Threshing Day
"I'd love nothing more than to burn this place to the fucking ground."
REVIEW
Would I read it again? Yes No Maybe
SUMMARY
Foreshadowing
Brennan - Asher says his heart couldn’t take it if anything happened to him. Brennan thinks they need more menders.
Xaden - wants to know everything that’s going on and who knows his secrets.
Dain - Red headed girl ends up owing Dain a favor that he uses to get Violet into his squad.
Liam - wants to be able to cut the distance like with a knife to be able to visit Sloane.
Aaric - Molvic mockingly asks him if he’s able to see the future.
Who Bleeds?
Brennan scrapes his arm on a limb and bleeds.
Mira gets cut by her dragon on her thigh and bleeds. Her squadmate also had a bandage on his arm when she sees him later on the flight field.
Xaden gets cut on his face when Sgaeyl smacks him with her tail and he goes flying.
Garrick gets cut in the fighting with Alic and his cronies.
Does Dain bleed? Up for debate. He gets welts on his hands from saving the red haired girl from falling out of the tree and he hits his chin on Cath’s scales and gets a scar but it doesn’t specifically say he bleeds.
Bodhi bleeds by cutting his hands on Cuir’s scales.
Imogen cuts herself with her own fingernails.
Rhi bleeds when Visia squeezes her hands so hard her nails cut into her skin.
Sawyer bleeds when he bites his own tongue, touches it with his finger, and it comes away red. Trina bleeds from thorns from hiding in the bushes.
Ridoc bleeds from scraping his hands on the trees and Aotrom’s scales.
Liam bleeds from cutting his thumb while whittling his dragon figurine.
Sloane bleeds when Dain tackles her to the ground.
Aaric bleeds when he dives out of the way of Molvic’s fire and scraps his palm.
All about the Dragons
Dragon's Name | Breed | Estimated Age | Previous Riders | Bonded Human | Signet |
Marbh | Orange Daggertail | 76 | 3 | Brennan | Mender |
Teine | Green Clubtail | 41 | 0 | Mira | Ward Extender |
Sgaeyl | Blue Daggertail | 64 | 3 | Xaden | Shadow Wielder/Intention Reading |
Chradh | Brown Scorpiontail | 27 | 0 | Garrick | Air Wielding/Distance Wielding (‘walking’) |
Cath | Red Swordtail | 89 | 2 | Dain | Retrocognition |
Cuir | Green Swordtail | 59 | 1 | Bodhi | Countering Signets/Unknown second signet |
Glane | Orange Daggertail | 19* | 0* | Imogen | Erases recent memories/Earth wielding (Petrification) |
Feirge | Green Daggertail | 87 | 3 | Rhiannon | Object Summoning |
Sliseag | Red Swordtail | 73 | 2 | Sawyer | Metallurgy (metal manipulation) |
Aotrom | Brown Swordtail | 21 | 0 | Ridoc | Ice Wielding |
Deigh | Red Daggertail | 62 | 1 | Liam | Farsight/Ice Wielding |
Thoirt | Red Daggertail | 62 | 1 | Sloane | Siphon/Unknown second signet |
Molvic | Blue Clubtail | 39 | 0 | Aaric | Precognition |
Brennan and Marbh
Brennan is nervous and doesn’t want to disappoint his mom. Another first year, Flynn, asks him if he wants to walk together and he declines. Brennan comments that they spent a night together and he can’t let anything he might feel for him distract him today. (At this point I was like …Brennan’s gay? Did I know this?) As his squad mates walk away, Brennan gets another visitor - his dad. Brennan is worried he might get in trouble for being there and his dad is like nah…the new commander happens to like me. Brennan expresses his worry over disappointing them and Asher tells him he could never. Him and his mother just want him to live. He said their hearts couldn’t handle it if anything happened to Brennan. Brennan asks about his sisters and Asher shares that Mira almost kicked Dain’s ass when Violet fell out of a tree, but she’s fine, nothing that can’t be mended. Brennan thanks the gods for menders and thinks that they need more of them. Asher gives Brennan a bracelet that he has worn forever, says he wants him to have it.
