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Dad did, too. His chest pains started right after Brennan’s death.
This sounds suspecious.
“I won’t be able to acknowledge you for the next three years,” she says, sitting back on the edge of her desk. “Since, as commanding general of Basgiath, I’ll be your far superior officer.” “I know.” It’s the least of my concerns, considering she barely acknowledges me now. “You won’t get any special treatment just because you’re my daughter, either.
This tells me she loves her daughter and wants to keep her safe.
“A dragon did that?” I whisper. She nods. “Mom says General Melgren’s dragon did it to all of them when he executed their parents, but she wasn’t exactly open to further discussion on the topic. Nothing like punishing the kids to deter more parents from committing treason.”
Knowing how the relics actually end up working, and General Melgren’s signet, why did his dragon actually end up helping them out?
The rain eases into a drizzle, as if it had only come to make the hardest test of my life even harder…but
I dont think this was her mom..but i think she was targeted
He takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger, turning my face left and right for his inspection.
Is he taking her memories here?
“I can read a person’s recent memories,” Dain admits quietly. “Not like an inntinnsic reads minds or anything—I have to put my hands on the person, so I’m not a security risk.
He doesnt say anything abou touching their temples here
I just put my hands on someone’s temples, and I can see what they saw.
So is this a lie?…yup!
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and a chill races down my spine
Xaden’s second signet “reading” her?
His head tilts, and he studies me with those impossibly dark eyes,
In response to her thoughts about the floors
Knowing I am in direct disagreement with General Melgren’s orders, I am officially objecting to the plan set forth in today’s briefing. It is not this general’s opinion that the children of the rebellion’s leaders should be forced to witness their parents’ executions. No child should watch their parent put to death.
General Melgren wanted the kids there, Lilith did not.
by General Lilith Sorrengail
I can feel him staring at the back of my neck from seven rows behind me, but I’m not going to turn and look, not when I know Xaden’s up there somewhere, too.
Probably Xaden staring, actually
“It’s an illogical place for them to attack unless they knew the wards would fail,
How are gryphon riders causing wards to fail?
The hairs on my neck rise,
Reaction to Xaden again
what do we have that they want so badly?”
Weapons?
and she’s already above me, so damn fast. “You can’t use your powers in here, Imogen!” Dain shouts.
Imogen's power here is speed
I duck and dodge as she comes at me again, but her movements are a blur. “Imogen!” Emetterio shouts. “Do it again, and I’ll—”
Definitely speed here, so is her mind-wiping ability a second signet? Or is this speed a lesser magic?
doing my best to mentally block the pain like I have countless times before. It’s usually as easy as building a mental wall around the pulsing torment in my body, then telling myself the pain only exists in that box so I can’t feel it,
Thiz is why Violet is good at building Shields
The signet of mending is exceptionally rare among riders. They have the power to fix, to restore, to return anything to its original state—from ripped cloth to pulverized bridges, including broken human bones. My brother, Brennan, was a mender—and would have become one of the greatest had he lived.
Important info about menders…i feel like this plays a role in a connection between Jack and Brennan too.
Mira, You’re a Sorrengail, so you will survive. Perhaps not as spectacularly as I have, but we all can’t live up to my standards, can we? All kidding aside, this is everything I’ve learned. Keep it safe. Keep it hidden. You have to live, because Violet is watching. You can’t let her see you fall. Brennan.
This shows how much Brennan loved his family and sisters…does that change with his "death"?
“I told you already, the youngest Sorrengail is mine, and I’ll handle her when the time is right.”
He knows she is listening.
“No,” I answer truthfully, suppressing a shiver.
Xaden can read her here
“I’m not going to tell.” He looks at me like he’s trying to see through me, and ice prickles my scalp.
He s readng her here and she can feel it
Only a master can properly dose and administer for effective onset.
Brennan was described as a Master poisoner by Xaden.
Dain squeezes my hand gently.
Another touch from Dain.
