Fourth Wing

Violet’s squad travels to the front lines to shadow active soldiers as their reward for winning the Squad Battle. Rhiannon and Violet are given a room to share; Rhiannon reveals that they are less than an hour away from her village. They get a tour of the fortress. Three riders return from patrol, and Violet sees Mira. They embrace.

Two days later, Mira catches Violet and Rhiannon sneaking out to go to Rhiannon’s village; she agrees to accompany them. Mira offers Violet encouragement as they sip wine and watch Rhiannon interact with her family. Violet tells her about the complications with Dain, as well as the ways that Xaden has saved her. Mira shares that she kept a folklore book of their father’s with the hope of giving it to Violet upon graduation, but she promises to give it to her when they return to the outpost. Violet and Mira step outside and find Xaden waiting; the three-day separation between Tairn and Sgaeyl was too much to endure.

Xaden’s arrival changes the energy at the fort. The squad flies on patrols and reviews old battles. Mira runs riders through hypothetical battle situations, challenging them to strategically use dragons and rider signets. While they do so, Xaden reveals that he can communicate telepathically with Violet because of their dragons’ bond. Xaden flirts with and teases Violet without anybody knowing, but Violet struggles to learn how to telepathically reply. Mira takes Dain, Xaden, and Violet out into the hallway after the simulation. She yells at Dain for his petty behavior, then questions Xaden about the mated dragon bond. Violet defends him when Mira starts to make cruel comments.

Their fight is interrupted by the approach of gryphons, and Mira realizes that the wards have fallen. Mira commands Xaden to get Violet out of the fort, though Violet resists. Dain finally convinces her to flee by pointing out that if the other first-years don’t flee, their lack of training will result in their deaths. Xaden and Violet get the others onto their dragons and out of the fort while they wait for Tairn and Sgaeyl, who briefly went to keep the gryphons at bay. Violet begs Xaden to let her stay. He kisses her, distracting her long enough that Tairn can arrive and snatch her away in his talons.

Two days pass after the squad returns to the college. Violet neglects her Archive duties, waiting instead outside of Colonel Markham’s office. Xaden brings her coffee, and they wait together. They talk, and he confesses that he is attracted to her. Violet figures out how to speak with him telepathically just as Dain arrives to wait with them. When Colonel Markham arrives, he confirms that Mira survived the attack. Violet goes to the flight field, where she holds Andarna and cries with relief.

Violet uses her new telepathic bond with Xaden to ask him questions about himself. Violet still has not manifested her signet. Meanwhile, the college prepares for the War Games: fight simulations meant to prepare the cadets for war and graduation. Violet’s squad is tasked with carrying a flag for other teams to try to capture. Other squads of the Fourth Wing plan to try to steal a crystal egg as an additional part of the challenge. The dragons arrive, and Tairn is wearing a saddle that Xaden specially designed for Violet’s use. Although she sees it as a sign of weakness, he convinces her to use it. As she mounts Tairn, she spots Andarna, who wants to participate.

The squad takes off and flies defensively to protect the flag. Violet relaxes as she becomes used to the saddle. She becomes aware of Tairn’s power increasing in her and worries that she may suffer the consequences of failing to manifest her signet. Another squad attacks Violet’s group, trying to find the flag. Violet realizes that the squad is defending a tower and deduces that the crystal egg is hidden there. She communicates this idea to Xaden, then as she sees Liam and his dragon fighting Jack. Tairn flies to help Liam, but Jack stabs Liam in the side before they can reach him, and Liam falls. Andarna freezes time so that Tairn can catch him before he hits the ground. Enraged, Violet feels her channeling power growing. Tairn pursues Jack as she unleashes her magic for the first time, calling down a streak of lightning that sends Jack falling to his death.

The Fourth Wing successfully retrieves the crystal egg, winning the competition, but Violet is wracked with guilt over killing Jack. She dismounts Tairn at the training grounds and confirms that Liam survived; Tairn shields her from view as she vomits. Tairn and Andarna comfort her, insisting that she did what she had to do. Dain arrives and holds Violet, trying to soothe her until Xaden appears. Xaden gives her a starker perspective on Jack’s death, asserting that killing him allowed Liam to survive and revealed the ways in which her signet power, the lightning, can protect people. He then calls Rhiannon over to escort Violet to her room.

That night, Violet throws daggers at a target in her room, and Xaden visits her to check on her emotional state. She confides her secret disappointment that her signet power is something so violent. He compares her plight to the feelings of the conscripted rebels’ children, all of whom want different lives for themselves but must fight to survive. Violet kisses him.

Violet and Xaden have intercourse; Violet uses her lightning power several times during their coupling. Afterwards, she asks about the scars on his back. He admits that there is one scar for every rebel child who was still alive immediately after the rebellion. As the oldest of the children, he made a deal that he would be personally responsible for their loyalty to the empire; in exchange, the children would be given the opportunity to serve in the Riders Quadrant instead of being executed outright. If any of them decide to rebel, he will be killed. Violet convinces him to stay the night.

Xaden is gone by the time she wakes up. Professor Carr takes Violet to help her to refine her lightning powers so that she will not accidentally hurt someone. When Tairn shows signs of his distrust toward Carr, Violet admits that she has been wary of the professor ever since watching him break the mind-reader cadet’s neck. She and Tairn discuss the importance of controlling information. He also warns Violet to make her loyalties loudly known, because she and Xaden would make dangerous adversaries should they choose to stand against Navarre. Violet struggles to manifest her lightning in front of Carr, so Xaden telepathically sends her erotic imagery, believing that heightened emotions allow her to use her power. This tactic works, and she learns to use her power without such stimulation. However, she cannot yet aim her lightning.

Xaden helps Violet to clean her room, and they find the folklore book from Violet’s father and discover a letter he wrote to her, but his words are cryptic. Xaden starts to initiate sex, but Violet rejects him, stating that they will not have intercourse until he admits that he has feelings for her beyond simple lust. A month passes. Violet’s accuracy with her lightning does not improve, but her stamina does. Xaden and Violet continue to practice sparring together, which causes the sexual tension between them to mount. The six-year anniversary of Brennan’s death arrives, causing Violet to ruminate on all she has lost. The day of his death is also Reunification Day, a celebration of the end of the rebellion. The cadets are required to wear dress uniforms and attend a party at which King Tauri, other students in the war college, and the commanding officers are waiting to celebrate. However, Violet realizes that Liam is the only rebel child in attendance. She remembers that Reunification Day is also the day many rebels were executed, so from the rebel children’s perspective, the event is a celebration of their parents’ deaths.

Violet and Liam are approached by the king, her mother, and General Melgren. They have an uncomfortable conversation about power; Melgren questions Xaden’s loyalty and puts pressure on Liam. Violet defends Xaden but is instructed to warn the generals if she suspects that Xaden is a traitor. Violet and Liam leave the party shortly thereafter. Violet seeks Xaden and finds his friends instead. They warn her not to go to him, but she continues her search, eventually stepping out onto the parapet that she has not seen since her first day.

Violet spots Xaden and is filled with empathy, perceiving that he mourns the death of his father. She realizes that she is in love with him and attempts to cross the parapet to him, fighting the wind. Xaden spots her and drags her to safety, furious that she has put herself in reckless danger. She confesses her feelings for him and outlines her desire for a relationship. Xaden concedes. She convinces him to get off the parapet, discouraging him from mourning alone. She takes him to his room and admits that she loves him. They have intercourse. Their evening is interrupted when Garrick, one of Xaden’s friends, arrives and reports that an attack is occurring.