Asher leaves and Brennan decides to climb a tree. He sits up there, closes his eyes, and waits to feel a tug to indicate his dragon is nearby. All he feels is a hot breeze on his face. When he opens his eyes, an orange dragon is just hanging out, about 6 feet from his face. He knows he's supposed to avert his gaze but he can’t. Then the dragon talks to him and asks him if he’s a bird. Brennan is so startled by him talking to him that he falls but manages to catch himself on another limb. All dragons are smartasses and this one comments that this is why humans shouldn’t climb trees. Brennan scrapes up his arm and starts bleeding. He asks if Brennan wants to play a game. After a lot of Brennan internally questioning and the dragon being a smartass, Brennan agrees to play. He tells him that if he can find his seat without touching the ground, then he will accept him. Brennan makes it and then the dragon tells him his name - Marbh.
Mira and Teine
Mira decides since Brennan climbed a tree and bonded - she might as well climb a tree too. Mira mentions that she hopes Fen Riorson pays for what he’s doing. Mira believes that he’s frustrated “over mining mandates for Talladium…but that resource is only found in Tyrrendor.” She says she understands that he’s angry over “his province’s disproportionate conscription rates.” We find out that Brennan is posted at Luceras where their mom is in command. Violet and their dad are with the scribes “at the outpost”. She seems a bit bitter because she didn’t get a visit from their dad like Brennan did.
She feels a tug and jumps out of the tree. She is with a squadmate and he’s on the lookout for a red dragon. Mira, though, is specifically looking for Teine. She saw him during the Presentation and was like yup, that’s mine.
Teine approaches and Mira can’t remember if she’s supposed to stare him down or look away. Teine snaps his teeth just a few feet away from her but she stands her ground. He tells her she hides her fear well but he wonders at what point she will crack. She says she doesn’t have that point. He takes his talon and cuts her left thigh. He tells her he will accept her as his first rider but only if she survives the flight back to the field.
When they land, she notices her squadmate has bonded his red, and he has a bandage wrapped around his upper arm.
Xaden and Sgaeyl
Xaden is with ten marked ones, including Garrick who has a busted lip from Alic (Aaric’s older brother). Amber Mavis walks by and reminds us all she’s a bitch. Kaori is there with them and gives them some advice. Kaori and Professor Devera are the only professors who treat them nicely. When he leaves, one of the marked ones asks Xaden if Kaori suspects anything. Xaden says he doubts it but thinks about how “knowing everything that goes on around us is an impossibility, but not knowing….could get us killed”. A little foreshadowing to his signet. Some of the marked ones are worried that the dragons will kill them because of what their parents did. Garrick reminds them that some of the Empyrean sided with them and they know what's out there. Xaden gives them all a pep talk before sending them out in pairs. He thinks about how Bodhi will be there next year and Liam (and he calls him his foster brother) the year after that.
Garrick and Xaden mention that he has eight months before he has to marry Cat. Garrick feels bad and was like well maybe you’ll learn to like her and Xaden is like fat chance. Xaden gives him shit about falling for the first girl he ever saw (Imogen) and Garrick is like she’ll never ever admit that she likes me. Garrick feels a pain in his chest, a pull. They are distracted and Alic sneaks up on them. He holds a knife to Garrick’s throat and two of his cronies approach them. Xaden is forced to put his sword up. While Alic is walking them to gods know where, Xaden and Garrick communicate via sign language. He walks them into a clearing while Xaden and Garrick sign argue over what maneuver to use to get out of this. In the clearing, there’s a giant Blue Clubtail (we learn later this is Molvic) dragon and another Blue one lands - Sgaeyl. Alic is in awe and says oh that one is mine. Xaden thinks they’re fucked because blues are ruthless but especially Sgaeyl. They were all warned to stay away from her. Apparently she let her first rider die because he was a coward, she killed her second rider, and her last rider died before leaving Basgaith. Xaden isn’t a direct descendant of that rider but his name was also Riorson. Sgaeyl looks at Xaden and he’s like oh she scares the shit out of me, I want her. Alic thinks he will show her that he is worthy of her and orders Garrick to get on his knees. He refuses, Xaden tells him to do it, Alic says if he doesn’t, he will kill Xaden. Xaden notices Sgaeyl looks off to the north and he believes another dragon is coming. Maybe it's Garricks.
Molvic had gotten snapped at by Sgaeyl and had retreated a bit. After Alic starts yelling about how he’s the second in line and he’s royalty and these two are nobodies, Molvic decides to leave. (When I first read this I thought oh he was there for Alic but Alic proved to be incredibly unpleasant so he said fuck that I’ll wait for the next one and then I read Aaric’s section and that’s exactly what happened).