“Red Scorpiontails, like Ghrian here, are the quickest to temper,”
his icy-blue gaze
Jack's icy-blue gaze means he hasn't changed here yet
I unsheathe both daggers from my ribs and flick them in his direction in one smooth movement. They land right where I intended—one nearly nicking his ear and the other an inch beneath his balls.
Her precision at throwing daggers but inability to hit her target when lightning wielding is interesting
“I’m happy to step in.” That voice. That tone. That prickle of ice along my scalp…
Again...
“Oh, Violence, you’re good, but I’ve known better poison masters.
Brennan
He lifts his other hand so he’s holding my face between both palms, tipping it up toward his. “Please. If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for me.” My heart stutters, and I sway, his reasoning tugging me toward exactly what he’s suggesting. But you’ve made it this far, a part of me whispers. “I can’t lose you, Violet,” he whispers, resting his forehead against mine. “I just…can’t.”
Touching her face again for the…3rd time?
My scalp prickles and Xaden stops mid-step ten feet away, the set of his shoulders rigid. Shit. He knows I’m here.
Again
“Killing you wouldn’t be any trouble, Violence. It’s leaving you alive that seems to cause the majority of my trouble.”
Damn
I lean in just a little, like I can siphon off some of his strength.
Siphon?
But I stay on my feet until his hands clasp my face. Agony fills every cell in my body as violent, vibrating energy rips through me with an intensity that makes it feel like he’s cleaving ligament from bone, muscle from tendon. I scream as I’m shaken by an internal force I don’t understand, as though he’s forcing his own power into my body, shocking me with a thousand stings of vibrating energy.
What kind of power is Jack using here?
His sadistic grin and a red rim around his eyes are all I can see as he forces more and more power into my body,
First mention of his red eyes? He’s turned into a Venin At some point before this.
He smiles for a flash of a second before moving with a speed I’ve never dreamed possible. He’s even faster than Imogen as he sweeps my feet from under me with one strike, taking me to the mat in a single move.
“Faster than Imogen”…how? What is this related to?
“We’ve had the scribes on it since Threshing, and the only reference they can find in the Archives about the power of feathertails is hundreds of years old, which is funny because I remember your father doing a bit of research about the second Krovlan uprising, and he mentioned something about feathertails, but we can’t seem to find that tome.”
I wonder what research they found? And why Violet’s dad was researching them?
I know exactly where his notes are—in the one location he spent the majority of his after-hours time.
What does his notes say…?
My Violet, By the time you find this, you’ll most likely be in the Scribe Quadrant. Remember that folklore is passed from one generation to the next to teach us about our past. If we lose it, we lose the links to our past. It only takes one desperate generation to change history—even erase it. I know you’ll make the right choice when the time comes. You have always been the best of both your mother and me. Love, Dad
A warning against the Scribe Quadrant?
and how those bonds could turn on the rider if they tried to consume too much power.
Burnout?
great evil that spread across the land as man became corrupted by dark magic and turned into creatures known as venin who created flocks of winged creatures called wyvern and scourged the land of all magic in the thirst for more power. Another talks about the dangers of wielding power from the ground instead of the skies, as one could easily start drawing magic from the earth and eventually be driven mad.
Is this saying there is a difference between “dark magic wielding” and “drawing magic from the ground”?
His touch is gentle when he cups my cheek. “You look beautiful tonight, Vi.”
Again…this is where he stole her memory of Xaden and his trip.
My lips part. “Yes, but that’s how he always touches me. He would n-never…” I sputter. “I would know if he read my memories.” Xaden’s face falls, and his hand slips downward, cradling the back of my neck. “No, Violence. Trust me, you wouldn’t.”
Has Dain read Xaden’s memories before?
“They’re after something, and they’re going to kill every single person in Resson to get it.
What are the Venin after?
I’m responsible for all of you. None of you crossed that parapet because you wanted to. None of you. You crossed it because I made a deal. I’m the one who forced you into the quadrant, so I won’t think less of anyone who wants to fly for Eltuval instead.
The reiteration of “none of you” is interesting. Does this deal have to do with Violet’s mom being so adamant in her joining the Riders Quadrant?
