuck with her.
If you don’t re-read anything else - re-read this chapter.
49: Of course, Cat’s drift is going to be absorbed into Violet’s wing. Cat is still being a bitch. Violet says “That trick you mentioned? You know, with the fingers? Thanks.” HAHAHAHA
Rhi, Sawyer, and Ridoc all offer to kill Cat and bury the body. Completely serious. They are great friends. They all head to the library. (Sawyer has a big ole crush on Jesinia.) Dain shows up. Violet knows that he knows a language she isn’t great at - Krovlish - and she asks for his help. Without even knowing what she needs, he says ok. (And that is why I’ve forgiven him…a wee bit).
They talk - he tells her he is so sorry for the role he played in Liam’s death. She asked if he stole her memories every time he touched her, and he said no. He said it was by accident the first time. Then she got close to Xaden, and Dain was sure Xaden was trying to get revenge. He knows that isn’t true now, but he fucked up. He apologizes multiple times, says he is so sorry about Liam. She says she can’t think about Liam and look at Dain without hating him.
Dain starts imbuing the wardstone with his magic. Said it would take him weeks, maybe a month, to fully imbue it. She says she’ll get Xaden to help.
He asks if she is really in love with Xaden, because he heard what Xaden said when he rescued her and he might even be in love with him after that, but if she really is, he will trust Xaden as much as Violet does.
50: Felix tells her she is the greatest energy field. Venin took a town - Pavis. An hour from Draithus, which is just on the otherside of the Cliff.
51: Xaden tells her they aren’t ready, they are outmatched, too slow, they are 50 years to late.
Dain and Violet have been translating the journal for weeks now. Violet finally realizes they made a mistake - its not six riders. Its six dragons.
52: But if they raise the wards, it will mean the fliers can’t wield magic. Of course, the only one who takes this badly is Cat. They are telling their squad first, before Violet even tells Xaden, Dain, or the Assembly. She wants to give the fliers the ability to leave if they want. She says they won’t be powerless, and she gets six conduits out. Containing an arrowhead like the one she has been imbuing for weeks. It’s Maorsite (whatever that is).
Vi is having a nightmare (is it one?). The Sage is there, wanting to see her wield. To see if she is the right weapon worth getting. He says “The one who watched thinks you’ll never yield, that we should kill you before you grow into your full abilities” (JACK???) “Usually, jealously sways the tongue of young wielders. The rest turn for the power. But you will turn for something much more dangerous, much more volatile.” He is touching Violet, which is new and unwelcome. “You’ll tear down the wards yourself when the time comes. And you won’t do it for something as trite as power or as easily satiable as greed but for the most illogical of mortal emotions - love. Or you’ll die. You both will.”
Violet notices Andarna’s black scales reflect different colors. Usually whatever color she is around.
Summoning runes hidden, dragons needs to sense them. Find and close more of those runed boxes than other Wings and win the weekend off.
Xaden returns from a mission or whatever hes doing. Violet needs to tell him about what she found out about the wards but she has to fly out on that mission. He says tell me now and she says later. “His eyes flare. “You figured out how to raise the wards.”” He says her face is easy to read.
53: “The art of imbuing comes naturally to only a handful of signets, and automatically only to one: the siphon.”
Violet is stuck with Cat. Who admits that she hates that Violet is so powerful.
Sloane hates Cat so she has started sticking up for and being nice to Violet.
They find one of the chests they’re looking for. And then another dragon appears, Solas (Varrish’s dragon). Violet grabs Cat’s backpack but can’t get Visia out of the way, She gets swatted and hits the cave way and dies.
54: Violet saves Cat’s life and then Cat starts firing arrows at Solas. Andarna starts fighting Solas. Solas slams Violet against the wall, Sloane drags her out. Sloane’s signet starts manifesting - she is a Siphon. Tarin says “She is as Naolin was”. Andarna kills Solas and has a poisoned barb on the end of her tail.
Xaden is pissed that Violet put her life in danger to save Cat. He says all he wants is Violet, he is trying to keep her safe, and she says oh, I’m confused with you just not killing me. And he goes oh, you’re finally going to ask me about the deal I made with your mom?