Masen, another marked one, appears in the clearing and Xaden decides it's time to act. Garrick throws him his sword and Xaden uses it to slice Alic’s forearm open which makes him drop the dagger. Both of his cronies lunge at Xaden but Garrick takes care of one quickly and starts fighting with the other. Xaden approaches Alic and tells him to pull his sword. He gives him multiple opportunities but Alic refuses and keeps retreating. Xaden slices his throat open. Masen says they need to get rid of the bodies, they can’t just leave a dead prince in the clearing, they will know a cadet killed him and then they’ll investigate.
Sgaeyl approaches and speaks to Xaden and tells him to move. When he doesn’t immediately do that, she uses her tail and flicks him out of the way. Xaden’s face is cut open from above his eyebrow to the top of his cheek. Sgaeyl sets the bodies on fire. Then turns and looks at the guys, she tells Xaden to tell the others to leave. Garrick doesn’t want to but Xaden convinces him too.
Sgaeyl says oh you know who I am? He says yeah your reputation precedes you. She says, “We have that in common, grandson of Maxim Riorson.” Xaden is like …ummm no, that was my great uncle, I’m the grandson of Corbin. Sgaeyl says, “If your grandmother said so, I suppose.”
Xaden admits to her that he isn’t sure if Tairn will like him since Xaden’s father was involved in the situation that got his last rider killed (his last rider was Noalin who we are told died trying to save Brennan). Sgaeyl’s like well this is my decision not his. Xaden asks her if she knows why his dad was trying to leave Navarre. She admits that she does. She asks Xaden what he plans on doing with all the power she will give him. He says, “I’d love nothing more to burn this place to the fucking ground.” And she’s like let’s go bitch.
Garrick and Chradh
Garrick’s story picks up where he left Xaden. As he is walking away with Masen, he hears his dragon telling him to come find him. But Garrick won’t just abandon Masen. Garrick can’t believe that all of that shit just happened. He says he feels like he was given a third chance at life, that he “used the second long ago to get my mother out of Aretia before the Navarrians came”. This is the first we have heard of this - originally assumed his mom died but maybe she didn’t?
We also find out Garrick has been in love with Imogen since she punched him in the face when she was 9 years old. Garrick looks up and sees Xaden flying away on Sgaeyl. A first year comes running by telling them to run and Garrick sees an Orange Clubtail coming into view. He tells Masen to run but he says no, this one is his.
Once Masen runs off, Chradh talks to Garrick again, telling him that he’s testing his patience. Chradh says he knows about all of Garrick’s interests and what power he will need to accomplish his goals. Garrick says he’ll do whatever. Chradh says, “It is why I seek your bloodline. Why I seek you.” He also tells Garrick that he is another reason that Chradh has “finally chosen to involve myself with your kind again” and “I have no wish to lose you…after finally having chosen you.” This confuses Garrick because he is under the impression that Chradh has never had a previous rider. He tells him that and also says Kaori says Chradh is only 27 years old. Chradh says, “What even is a year?”
When Garrick gets back to the flight field he finds out that all 10 marked ones have bonded a dragon.
Just a note- Garrick does have a wound and did bleed, it was just discussed in Xaden’s POV.
Dain and Cath
We find out that Dain has spent his first year checking corners for Xaden, thinking that Xaden wants to kill him. Before Dain can even head into the woods, his dad appears. General Douchebag Aetos. Dain has complicated feelings about dear ole Dad. His dad has been finding ways to just appear in Basgaith and in Dain’s classes. He feels like his dad is overprotecting and smothering him but also so worried about disappointing him. Also, he feels like he is never good enough.
Dain says his dad really hasn’t listened to him since his mom left when they were stationed at Luceras. Douchebag Aetos says Dain’s mom left because he “wasn’t capable of protecting her with the Tyrs rebelling.” His dad does a good job at interrupting Dain almost every time he tries to talk.
Douchebag Aetos sees Bodhi talking to a few other marked ones and asks what is going on over there. Dain tries to tell him they aren’t doing anything and they haven’t done anything wrong all year. He tries to defend them saying he understands why Bodhi would be giving a pep talk but again, Douchebag interrupts him and says, “They weren’t supposed to live last year.” Dain is shocked and was like you don’t mean that but yes, yes he does. He tells Dain that Dain doesn’t know what he knows and none of them can be trusted, especially not Riorson. Dain’s like if they’re doing something wrong, then charge them with something. His dad says he doesn’t have enough proof….yet, that’s why he needs Dain to keep an eye on them and tell him if they break the Codex. Dain, ever the rule follower, is like if they do that, then they’ll be handled and his dad hits him with the guilt saying, don’t you trust me?
