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“They were looking for something,” Xaden says with complete conviction. “And it wasn’t riches. That’s not a gem mining district. Which begs the question, what do we have that they want so badly?”
a vial of amber liquid
“The pair of us have been mending her for the past five years,”
It’s bitter like always
“I will always mend you,” Nolon promises.
Marked ones can’t gather in groups larger than three. They’re committing a capital offense simply by being together.
it would be nice if a high-ranking rider from my province gave a shit if the rest of us from the province lived or died.
“That was a little harsh, cousin,”
Bodies is Xaden's cousin
“It’s not that I can’t keep up, but the information…” She shrugs.
“You learn what they teach you,” Xaden says to the first-year, his voice taking a hard edge. “Keep what you know but recite
What do they know different from everyone else?
“I told you already, the youngest Sorrengail is mine, and I’ll handle her when the time is right.”
what does "handle her" mean
“Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?”
“We’ll see if you keep your word, and if you do, then unfortunately, it looks like I owe you a favor.”
“You’re my wingleader!”
the only professor in the quadrant with the signet ability to project what he sees in his mind,
professor Kaori's signet
“Red Scorpiontails, like Ghrian here, are the quickest to temper,”
“They prefer that you approach from the left and from the front, if possible,”
red scorpion tail approach
Attacks at the eastern borders are increasing, according to every Battle Brief, and yet there are fewer dragons willing to bond in order to defend Navarre.
She even bonded the relative of one of her previous riders, which you all know is typically forbidden,
A morningstartail. He has the same bludgeoning power of a clubtail, but those spikes will eviscerate a person just as well as a daggertail.”
the black dragon
black dragons?” “They’re the smartest and most discerning,” Aurelie calls out. “They’re the rarest,” I add in. “There hasn’t been one born in the last…century.”
“They’re also the most cunning. There’s no such thing as outsmarting a black dragon. This one is a little over a hundred, which makes him about middle-aged. He’s revered as a battle dragon
morningstartail, and he’s one of the deadliest dragons in Navarre.”
Signets are the result of the unique chemistry between rider and dragon and usually say more about the rider than the dragon. The stronger the bond and the more powerful the dragon, the stronger the signet.”
there’s no signet capable of resurrection—and
“Violet,” Professor Kaori calls out, and I pivot to look back. “I taught both your siblings. A signet like mine is too useful here in the classroom to let me deploy with a wing for long. Brennan was a spectacular rider and a good man. Mira is shrewd and gifted in the seat when it comes to riding.” I nod. “But you’re smarter than both of them.”
“Going for blood today, are we, Violence?”
“My name is Tairneanach, son of Murtcuideam and Fiaclanfuil, descended from the cunning Dubhmadinn line.”
“Simple flight is hardly acrobatics.”
“There is absolutely nothing simple about you!”
“I know exactly who and what you are, Violet Sorrengail.”
“I didn’t think I would, either, so we have that in common.”
Though, come to think of it, I never came across anything like The Fables of the Barren on the shelves while I was studying to become a scribe. Chimera? Yes. Kraken? Sure. But wyvern or the venin that create them? None. Bizarre.
The responsibility we have not only to record history but to speed information from the front lines is more than I ever could have imagined, and it’s so fulfilling.”
“The uptick in attacks along the border…”
“Look, the relic your dragons transferred onto you at Threshing is the conduit to let all that magic into your body. If you don’t manifest a signet and let it out, then after a bunch of months, bad things happen.” We all gawk. “The magic consumes you,”
“And I could call you Violence like the wingleader.”
“And you!” Jeremiah turns, his gaze locking on Garrick. “Damn it all to hell. He’ll know about—”
In response to the Great War, dragons claimed the western lands and gryphons the central ones, abandoning the Barrens and the memory of General Daramor, who nearly destroyed the Continent with his army. Our allies sailed home and we began a period of peace and prosperity as the provinces of Navarre united for the first time behind the safety of our wards, under the protection of the first bonded riders. —Navarre, an Unedited History by Colonel Lewis Markham
I’m alive. I’m alive. I’m alive.
“Yes. You’re alive.” Xaden
“Never lie to me.”
“Feathertails don’t bond because their power is too unpredictable. Unstable.”
Bonding too young allows them to give their gift directly, and a rider could easily drain them and burn out.”
A flash of light burns behind my closed eyes, followed by the boom of thunder.
But then he breaks the kiss with a sharp gasp, his brow furrowing with something akin to panic before he slams his eyes shut.
He reaches up to cup my cheek, and I hold his gaze, determined for him to understand he either starts valuing my choices or we are never going to fix our friendship.
“Guard her like you’re me.” “You mean like I’m six inches taller and built like a bull?”
“Sure. I’ll do my best. In the meantime, you’d better run
His sadistic grin and a red rim around his eyes
