🎧 ‘Just Pretend’ by Bad Omens
In preparation for Onyx Storm, I thought I’d write a little summary of what happens in Fourth Wing. I’ll answer some of the bigger questions first then dive into the full summary. Beware of spoilers, this will be diving deep into the details.
|Quick Answers|
What is Xaden’s second signet?
Xaden is an inntinnsic, which allows him to read a person’s intentions.
Is Jack Barlowe alive?
Yes. Jack is revealed to be alive after extensive healing by Nolan. At the end of the book, it is also revealed he is venin.
Who is Cat (or Catriona)?
Cat is Xaden’s ex. They got betrothed on her 20th birthday, which means Xaden was 21 at the time. This was arranged by their fathers, but the engagement was broken after 9 months.
|Summary|
|Part I|
The book opens right where Fourth Wing left off. Violet is in Riorson House in Aretia, and Brennan is alive. He goes by Captain Aisereigh to hide his connection to his mother, but is high ranking himself in the rebellion group. He ends up getting called away for a meeting, which Violent ends up following him to. The meeting is of the Assembly, the high ranking rebel leaders, trying to decide if the Basgiath students should be sent back or made to stay.
Xaden is of course at the meeting, as he is a larger part of the rebellion, and it is decided that the students will return to Basgiath. This isdue to the need to have access to the colleges forge, which created the weapons needed to kill the venin. Violet’s trustworthiness is questioned due to her mother, but Xaden vouches and takes responsibility for her.
The race is on to protect Navarre from the venin. Aretia is outside the wards but does have an old wardstone, but no one knows how to activate it. The rebels think having their own luminary so that they can have their forge could be the answer, this would help to create weapons using the alloy needed to kill the venin. Brennan thinks they only have 6 months until the venin try to strike Navarre versus the year the Assembly predicts.
Dragon and student alike return to Basgiath for graduation. The squads plan of revealing themselves at graduation and saying they faced a gryphon attack works in their favor. Colonel Aetos (Dain’s father) is blamed by Captain Sorrengail (Violet’s mom) for emptying out a critical outpost outside the wards and for almost getting Violet killed. The students allowed back into the school while the third years are assigned to their new positions and outposts. Xaden is stationed on the front lines in an outpost 2 days away and as revenge for surviving the venin attack and returning, Violet and him are only allowed to reunite Sgaeyl and Tairn every 7 days. Aetos also threatens Mira (Violet’s sister) if the truth of what actually happened during the war games gets out.
Xaden and Violet are still having issues in their relationship due to him not being forthcoming with information. While he insists she can trust him and he’ll tell her what he can, he also can’t tell her everything nor will he ever be able to due to his role in the rebel group. Violet can’t get past this and the two part on not so great terms.
Andarna has started the transition into becoming a full fledged dragon since the venin attack. Currently at the adolescent stage now, she’s grown in size and appears to have black scales with a purple tinge to them. Her new adolescence status also comes with a fun new attitude for Tairn to deal with. For the next couple of months she enters the Dreamless Sleep.
Conscription day has come once again, a whole year has gone by since Violet arrived in the Riders Quadrant. Violet helps oversee the new first-years as they cross the parapet. She’s surprised to see King Tauri’s third son, Aaric. He enrolls under the name of Cam. Liam’s little sister, Sloane, also arrives and Violet has sworn to help her. Unfortunately though Sloane hates Violet, blaming her for Liam’s death. Both Sloane and Aaric are assigned to Violet’s squad.
Violet and her friends continue on into their second year, with new classes being added such as Rider Survival Course. This class is meant to help second-years learn to survive situations like getting lost or tortured. Strange things are happening as second-year goes on in the quadrant. The infirmary is being guarded, a second-year is dragged from the library and killed for making an unapproved request, and others are attempting to kill Violet and those who were with her at Athebyne, likely at Dain’s father’s orders.
Violet herself is becoming more isolated from her friends, due to them not knowing what really happened during War Games. She feels guilty not being able to tell them and thus avoids them. She is also still upset with Xaden, so the little time they get together doesn’t end well.
