Fourth Wing Chapters 16-20

Okay. If you read these chapters before coming to this post, which I hope you did, you know how much there is to unpack here. It took me a really long time to decide how I wanted to break this post down, and I decided the best thing to do was to not recap everything that happened. Because you've already read it. So I'm just going to jump in with the things I either question, find the most interesting, think we need to point out and remember, and maybe mention once or twice that Xaden knows his way around a corset ;)

For the Love of Dragons

One of the biggest things I think in this set of chapters is what we find out about the dragons and this new term we learn called The Empyrean. I think it's important to note that one of the biggest things we learn is that there is still a lot to learn about these dragons! They make their own rules and laws and humans have no say in any of it. Which means there's a lot that they are most likely hiding from humans. They even mentioned, when they go off to discuss Tairn and Andarna’s choice to both bond Violet, that humans cannot hear what is discussed among the Empyrean. So it makes you wonder how many conversations are had that nobody knows about. And that leads me to this nagging feeling that I still have about Jack and these unbonded riders. I still do not understand how Jack bonded a dragon. Knowing that he was going to kill another dragon, it does not make any sense to me that a dragon would find him worthy. So that to me is still a massive red flag that there is something larger at play. But then I also have to wonder about this idea of the unbonded killing riders in the hopes that they're dragon will then bond them. Has that ever actually happened before? The killing part, sure, but the bonding? If a dragon chooses and bonds with a rider and someone else murders their rider, would that dragon really have any interest in bonding the person who caused that pain? It just doesn't make sense to me and I have to question the validity of that mindset.

The other thing that I found really interesting in this chapter was what we learned about feathertails. Because, up until now, we obviously don't know anything other than the fact that they exist. Now, we know that feathertails are babies, they have their own badass powers that they can gift to their riders, and it makes perfect sense that they would never let anyone know this. Like violet figures out, feathertails would be hunted for those abilities. We also learn specifically about Andarna that her parents died before she was born. We obviously know now that she's an Irid and the other Irids are on one of the Isles, but I still am just itching for the rest of that story because it happened 600 years ago. So what was it that happened that made the Irids leave? We know they hate violence, but there has to be more to it than that. I have to wonder if it has something to do with this divide where I think there are bad dragons. I’m sure it had something to do with the venin as well, but I am dying for the full story…sorry, not sorry if it was in Onyx Storm…I’ll get back there ;) 

And while we're on the subject of dragons, I just have to say how much I adore our new major dragons. Tairn is such a fucking badass, but he is such a softy for Violet in so many ways and I just love seeing both of those sides of him. He will burn you to the ground, literally, if you mess with her, but he will also bend for her, also very literally. And Sgaeyl, we obviously don't get a ton of her, but you can tell she's very similar to Tairn, where she will do anything for Xaden, but it's very clear that she too has this soft spot and we see it for Andarna. I would love to understand more about why they let her be a part of any of this even though they truly believed she wouldn't bond, but then she did and Tairn makes this comment about how nobody tells Andarna what to do. I need more. I need to understand the dynamics of this quirky little family we have going on. 

The Archives

I think the part where Violet visits the archives for her library duty is a really important chapter for a lot of reasons. I think the most obvious things to remember from this interaction with Jesinia are that, we learn that The Fables of the Baron has basically been erased from existence. Jesinia has never heard of it, she's never heard of venin or wyvern, and Violet even starts to realize that in all of her scribe training, she never came across anything about them either. She does mention the chimera and the kraken, which I have to wonder if something about that will come up later, but this was a key moment that I had completely forgotten about on my first read. We know the book exists because Violet owns it. And the archives are supposed to have everything. So the fact that they do not have this book or any mention of the things in it, is a huge red flag that someone has been messing with the history of Navarre.

The other reason I love this chapter so much is because it makes us realize how much Violet has grown. She herself even mentions that the riders quadrant is the right home for her now. And I think a lot of us can see that in her. We see that she is such an incredibly strong woman and she would have been wasted in the scribe quadrant. I can't fathom her wearing cream robes and blending into the tomes and having to show no emotion. But it's really cool to see Violet recognizing this in herself as well. She's had so much doubt about her abilities as a rider even now, after bonding two dragons, she still isn't totally convinced that she can do this. So I love seeing her visit her old quadrant and realizing that no, it isn't the right place for her anymore. She ended up in the riders quadrant for a reason and it's where she belongs. 