After the manipulation and guilt trip, he tells Dain to go get his green. Dain was like oh…I want a red. And his dad proceeds to tell him that he’s wrong and that’s not what he wants. Oh, and also, he asked his dragon to talk to the other dragons in the den about Dain.
When he leaves, Dain thinks it's hard to be his son but his dad has never lied to him, he has no reason not to trust him, so sure he’ll keep an eye on the marked ones.
Dain, like Brennan and Mira, decides to climb a tree. While up there he sees a Blue Clubtail (Molvic) wandering around and two oranges. He sees Sawyer and wishes him luck. Someone above him screams and falls out of the tree. Dain catches them - it's Joelle Tadita, a red headed second year. She says she was just observing, thanks Dain for catching her, and says she owes him one (foreshadowing of him getting Violet placed under his command).
A green is headed his way and he’s like I might as well bond him and make my dad happy but then he sees a red, both headed for him. One of them talks to him and says oh which one you gonna choose Dain? Dain decides to risk it and his gut is telling him to go red, so he jumps out of the tree and onto the red. He still isn’t sure when Cath turns his head and roars in his face. Cath takes off and asks Dain if he’s sure he wants to go against dear ole Dad. Dain pledges allegiance to Cath.
Note - Does Dain bleed? Possibly. He has red welts on his palms from saving Joelle in the tree and Cath takes off and Dain smacks his face against Cath’s scales, but it doesn’t specifically say he bled.
Bodhi and Cuir
Bodhi is giving his less than stellar pep talk to the marked ones that includes Imogen. He looks over and sees Douchebag Aetos talking to Dain and breaks up the little party. As they’re walking away, Xaden appears out of the shadows and scares the shit out of Bodhi. Bodhi is feeling a little insecure and like he’s living in Xaden’s shadow. Xaden tells him that nobody expects, or wants, him to be Xaden. He gives him a little pep talk, knowing what Bodhi needs to hear. Bodhi notices that in the last year Xaden has seemed to develop the talent of knowing what someone needs to hear.
Four cadets appear and Xaden uses his shadows to hide them. The cadets are bitching about the marked ones. A Red approaches. One of the cadets draws his sword, AGAINST A DRAGON, and the dragon incinerates all of them. Xaden starts to walk away and Bodhi’s like what if this one is mine. Xaden says it isn’t, Sgaeyl told him that Cuir is waiting for him. Bodhi’s like ummm this isn’t normal. Xaden points to his relic and says it makes everything abnormal for them. Bodhi questions him and at first Xaden won’t answer and Bodhi says, “You’re closer to a brother than you are a cousin. So fucking tell me.”
Xaden relents and says there’s certain dragons that want to fight in the war they know will happen so they are seeking marked ones.
Bodhi has some foreshadowing by getting mad at Xaden for hiding things and half truths and tells him that “one day your inability to be entirely truthful with someone is going to bite you in the ass.” Xaden doubts this.
Xaden says he has somewhere to be and he will tell him after he bonds. Bodhi asks if it's going to see Cat and Xaden is like oh god no. Bodhi says he wishes Xaden didn’t have to marry someone he hates and that Xaden could be happy. He also tells him that he worries about Xaden all the time. Bodhi is annoyed with having no choice in anything so when he sees a Blue Clubtail (Molvic), he decides fuck it, I want this one and runs right at it. Xaden is yelling at him. Bodhi realizes right as the Clubtail opens his mouth to shoot fire out that maybe this was a bad idea but he is jerked around the ribcage and hauled off the ground by Cuir.
Cuir says he knows lots have been taken away from Bodhi, he can understand if he just wants to end it all, but if he doesn’t, he has until they land at the flight field to get to his seat. Bodhi says why did you want me. Cuir tells him it's because he knows Bodhi wants power to end the war, to end people dying and that’s rare.
As Bodhi climbs across his scales, he rips his hands up and bleeds all over his scales.
Cuir says it probably won’t be the last time he gets blood on him and says, “to think I waited to bond again until this year for you.”