There is also a new vice commandant, Major Varrish. He knows exactly what when down at Athebyne during the War Games, and is close friends with Colonel Aetos. Violet is singled out by him regarding Andarna not showing for training and is punished to the point of almost dying. She recovers and is kidnapped along with a few others for an assignment in which their connections to their dragons are inhibited, which is a new potion being developed.
Violet has also started researching the wards and how the First Six built them. She seeks out Jesinia for help so her requests won’t be reported. The two also discover that books are going missing from the archives. Xaden grows angry when he sees the research she’s conducting, believing that she’s putting herself in unnecessary danger.
Violet has another run-in with Major Varrish about Andarna’s absence. Tairn takes matters into his own hands by attacking Varrish’s dragon, Solas. Major Varrish is forced to apologize.
When Violet next visits Xaden in Samara, she finds that Mira, has been stationed there as well. Mira’s signet is the ability to extend the wards, which might be needed since this outpost has one of the most extensive power supplies for the wards. Violet asks more questions about the wards, and Mira explains that they work like an umbrella, and the alloys boost the power at the end of the spokes. Mira dismisses the idea that wyverns could be the real threat on the border. During the visit, Xaden also reveals that the alloy needed to make weapons to fight venin contain dragon egg shells.
Another cadet with Violet during the War Games is killed. Rhiannon is starting to put together that the people Violet was with at War Games are getting killed off. She asks how Liam’s dragon died, and Violet begs her to stop asking so she won’t have to lie. Aaric, or Cam, admits that he knows about the wyverns and venin, and that’s why he snuck himself into battle school.
Major Varrish takes Violet for interrogation training. They withstand and hold their secrets until Dain is brought in to read Violet’s mind, but Dain refuses. Varrish knocks Violet out, and Nolon heals her. She is returned to the interrogation room, and Nolon leaves the window unlocked. Violet admits to her squad mates that she knows something that Varrish wants, and they escape so that he won’t have the opportunity to kill her.
It’s finally revealed why the infirmary has been locked and why Nolan has been exhausted and unable to help heal Violet’s various training injuries; Jack Barlowe is alive. Nolan has been healing him extensively after Violet almost killed him. He seems to be a changed man, even going as far as being nice and protecting Violet.
During Battle Brief, Violet is made to believe that Xaden has been injured. Tairn and her race to his outpost, only to discover that he is perfectly fine. She then accompanies him to deliver alloy daggers to a group of gryphon riders, including Xaden’s gorgeous ex, Catriona. Xaden tells them he’s trying to acquire the luminary needed for the forge. Viscount Tecarus is mentioned again, the first time being at the Assembly meeting Violet crashed at the beginning of the book. The Viscount wants to strike some kind of deal that Xaden is unwilling to make. Xaden admits that he thinks the Viscount wants Violet and her power in exchange for the luminary.
When Violet returns, Varrish intercepts her. She is afraid he will find the alloy dagger Xaden gave her. Rhiannon uses her signet to extract the dagger to herself. Professor Kaori steps in for Violet, insisting the bond between Sgaeyl and Tairn led to her leaving without permission.
Violet finally tells Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Sawyer everything that happened at Athebyne and they decide to help Violet research how to power a wardstone. Ridoc says he heard that two of the First Six kept journals. Jesinia looks into it and learns of a royal vault where the journals are hidden. With Aaric’s help they’re able to retrieve the journals and pass one of them to Xaden to give to Brennan to translate.
The vault break in triggers and alarm that alerts Major Varris, who arrives and takes the second journal from Violet after she’s drugged by Nolan. Dain is brought in to read her memories. Dain tells Varrish what he knows, but then Dain attacks Varrish to help Violet escape, telling her that she should’ve trusted him to begin with. Xaden and Garrick then show up to help them escape.
Violet’s mom, General Sorrengail, arrives but doesn’t stop them. She knew nothing of what was happening to Violet and offers the antidote to elixer she was given to cut her off from Tarin and Andarna. She tells Violet that last year, she called in a favor from Xaden and asked him to protect her. She knows they’ve been smuggling weapons.