55: (Xaden’s mom made him a blanket that he keeps.) Fight between them. Xaden wants her to ask questions and he’ll answer them. But how can she ask questions when she doesn’t know theres a question to be asked??? She said fine, you want me to ask you something real, whats your second signet? And he goes white and doesn’t answer. Brennan picks that time to bang on the door and say that wyvern are headed from Pavis to the Cliffs. Xaden wants to raise the wards now.
56: Dain, Xaden, and Violet have spent time pushing magic into the wardstone. They need six dragons, one of each species (or type). They all blow their fire on the wardstone and Violet can feel the same sense of anchoring that she felt at Basgaith behind the wards. They then fly to the Cliffs to try and stop the wyvern.
Xaden and Violet are alone on a cliff edge waiting for the wyvern to see if the wards are going to work. Xaden says “How long do you think it takes for someone to fall out of love?” Violet is like wtf could his second signet be that he is acting like that. She thinks what if he has been manipulating my emotions and Xaden says “I would never do something like that”. (I don’t even think he realizes how many times he answers her outloud when she thinks something). Violet tries to guess what it is and Xaden tells her no one else knows because if they did, he’d be dead. She realizes there is only one signet you’d get killed for and she thinks it, and he says “yes”. He says he is a type of inntinnsic. He can’t read thoughts, but he can read intentions.
Tarin didn’t know either (but then why did he say in the first book “don’t try to read me human”?)
“Less than a minute” Xaden whispers.
“My love isn’t fickle” Violet responds (eventually).
The wyvern have arrived but luckily, the wards work.
They return to Riorson House and Mira says General Melgren wants to meet with them, no more than two marked ones, and Mira and Violet.
One of the fliers can also still wield, so something is wrong with the wards.
57: They fly to the meeting place. Xaden tells Violet that he has never influenced her feelings while reading her intentions. He says “But I have always lacked a certain element of self-control when it comes to you, and our bond makes it way too easy for you to send your intentions without even realizing it.”
Melgren wants them to fight with them at Samara. He says the venin come and they lose. He thinks that if they fight together, they might win. They basically all tell him to go fuck himself. They have let others stay outside of the wards and fight for their lives for years, so why should they get help now? Brennan comes out and Mama Sorrengial almost passes out.
After everyone leaves but her, she tells the girls to check the wyvern’s bodies, that they have stones with runes on them, and if they are truly dead, the stones will be just stones. Then she gives them the journal that Violet got tortured for. Violet and Mira fly back and check the wyvern, and sure as shit, the stones are still humming.
So they gotta fix the wards asap. But the journal is in a language Violet cannot read, only Jesinia can translate it.
58: Xaden is back from a week away at an outpost. They meet in the sparring gym and finally talk. Like really talk. He is so worried that she is going to leave him, that she won’t give him time to explain or talk it out. They reassure each other, make promises about never lying, or with holding information. She asks about his mom and he says she left when he was 10, because the marriage contract said she only had to stay until the heir was 10, and he hasn’t seen or heard from her since.
Violet realizes during battle brief that Malgren is focusing on the wrong area. She says the wyvern are waiting around Samara but they are also placed in other areas. She believes everyone will be at Samara to protect it but the venin are going to go to Basgiath, and the hatching grounds. Xaden says he will go where she goes, does she want to go? And (like an idiot, granted a brave, selfless idiot) she does.
59: They land in Basgaith and speak with Mama Sorrengail. She says their wards are fine but with a little convincing, she says fine lets go see the wards.
Garricks dragon, who is sensitive to runes, is uneasy. He feels the same energy that he felt at Resson.
They make it into the ward room, and the guards are dead. Baide (Jack Fucking Barlowe’s dragon) is in there. Jack Fucking Barlowe is also in there.
Their wardstone is on fire unlike the one at Aretia.
Baide knocks Mama Sorrengail against the wall, Xaden’s shadows pull Mama and Mira out of the way. Baide shoots some fire out at them, Ridoc throws up an ice wall, and his hands are blistered and bleeding.
Jack Fucking Barlowe (JFB) kills his own dragon to bring down the wards.