Imogen and Glane
Imogen leaves Bodhi after his speech and heads into the woods searching for a specific Orange Daggertail, Glane. One that she thought was dead. One that after Presentation had already claimed Imogen with a relic. Glane tells her to ditch her friendship with Quinn (who is from Navarre) and Imogen basically tells her to fuck off.
Imogen is standing by a tree that reminds her of home when Garrick shows up. She thinks that he looks hot but she isn’t going to let him get close to her. Everyone who gets close to her ends up dead and she refuses to let Garrick be the next.
Imogen has avoided Garrick and hasn’t said one word to him since she has been at Basgaith. She has known Garrick since they were kids. She punched him in the face when she was 8 and he has been in love with her ever since.
Garrick is trying to talk to her while Glane won’t get out of her head and Imogen is getting annoyed by both of them. Garrick tells her she is looking for Glane, an Orange Daggertail. That Chradh had told him and Sgaeyl had told Xaden. Imogen gets hit with a ton of energy that makes her fall to her knees. She tells Garrick that her dragon is channeling and Garricks tells her that's impossible. Imogen remembers her mom telling her how to ground, she cuts herself with her own fingernails before successfully grounding. Garrick is shocked. Imogen is pissed and says she is going to kill Glane.
She stalks off, with Garrick following her, and runs into Quinn. Glane comes around the corner, sees Quinn, yells “Navarrian!” in Imogen’s head and lowers her head to spit fire at Quinn. Imogen drags her behind a tree and they avoid being caught on fire. Imogen immediately starts after Glane, yelling at her. Glane is like well her kind killed your mother and your sister. Imogen yells at her that Quinn had nothing to do with that. She switches to thoughts and says to her, “If you touch one hair on her head, I’ll tell everyone who you really are.”
Glane’s like so what? I’m Glane.
Imogen says you don’t think I remember who you are? It’s hard to forget the first dragon you meet when you’re five and your GRANDMA introduces you to her dragon.
Glane’s like uhh whatever I’m only 20. And she is recorded as being Glane so that is her name.
Imogen tells Glane that if she leaves Quinn alone, she will keep “Glane’s” secret. Glane said I’ll do better than that and a Green Scorpiontail arrives. Quinn immediately yells, “Cruth!” and goes charging after the dragon. Imogen tells Glane that she intends to die in battle and Glane says weird, me too.
Imogen talks to her mom and sister and says, “Tell Grandma I took her dragon.”
Rhiannon and Feirge
As soon as Rhiannon separates from everyone, Feirge is already calling to her. Rhiannon is hoping it's the Green Daggertail from Presentation that didn’t set Violet on fire. Rhiannon walks around the corner and sees a rider crouching next to a cadet. The girl, Eya, (brunette with two silver stars along her collarbone with a pierced eyebrow and a rebellion relic (do we know her?)) is next to Visia who had half of her face melted off by a dragon. Rhi doesn’t want to leave Visia as the dragon (Orange) comes back around but Eya says she is right there, no dragon is going to fuck with her, because then they will have to deal with Eya’s dragon.
Rhi realizes she is right but before she can leave the Orange opens her mouth but gets stopped by a Green Daggertail’s tail wrapping around its throat. One of the first things Feirge says to Rhiannon is that her blood clots quickly, that’s nice (Visia had grabbed her hand and squeezed so hard, her nails had cut her). Ferige is very sarcastic towards Rhi and she doesn’t catch on right away.
Again, Rhi doesn’t want to leave Visia. Eya tells her that if she wakes before nightfall, it’ll be up to Visia if she wants to continue. If she doesn’t wake before nightfall, she’ll be set back a year, and has to hope a squad leader is willing to take her. Rhi realizes that Dain had to agree to take Sawyer. Rhi tells Eya to tell Visia that if she doesn’t wake before nightfall, to come to the second squad, someone will take her next year.
Sawyer and Sliseag
Sawyer is determined. He will either bond a dragon this year or he will die in this forest. He refuses to go unbounded one more year. Sawyer hopes his squadmates come out okay (except for Tynan). He’s also disappointed in himself for liking them - especially Ridoc - he tried so hard not to like them because it hurts too much when they die.
Sawyer decides he isn’t doing anything like he did last year so he decides to walk around the perimeter of the forest vs going through it. But hours later, he hasn’t seen one dragon. As he’s deciding to walk through the forest, a hand grabs him. Trina. She had been hiding in a bush. She wants to go in together but he thinks that's a bad idea. She asks him what he did last year? He went alone, okay fine, he’ll go in with her.
