Iron Flame
by Rebecca Yarros
Contents
Chapter Sixty-One
Overview
Basgiath braces for a massive assault as Lilith’s rainstorm empowers Violet’s lightning. Squads hold their sectors while gryphons aid on the ground and Brennan works below. After heavy initial losses to Violet’s strikes, the wyvern adapt. A targeted second wave reaches Violet; an asim boards Tairn, and Rhiannon intervenes midair.
Summary
Before sunrise, Violet’s squad forms a defensive line above Basgiath to guard their sector and the hidden ward chamber where Brennan works. First-years are kept below as runners. Andarna refuses to leave, while command arrays riders by sectors and fliers under Bragen. News arrives that Jesinia is in the Archives to compare Warrick’s and Lyra’s journals.
As the vast horde approaches, Lilith arrives on Aimsir and conjures warm rain, empowering Violet’s lightning. Violet and Xaden exchange vows of love, then launch. Violet’s first strike into storm clouds drops numerous wyvern before the enemy adapts, slipping beneath the cover. The battle ignites up and down the mountains as squads engage in their sectors.
Violet uses precise, repeated strikes to kill rider-bearing wyvern while Tairn maneuvers for angles that won’t endanger allies. Xaden and Sgaeyl bind targets with shadows; Ridoc, Sawyer, Quinn, and Imogen coordinate tightly, with Rhiannon distributing spare daggers mid-flight. Gryphons, grounded by the rain, protect courtyards and ferry wounded. Brennan continues below; Marbh stands watch.
Exhaustion and heat build as Violet becomes the storm’s conductor, picking targets across neighboring sectors to keep lines intact. Sawyer is nearly overwhelmed until Xaden diverts a feeding venin to ground, and Violet resumes high-accuracy strikes to stabilize pressure points.
A second, targeted wave streaks for Violet’s squad. In a coordinated exchange, Rhiannon re-arms Ridoc, and Sgaeyl removes one threat, but an asim venin forces a head-on grapple, then boards Tairn. Trapped in her saddle, Violet throws a dagger that the attacker catches. As the venin advances, Rhiannon leaps from Feirge onto Tairn, landing between Violet and the attacker.
Who Appears
- Violet SorrengailStormwielder leading precision lightning strikes; defends her sector; targeted by a venin who boards Tairn.
- TairnBlack dragon; anchors aerial maneuvers, grapples wyvern, warns Violet, and is boarded by an asim venin.
- RhiannonCommands riders; coordinates dagger resupply mid-battle; leaps from Feirge onto Tairn to protect Violet.
- Xaden RiorsonDeploys shadowbinding to disrupt threats; fights alongside Sgaeyl; vows to Violet before battle.
- SgaeylUses shadows to leash wyvern and removes a threat during the targeted attack on Violet’s squad.
- General Lilith SorrengailArrives on Aimsir; conjures warm rainstorm that amplifies Violet’s lightning; leads the forward defense.
- AndarnaRefuses to leave; hides near the ward chamber to watch over Violet and the battle’s tide.
- SawyerNearly overwhelmed by multiple wyvern until supported; participates in midair dagger relay.
- RidocEngages aggressively; breaks a dagger; rearmed via Rhiannon’s relay; fights in formation.
- ImogenHolds her sector with Glane; supports flanking interceptions during early waves.
- QuinnCoordinates with Rhiannon; helps maintain sector integrity during chaotic engagements.
- Brennan SorrengailWorks below to mend the wardstone; protected by cadets and dragons near the chamber.
- JesiniaIn the Archives, compares Warrick’s and Lyra’s journals to fix ward-raising errors.
- Mira SorrengailFlies with Lilith’s squad, engaging the first wave near the front gates.
- AimsirLilith’s storm-wielding dragon; helps deliver the rain that supercharges Violet’s power.
- FeirgeRhiannon’s dragon; enables dagger relays and the leap onto Tairn during the boarding.
- Slaiseag (Sliseag)Sawyer’s dragon; outnumbered in a three-on-one until aided by allies.
- AotromRidoc’s dragon; tears through wyvern and supports Sawyer during a critical moment.
- GlaneImogen’s dragon; assists sector defense and pursuit of diving wyvern.
- BragenLeads the fliers; assigns ground defense and evacuation due to heavy rain.
- MarenArrives by gryphon; her people ferry wounded and guard courtyards in the storm.
- MarbhStands guard near the ward chamber, watching for threats below Violet’s sector.
- Unknown asim veninTargets Violet; jumps onto Tairn during a grapple and advances before Rhiannon intercepts.