LIAM!!

I mean, do I even need to say anything more here? It's Liam :)

God-Fucking-Dammit-Dain

Oh my gosh!! I saved this section for towards the end because I didn't want to start this post on such a negative note, because it’s A LOT. Dain is the absolute worst in this set of chapters! I cannot believe how much I am hating him right now. I'm having an even harder time believing that I had forgotten so many of these things happened and I had forgiven him by the end of Onyx Storm! Because the way he is behaving in this set of chapters is cocky and asinine and demeaning and any other horrible adjective you can come up with. I mean, the list is ridiculous. He tells Violet that she's going to have to choose between her two dragons and she has to choose Andarna because it's the only way she'll survive. None of that is any of his fucking business. Then, he is so angry with Xaden that he accuses him of manipulating threshing…seriously?? But then we really get to see his true colors when he says that he would not have stepped in and he basically would have watched Violet die because of his beloved rules. Oh! And then there’s more…he is so angry about everything to do with Violet and her dragons UNTIL leadership says that it's okay for her to keep them both and then suddenly he is over the moon happy and kissing her on the flight field. Cue vomit. Thank God she no longer feels anything for him. The next day, it still isn’t over. We, again, get classic Dain saying he can't be with her and it's not because he doesn't care about her, but it's because of his ever loving ridiculous love of the rules! So it has to be over now, right? Wrong. After flight maneuvers he is suddenly screaming at Violet about not being able to keep her seat and how dare she not tell him and he thought she'd be able to manage when she got the dragons but now he still has to worry about her. Oh my god, shut up, Dain! 

So here I am, fuming at Dain about these things that I had forgotten, thinking now it can't possibly get any worse. Then, in classic Dain fashion, he manages to bring himself down even farther when he doesn't believe Violet about Amber. He is so incredibly brainwashed into this idea of leadership being the end all be all, and that includes wingleaders (except for Xaden because he's a rebellion kid) so there is no way Amber could have done this, and he is accusing the woman he has known his entire life of lying because he cannot fathom a world where a wingleader would do something wrong. And then he demands Violet and give him her memories and it's heartbreaking. Violet not only realizes that she legitimately cannot trust her best friend, but she now remembers all of the times that he has touched her and realizes he may have stolen a lot of other memories. I can't even imagine what that level of betrayal feels like for her. And I still cannot believe Rebecca Yarros was able to write him a redemption arc, because he is bottom of the barrel at this point. 

Should I Get the Wingleader?

And now we've come to what is easily my favorite part of all of these blog posts. Our beloved Shadow Daddy. I think this is one of the first times in the series that we see more than just the one side of him. Up until now, he's this terrifying, mysterious rebellion kid. We really don't know anything more about him than that. There's obviously something special about him that he's been able to rise to the rank of wingleader even though his father literally led the Rebellion against Navarre, but we really don't actually know him yet. And that's something I love about the Xaden we see in this section of chapters. We still get this cold and terrifying wingleader who is pissed that he's now bonded to Violet. Great that we know he can't kill her anymore, but he's clearly not happy about any of it. But we also get to see the Xaden that defends her and actually seems to admire her for what she did at threshing. We see him unhinged lose his temper, for just a moment, and we get the very first well-the-fuck-aware. We see a Xaden that is terrified to lose Violet and actually becomes gentle and caring after she's attacked in her room. This would be the part where I mention that he knows his way around a corset, which is beyond hot. But then he goes from that to standing up to Tairn who is one of the most terrifying dragons on the continent. And then suddenly he's sensitive again and hurt when he thinks that Sgaeyl was hiding a child from him. We finally get to see him as a real person and I love that this is the start of all of that. He is going to have to start letting Violet in; he even said himself they're going to have to start trusting each other and that means he can't always be putting up this badass front. And, while that badass front was and is crazy sexy, getting to see these other sides of him and getting to know the real him is what makes us all fall so deeply in love with his character. 