They come upon a Green, Trina lowers her eyes, but Sawyer just stares it down. Trina asks him why he has a death wish. She notices her hands are bleeding from thorns from hiding in the bush.
They walk into a clearing and there are two dragons there - an Orange and a Red. The Orange snarls, and Sawyer’s death wish becomes nonexistent as he quickly lowers his gaze. Trina though is like yup, that one is mine. She doesn’t know what to do and then she starts arguing with the dragon as she walks up to it.
The Red, Sliseag, finally talks to Sawyer. Sawyer knows who this dragon is and does not believe for a second that it really wants him - he’s a repeat. Sliseag gets a little irritated with Sawyer that he thinks he is capable of making a mistake. They end up bickering and Sawyer ends up exploding on him. After letting him get it all out, Sliseag tells him that Sawyer went unbonded last year because Sliseag wasn’t quite ready for another bond. As they are talking, Trina and her dragon are flying around, when Sawyer hears her scream as she falls off her dragon. Her dragon does not try to catch her. Sliseag was like, oh very sad, so anyways, you ready to go?
Ridoc and Aotrom
Ridoc can’t quit throwing up. He heads to a stream to rinse his mouth out. He bends down and then gets splashed right in the face. There’s a giant Brown in the water just staring at him. Ridoc recognizes it as the Brown Swordtail that stood next to Andarna at Presentation. Ridoc says nope, not you, nope. Aotrom is like yup, it’s me, I’m yours, let’s do this damn thing. Ridoc is backing away as Aotrom uses his claw and flicks a bunch of water right at Ridoc’s boots.
Ridoc says this is why they wouldn’t be a good match. Ridoc needs someone older, who is going to stop him from getting into trouble, not help.
They literally start bickering like children. Ridoc gets offended when Aotrom calls him humorless.
Ridoc realizes he’s made a mistake and this is his dragon, but now Aotrom is like no, you have to prove it now. Ridoc realizes that his hand is bleeding. Aotrom makes Ridoc chase him up a tree and attempt to take his seat while he’s hanging out of a tree. Aotrom laughs at him as Ridoc ends up covered in sap and leaves. But Ridoc eventually gains his seat and tells Aotrom good luck in getting all the sap off hard to reach places on his back.
Liam and Deigh
Liam is just chilling against a tree, whittling away, making a little figurine of his dragon. He felt a tug and then an instinct to sit there and wait so he does. Xaden shows up. Liam refers to Xaden as his brother FOUR times in this chapter and Xaden refers to himself as his big brother once.
Xaden tells him he checked all the dragons who are available for bonding and none of them had riders killed during the uprising so he doesn’t think any will target the marked ones. He tells Liam that he checks every year and when he isn’t there next year, he expects Bodhi and Liam to take over. Xaden says Sgaeyl is being annoyingly quiet about who Liam’s dragon is. He also mentions that he hoped Sgaeyl’s mate would be ready to bond this year and he’d bond with Liam.
Xaden then gives Liam shit for who he fucked and said that Bodhi told him. So Liam remarks, “you think I don’t see the way you stare at the general’s daughter when you think no one is looking?” Xaden’s like yeah cause I want to kill her and Liam is like ok, yeah, sure Jan.
We get a foreshadowing of Liam’s signet when he wishes he “could cut the distance like a knife” so he could check on Sloane.
Xaden tells him not to worry about whether his dragon will fight with them. If a dragon is willing to bond with a marked one, they’ve already made their decision.Xaden is in the middle of giving advice when all of a sudden he says he has to go. He hugs him and Liam says what’s wrong? Xaden says, “Two words as usual this year. Violet. Fucking. Sorrengail. Five-foot-nothing pain in my ass…”
Liam just laughs as Xaden leaves.
Deigh just appears in front of Liam, scaring him and judging his whittling. Liam realizes he has cut himself with his knife and is bleeding a little. Deigh asks him if he likes the tree he chose for him, does it remind him of home?
Deigh says, “those in my line have always favored those in yours. Are you ready to become a rider, Liam Mairi, son of Rune Master Celadine?” (his mom). When Liam says he is. Deigh says, “You and I will take on the evil that plagues this Continent.”