60: Unfortunately, JFB isn't going to die. Xaden realizes JFB has turned venin and has somehow stayed within the wards, Nolan has been mending him this whole time, trying to cure him. JFB says he made his choice when the most powerful dragon bonded Violet. JFB starts sucking the energy from the ground and Xaden lifts him off the ground. JFB says the wards block their full strength but they can still channel enough to survive. He says “I’ll never know why its you he wants. What the fuck makes you so special?” He also tells them that they’re already there, among you, and now they are free.
Violet realizes thats why Nolan developed the signet blocking serum - was for JFB.
Before Xaden knocks him out, Dain reads his memories, JFB has placed lures all over the college and up the path to the vale. Douchebag.
They assemble in Battle Brief and come up with a plan.
The next morning, Brennan shows up, with the first years and the fliers.
61: “Turning venin heightens one of the dark wielder’s senses”
They have arrived. Lots of fighting.
62: A wyvern attacks Ridoc and Sawyer’s dragons. It bites Sawyers leg off. Violet does some crazy shit to save him, which she does. But now she’s on the ground. A venin arrives, says she is supposed to deliver Violet to him, and she will be rewarded. Violet kills her, but another one arrives, and then Andarna, who was camouflaged looking like a boulder, arrives.
63: She fucking breathes fire and cooks him.
Jesinia translates the other journal and says it says the breath of SEVEN not six dragons. But that can't be…there's only 6.
Violet realizes what, or who, they need.
General Melgren wants to send Xaden and Violet to guard the vale while the rest of the army stays behind. Xaden knows if that happens, everyone there will die, but Melgren doesn't care.
Violet tells her mom she knows how to raise the wards again, they argue, and finally she agrees to see if it can be done.
The Sage arrives.
Violet tells Xaden she knows how to raise the wards but she can only do it once. So he picks. Basgaith or Aretia. He says you ward where you are, so here. Because she is his home and he needs her safe.
Violet talks directly to Malgrens dragon. She needs him as the black dragon. Xaden says but you have Andarna.
Violet goes back to the wardstone, Brennan has mended it, but it needs imbued.
She confronts Andarna. She isn't really black…but Tairn is and she wants so badly to be like him. No one could tell her she couldn't bond because she's the leader of her own den.
“I waited six hundred and fifty years to hatch. Waited until your eighteenth summer, when I heard our elders talk of the weakling daughter of their general, the girl forecasted to become the head of the scribes, and I knew. You would have the mind of a scribe and the heart of a rider. You would be mine.”
Violet keeps imbuing the stone. She is at the point of burning out. She ends up falling to the ground and bracing her hand there as she pours magic into the stone. She realizes why people would channel from the ground. Her mom literally kicks her away from the stone.
Mama Sorrengial takes Sloane's hand around her wrist and drags her to the atone. Tells her to do this now, Sloane says no, but she reminds Sloane that she killed her mom. Aaric stops Violet from going to her mom, says if he has to choose between one of them, he chooses Violets life.
Violet opens up her connection with Xaden and feels him dying.
Violet's mom uses all of her magic, drains herself, to finish imbuing the stone.
She dies.
Andarna tells Violet that Xaden needs her. Now.
Andarna, plus six other dragons, raise the wards again.
65: wards are up, wyvern dropping like crazy. Venin ran. Violet is in shock because hee mom just died. She makes her way to Xaden.
Xaden says he killed the Sage. Snapped whatever tether he had on him and killed him.
Xaden says they will stay under the full wards and maybe Violet won't be so scared. Of him. His onyx eyes now have a ring of red.
66: Xadens pov
The Sage has him suspended, just like in his dreams (and violets). Says he'll turn for love. Says he isn't a Sage, but a general. He knows more than Xaden thinks about him.
Xaden reaches for Violet and feels her weakening. He knows she'll die to raise the wards, to save him.
He is trying to hold the sage until Sgaeyl can get down there but he can't. He's on his hands and knees and he feels something…
Sgaeyl yells that he can't do this. She chose him.
Well..violet chose him too.
He wakes up from his dream, sleeping next to Violet. He then heads down to the cells to talk to JFB. JFB tells him there's no cure, they don't have a disease. JFB says “welcome to our fucked- up family. Guess we're brothers now.”