Of course, this section would not be complete without me mentioning, not only the scalp prickles, but in this section we actually get some legitimate Xaden reading thoughts. So, there are three different scalp circles through this set of chapters. The first is on the flight field after Violet realizes she's allowed to keep both of her dragons. She can feel her scalp prickling and she looks over to see Xaden across the flight field and he's holding up that one finger to remind her that she is target number one for all the unbonded. The second time is during breakfast the next morning. She's sitting with everyone at the table and can feel her scalp prickling and she looks up to see Xaden eating with Garrick. The third time is at lunch after she has seen Jesinia for the first time. They're all talking about their signets and how they need to manifest within a certain amount of time, because if they don't, they will spontaneously combust. Violet gets a scalp prickle and this time she doesn't even look up to see him, she just knows he's in the room. 

But then we get a few deeper things happening this time. When she's attacked and Xaden is helping to take care of her afterwards, in her head she is repeating, "I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive” and Xaden says back to her, “Yes, you're alive.” Rebecca even tries to mess with us and has Violet think to herself that she didn't even realize she had said it out loud. And when you're listening to this in an audiobook, you believe it, like I did the first time. But when you actually read the physical book, you know she did in fact say it in her head. There's also a few other little things where Violet is feeling nauseous but she doesn't say anything about it, and Xaden tells her that it's the shock. She even tells Xaden that she's fine and then in her head she tells herself that she's really not. He immediately responds by telling her never to lie to him. There's one final thing that happens when they're outside talking to their dragons and Tairn yells at Xaden, “Do not try to read me, human!” I cannot believe how many things happen in the span of just a few pages that show what he is able to do well before we're ever told about it. But so much is happening that, at least for me, it just went in one ear and out the other. That's one of the things that makes this reread so much fun…Being able to see the writing on the wall and having an even greater appreciation for the unbelievable writing in these books. 

The Podcast 

I absolutely loved listening to the fantasy fangirls podcast after this section of chapters because so many things are revealed to us and so much is starting to happen because we're really getting out of the introduction of the story and we're getting into the meat of everything, if you will. What I love about these sisters is that they question really interesting things and dive deeper into things than I ever would have considered myself. One of the questions they asked that I thought was so interesting was, why is Violet so worried about people seeing her being mended? She keeps saying it will make her look weak. But why do they even have menders if being mended is a sign of weakness? It wasn't something that even crossed my mind when I read it, I just took it at face value. But I love that idea of this signet being so highly coveted, yet Violet is afraid to use it. 

Something else they pointed out was how, as soon as they start flight training, Tairn is pushing Violet to the absolute limit and she even mentions that he's making things much more difficult than he needs to. I just sort of took that as part of his character; he doesn't do anything halfway. But what they pointed out is that Tairn knows the truth. He knows about the venin and the wyvern and probably a lot more about Navarre's history than we know yet. He knows that the riders are not being trained properly for what is actually waiting out there for them and he does not want Violet to die. So he knows he has to train her for what they're actually up against and I just thought that was so incredibly insightful. The other unbelievably insightful thing that they discussed during this podcast was why is Xaden is so worried about his own life. Again, I took that at face value. He values his own life and he doesn't want to die so he's worried about Violet. Makes sense to me. But what they brought up was that his life is also tied to the 107 rebellion kids. So if he dies, what happens to them? He has taken responsibility for all of them. So if he dies, are they all then killed? He has so much weighing on him that nobody understands and I think they're right, I think this is a really big part of that. He needs to keep Violet alive so he can keep them alive. 

And of course I can't leave out anything they learn about the Gaelic meanings behind the different dragons names. So here's the new ones we learned this time around. 

• Baide (Jack) - Goodbye

• Feirge (Rhiannon) - Anger

• Aotrom (Ridoc) - Light

• Sliseag (Sawyer) - Slice

• Smachd (Kaori) - Control

• Claidh (Amber) - Graveyard

• Cathe (Dain) - Battle 

  • But the best part about this one is that the Urban Dictionary definition is someone who is acting really annoying! 

Until Next Time 

And with that, we've come to the end of this set of chapters. As always, thank you so much for coming with me on this journey and I will see you here next time for chapters 21 through 25. Until then, enjoy having all the fantasy feels!