Sloane and Thoirt
Sloane has a lot of anger and could give two shits if she dies today. Before Kaori releases them, they find out that Molvic is in the field today, even though he isn’t on the list for bonding. Kaori says he just likes to wander about and look at everyone but to leave him alone.
Sloane walks off close to Aaric but she wants him to veer off or she won’t be able to get herself killed by a dragon which is her plan.
Imogen appears out of nowhere but Sloane doesn’t want to talk to her either. She tells her she doesn’t have to talk to her tonight and earn one of Liam’s letters (like she does every night when she has to go train) which they should just give her anyways because they’re hers. Imogen said yeah they are hers, but Violet wants to keep Sloane alive, and to do that she needs to train. Sloane talks some trash about Violet and Imogen tells her that the very first thing Violet did when she got back wasn’t to see her friends to tell them she was alive but to break into Liam’s room and steal the letters before they got burned. She’s also here to tell Sloane that she’s looking for a Red Daggertail named Thoirt. She also hands Sloane a whittled wooden dragon that Liam had on him when he died. Imogen finally leaves her alone and Sloane feels an ache in her chest telling her to go east so she decides to go south. She finally comes across a Green and she’s like thank the gods it's almost over. Except the dragon walks right by her and ignores her. A Red ignores her, as does a pair of Browns. She can’t even die even though she wants to.
When there's only two hours left, an Orange approaches. She yells at it to hurry up, she doesn’t want to be a rider. She hears someone yelling her last name but she ignores it as the Orange gets closer. Just as the Orange goes to burn her alive, something knocks into her and knocks her down. She looks “up into a beautiful pair of deep brown eyes, so bottomless I feel completely untethered.” Only when he talks, does she realize its Dain, and she’s like get the fuck off of me. He’s yelling at her asking her what the fuck she’s doing. She questions why it's his business and he said because he’s responsible for her. She retorts, “like you were Liam?” She starts swinging at him and he easily side steps her punches. He says they can talk about her brother but not while she is actively trying to hit him. She yells at him that it's his fault Liam was sent to Athebyne and she hates him. He grabs her and holds her tight against him so she stops trying to punch him and says, “Not as much as I hate myself, trust me.” He tells her that if she wants to fight him so badly to challenge him on the mat but it won’t end well for her. He lets her go and says, “Violet made it abundantly clear that I am the reason your brother was sent to Athebyne, and I live with that every fucking day.” He says he won’t live with Sloane trying to get herself killed on purpose. She says so that's why you just broke the Codex? Dain seems shocked that he actually did that. He asks if she’s okay, he doesn’t want to leave her if she isn’t. She says no she isn’t, none of this is fair, that she is there and Liam isn’t, that she has to be around the people responsible for his death. A Red Daggertail, Thoirt, lands. She growls at Dain and he leaves.
Thoirt tells Sloane that she also lost her brother at Resson - Deigh. Thoirt says, “The dragons of my line have long chosen the riders of yours.”
Sloane tells her that she shouldn’t want her. Sloane doesn’t want to wield. She doesn’t want to be a part of any of this. Thoirt says maybe not now but she might eventually or not. If she never does, well they can be best friends and maybe help each other heal. Thoirt also says, “Your brother did not inherit your mother’s gift. You did.” Their mother was a master at Runes.
Aaric and Molvic
We find out that the last 3 princes who have done Threshing haven’t survived. Aaric is searching for a certain dragon - Molvic. He finally finds him and approaches him with all the confidence in the world telling him you’re mine now. Molvic shoots some fire his way and Aaric dodges it and is like well you’re still mine. Molvic says he was drawn to his bloodline before and was disappointed. Aalic says he is not his brother, he is not Halden (another brother), nor his father. He was raised by his mother and was taught that his power will need to be earned and won’t be freely given. Aaric asks Molvic if he knows about the war and he does. Aaric says since Molvic now knows all his memories and thoughts, he knows that Aaric is one that he has been waiting for, Alic might have left him disappointed but Aaric will not.
Molvic - incoming foreshadowing - says, “And you think you know the future?”Aaric says, “I know mine. I will fight in the war, perhaps even die. But I will not stand idly by as my family watches the destruction from a gilded tower…And I promise you, I will die before I stand on the side of complicity. You must know: I intend to tear this kingdom apart.”
Molvic says, “I accept your terms.”
Aaric muses that his family doesn’t even realize he’s missing yet, “but I am coming for them all.”
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