CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Summary

• The protagonist, Mira, is recovering from a fight, during which she received a dagger wound in her arm. Xaden, another character, scolds her for fighting and not informing him of her likely opponents ahead of time.
• Mira and Xaden discuss their former romantic encounter, which Xaden dismisses as a colossal blunder due to their inevitable future working closely together. His indifference hurts Mira, despite her snarky counters.
• Xaden declares he is taking over Mira’s training. During a training session, Xaden gave her a new, specially made dagger that perfectly suits her.
• Xaden begins to intensively push Mira's training. Despite the strain and fatigue, Mira is somewhat satisfied as she grows stronger and learns more. However, she’s constantly annoyed by Xaden refusing to engage romantically with her anymore.
• One of their fellow cadets dies from a training accident, causing Mira dread for the arrival of her own signet. A friend of Mira is also injured during a training accident. Her peers feel glad they aren't in her position.
• Xaden insists that Mira needs to focus on other aspects of training instead of focusing solely on harnessing her signet. He continues to push her even harder in training, leading her to note she's slowly learning how to take down the strongest Fighter in the quadrant.
• Mira's commander and Xaden argue over her training schedule. Xaden believes her normal classes aren’t necessary for her, which frustrates her Commander. To prove her worth, Mira uses her limited powers to perform a telekinetic trick, after which she is ushered away by Xaden, leaving her Commander speechless.
• Mira's mother, the commander's wife, is introduced. The two clearly have a fractured relationship. Her mother coldly critiques Mira for not having commanded her dragon's powers yet, leaving Mira feeling hurt and inadequate.

• Colonel Aetos and a group of scholars approached Sorrengail, asking for permission to study his dragon, Andarna. Sorrengail rejected this proposal, sensing they may discover the untapped power of young dragons.
• Colonel Aetos mentioned a historical tome regarding feathertails, a powerful type of dragon, which Sorrengail’s deceased father had researched. However, Sorrengail avoided revealing the location of his father's notes out of mistrust.
• Sorrengail's mother, General, shows disdain for Sorrengail's ally, Xaden, indicating past rifts and issues. She urges Sorrengail to live up to his family legacy.
• Sorrengail is frustrated with his mother and climbs the stairway in rage. He reflects on her lack of attention and approval throughout his life, especially following his father’s death.
• Xaden and Sorrengail discuss Sorrengail’s contentious relationship with his mother. Sorrengail questions Xaden’s cryptic remarks about having "paid the price for his loyalty". Xaden deflects the question, changing the subject.
• Xaden and Sorrengail later meet with Tairn and Sgaeyl, two dragons, along with a smaller dragon. Xaden displays a training plan for all of them which will include teaching Andarna to keep up, and Sgaeyl to follow instead of lead.
• Sorrengail finds the dynamics of dragon relationships puzzling. Xaden jests that human relationships can be just as confusing, but with less fire involved.