CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Summary

• The protagonist, Violet, describe her new room and encounters with fellow dragon riders, such as Sawyer and Rhiannon.
• Dragon riders are ranked based on the power of their dragons, and the unbonded cadets are viewed with caution because they are eager to bond.
• Rhiannon gives Violet some friendly chiding about romantic interests. She questions Violet about her feelings toward a certain squad leader, which Violet dismisses.
• Violet becomes aware of her elevated status within the rider community after bonding a dragon. This brings new dynamics and power shifts among her peers.
• Violet learns that her survival and training, especially her ability to ride her dragon, Tairn, have been ordered by the powerful rider Xaden, elevating her status even more.
• During the flight inspections, Violet struggles to stay seated on Tairn's back while flying. Despite this, she insists on learning how to control and ride her dragon independently.
• Dain, Violet's best friend and fellow rider, admits to having feelings for her, but they agree to keep their relationship platonic because he doesn't want it to interfere with his prospects to be a wingleader.
• Imogen, an older and more experienced rider, takes Violet under her wing for extra training, reassuring Violet's fellow riders that she will take good care of her.

• The chapter opens in a room lit with mage lights that's full of wooden machinery; things like racks, ropes, pulleys, and benches, for physical training.
• There's a first-year student called Sorrengail doing push-ups on a mat, instructed by Garrick.
• Imogen coos to Sorrengail, lightheartedly assuring there's only three people in the room and they're completely safe.
• The narrator is led by Imogen to a machine with a wooden seat and two cushioned squares for training usually used for strengthening thigh muscles, crucial for riding a dragon.
• It is revealed that the narrator has a healing ankle and arms, hence restricting kinds of exercises they can perform.
• Imogen corrects the narrator when they refer to an individual named Xaden, insisting they call him Riorson and underlining that the narrator is never allowed to bring him up in their conversations.
• Then, the narrator reflects on their feelings about Imogen and Riorson's relationship, suggesting they might be jealous but quickly dismissing the thought.
• Imogen instructs the narrator to start their leg exercise with thirty reps, using a lever on the machine to separate the narrator's thighs, indicating the start of their workout.