Chapter Fourteen
Contains spoilersOverview
Drugged and taken to a forest for a joint land-navigation exercise, Violet and fellow riders find their dragon bonds and signets suppressed. Friction with the attached infantry deepens as they navigate with conflicting maps while dragons hunt.
Baide ambushes the unit; panic makes Gwen run, and Tomas dies saving her, underscoring the lethal stakes and fragile inter-branch trust.
Summary
Violet wakes to smelling salts in a forest beside Rhiannon, Sawyer, Ridoc, and four Second Wing riders. Their bonds to Tairn and other dragons are muffled, and signets dulled, after being dosed. Professor Grady and an infantry captain outline a joint land-navigation mission with two mixed teams, a scribe (Aoife), and two healers. They must find and secure an extraction point by tomorrow afternoon while dragons—bonded and unbonded—hunt them.
With limited communication to their dragons and no supplies, tensions flare between the riders and the attached infantry squad led informally by Calvin. As they march, Aoife notes the cadre was built from each quadrant’s best, but Calvin challenges rider authority and rank. The teams debate their location (Parchille vs. Hadden) and water needs while negotiating map reading; Violet counsels the infantry on basic dragon survival behavior.
Brisa realizes both groups were given different maps, explaining their confusion. Cresting a hill, they encounter Baide, the orange Scorpiontail once bonded to Jack Barlowe. Rhiannon orders riders to the front and infantry to shield the scribe and healers. Violet refuses to hide, guiding the infantry to avert their eyes and hold position. Baide singles Violet out, testing her resolve, while the group fights the urge to run.
As Baide repositions to sweep them with fire, Gwen panics and breaks. Tomas sprints after her, drags her back, and at Rhiannon’s command everyone drops. Baide’s blast incinerates the ground where Tomas stood moments before. In the stunned aftermath, Brisa and Cohen reach the charred earth, Mirabel retches, and Rhiannon berates the infantry for running, driving home the fatal consequences of panic.
Who Appears
- Violet Sorrengail
Rider protagonist; wakes drugged, leads calmly under threat, instructs infantry, faces Baide without flinching.
- Rhiannon
Fourth Wing squad leader; manages maps, orders formations, and commands the drop that saves most of the unit.
- Baide
Orange Scorpiontail dragon; ambushes the group, tests Violet, and kills Tomas with a sweeping blast.
- Tomas
Second Wing squad leader; collaborates on navigation, saves Gwen from fleeing, dies in Baide’s attack.
- Calvin
Argumentative infantry cadet with rank; challenges rider authority and fuels inter-branch friction.
- Ridoc
Rider; quips through tension, steadies Violet, and helps pull healer Dyre to safety.
- Sawyer
Rider; supports the line against Baide and reinforces Violet’s credibility to the infantry.
- Aoife
Field-scribe trainee; documents the exercise, observes team composition, records key events.
- Dyre
Healer cadet; panics at dragon threat but is pulled behind the rider line for protection.
- Brisa
Second Wing rider; identifies the two-map setup and reaches the blast site first.
- Mirabel
Second Wing rider and fire-wielder; travels with team, retches after Baide’s deadly strike.
- Cohen
Second Wing rider; supports Brisa at the charred ground where Tomas fell.
- Gwen
Nervous infantry cadet; breaks and runs from Baide, prompting Tomas’s fatal rescue.
- Professor Grady
Rider instructor; orchestrates the joint exercise, reveals drugging that suppresses bonds and signets.
- Infantry captain
Infantry professor; assigns rider squads to infantry units and sets mission parameters.
- Tairn
Violet’s dragon; briefly communicates before the drug muffles their bond, heightening Violet’s vulnerability.