After, Tairn shares the memory of the battle of Resson with all the dragons, to be passed along to their riders, to ask them to join the revolution. Xaden addresses all the riders, asking them to join them. Many, including Dain, Jesinia, and a few teachers, fly to Aretia and the revolution.
|Part II|
The council has to quickly organize to absorb the influx of cadets, plus four professors, and continue to train them. Other groups of riders also now know the truth, thanks to Xaden dropping wyvern carcasses at various outposts, and also abandon their posts to go to Aretia. Mira is one of those riders and ends up punching Brennan when she sees he’s alive.
Andarna finally awakes from the Dreamless Sleep. She has not developed as she should have because of how much energy she used at Resson and because her sleep was interrupted often. Tairn says she’s unlikely ever to carry a rider.
Violet continues her work translating the journals. She believes that she’s figured it out, but her first attempt, getting the six most powerful riders to drip blood on the wardstone, doesn’t work. This failure leads to her insistence on negotiating with Viscount Tecarus for the luminary, which Xaden is against.
Mira and Brennan decide to join Violet and journey to Cordyn with her. When they arrive they find Xaden already there. She is introduced to the Viscount and his neice Catriona, Cat, who was apparently once betrothed to Xaden. It’s then revealed that Cat’s signet is the power of amplifying and manipulating others’ emotions.
As part of the negotiations, Tecarus requests a display of Violet’s power and ends up releasing venin for her to fight. Violet emerges victorious and negotiations start. In exchange for the luminary, they agree to supply Tecarus with weapons and take their gryphon flier cadets to Aretia to train with the riders.
Since the gryphons can’t fly at high altitudes, they must hike the mountain pass. Ridoc is injured, a gryphon flier dies and Cat blames Violet which leads to more conflict between the two. Even after making it to Aretia, the flyers and riders are in constant conflict. Cat eventually challenges Violet to a fight, but Xaden puts a stop to it and tells Violet that he never loved Cat and was only betrothed to her as part of an alliance that later fell apart. He also says he’s technically the king of Tyrrendor.
Violet also learns that since Xaden’s dragon previously bonded to someone in his familial line (his grandfather) he has a secret second signet. Xaden is an inntinnsic, which allows him to read a person’s intentions.
Throughout all this, the cadets learn about runes, the first Aretia hatchling is born, and Violet works privately with Felix, a council member, to gain control of her lighting. To help Violet with her powers, Felix gives her an orb etched with runes to use as sort of conduit. Violet is also still working on translating Warrick’s journal and discovers there was a mistranslation. Powering the wards requires the use of dragons, not riders. They manage to get the wards up before a wyvern attack, but they’re still not quite working properly since the fliers were still able to use their powers.
Violet, Mira, and others meet with Melgren and General Sorrengail. Melgren, whose signet is to predict the outcome of battles, informs them that venin will attack Samara and win. They ask them to fight alongside them, but the rebels decline due to it just being an outpost. General Sorrengail is shocked to see Brennan alive. She also reveals that Warrick’s instructions for the wards are flawed because he only wanted Navarre to have the secret to raising wards. She says that Aretia’s wards will eventually fail, and she secretly gives Violet Lyra’s journal, the one stolen by Varrish, with the real instructions.
Violet figures out that the real battle against the venin is going to be at Basgiath, and that Melgren couldn’t see it due to the rebellion relics on the cadets there. The rebels race there knowing everyone is at risk if Navarre falls. At Basgiath, they go to check the wardstone and find Jack, who has turned venin, there. Before they can stop him, he kills his own dragon and breaks the wardstone protecting all of Navarre.
The ensuing battle is brutal, with dragons riders and gryphons alike flocking to the battle to help try to fight the wyvern horde and venin. As they battle, Brennan mends the wardstone. Jesinia determines that it requires seven (not six) types of dragons for the ward. Andarna reveals she is not a black dragon, but a seventh breed of dragon, and that she has been waiting over 650 years for Violet.
Violet begins pouring her power into the stone, nearly burning out. Her mother stops her and has Sloane siphon her and her dragon’s power into it instead, killing herself in the process. The wards are raised and the wyvern fall to the ground, ending the battle.
Violet finds Xaden after the battle ad goes to him, immediately noticing a a red tinge around his eyes, indicative of someone who has turned venin. It’s implied that he had to do it in order to survive the battle.
The books ends with Xaden asking Jack Barlowe how to undo what’s happening to him. Jack says there’s no cure.
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