This chapter begins at the start of Threshing, which falls on October 1st every year. It takes place in the bowl-shaped valley below the citadel. All of the cadets are visibly nervous, especially Ridoc who’s vomiting behind a tree. Professor Kaori gives them some wise advice–listen for dragon calls because you might have already been selected at Presentation, follow your instincts and heart and avoid grouping together.
Violet splits into the cover of the nearby forest. She runs into a couple dragons that ignore her. She climbs a tree to get a better view of the valley when she spots the feathertail dragon from Presentation. She climbs down from the tree and as she’s doing so, a branch snaps and she falls, injuring her ankle in the process. She quickly hears voices, which turn out to be the voices of Jack, Tynan and Oren. She hides behind the tree and listens to their conversation. They are talking about wanting to kill the weak feathertail dragon. Violet’s compassion gets the best of her and she decides to run to where she saw the feathertail to warn it about Jack and his friends’ intentions.
When she gets to the valley, she’s in extreme pain from her ankle but manages to get the feathertail’s attention. She pleads with the dragon, telling her to escape while it can. It’s unclear whether this dragon has any defenses besides size and teeth. The dragon seems puzzled, refusing to move despite Violet’s warnings. Jack and his sidekicks emerge from the woods into the clearing, and Violet gathers up the courage to put herself between them and the dragon. Jack becomes excited to kill two weaklings on one fell swoop. Violet gets her daggers ready to throw, preparing for death, understanding that she’s vastly outmatched. As soon as the boys ready their weapons for attack, a voice is heard from the tree line: Xaden. He’s with his dragon, Sgaeyl, advising the boys to rethink their actions.
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