This chapter begins with the military officials arguing with each other over Violet’s predicament: bonding two dragons. She sees Jack getting his shoulder examined after their fight, noting that he bonded an Orange Scorpiontail she later finds out is named Baide. Violet is being tended to by Professor Kaori. Her ankle and arm are injured, but she refused to see Nolon in order to avoid coming across as weak. She doesn’t want people to doubt her, even after she’s bonded two dragons–one of which being one of the deadliest on the Continent. Kaori asks about Tynan and Trina, and Violet informs him that Tynan won’t be returning. Tairn inserts himself into her mind, reminding her that Tynan’s death is not her kill to claim.
Jack and Violet make eye contact, and he becomes instantly hostile. She reminds him that he ran off into the woods, therefore she’s no longer scared of him. He begins to become aggressive, and Kaori informs Jack that better watch out, since Tairn wouldn’t hesitate in killing him if he hurt Violet. Jack, realizing that Violet bonded his top choice in dragons, rages to himself in disbelief.
Kaori tells Violet that the Empyrean, the dragons’ governing leadership, is meeting to process their decision on what comes next, since Violet’s case is unique. She’s the first to ever bond two dragons. Tairn orders Violet to stay near Xaden, which confused Violet considering she’s still under the impression that Xaden wants her dead.
Violet reunites with her squadmates Rhiannon, Sawyer and Ridoc, who have all bonded successfully. They inform her that Trina fell to her death after bonding with an Orange Clubtail. She tells them what happened to Tynan, but before she can get into the details, she’s swept away by Dain. Dain pulls her aside, begging her to choose Andarna since he believes it will come down to her decision. He wants her to choose the unrideable dragon, so she can become a professor at Basgiath. He also tells he that Tairn and Sgaeyl are a mated pair, so if she chooses Tairn, she’ll be stuck with Xaden for life. Mated pairs can’t be separated for lengthy amounts of time, or their health diminishes. Violet tells Dain that Xaden was there during the bonding. He begins to think that Xaden manipulated Threshing, but Xaden appears out of nowhere in order to correct him. He tells Dain that Sgaeyl was the one who called on Tairn, since she wanted to make sure that Andarna was protected. The bond between Tairn and Violet happened naturally, and he only intervened when he thought that Oren was going to kill Violet. Xaden asks Dain if he would bend the rules in order to save Violet’s life, and Dain admits that he respects the rules too much to take that chance. Xaden ensures Dain that Violet is the last person on the Continent that he’d want to be stuck with, so there’s no way he would willingly bond with her. Violet feels a sense of rejection and pain from this comment, which bothers her slightly. What bothers her the most, is how Dain admits that he’d choose the rules over her. It doesn’t surprise her, but it pains her hearing him admit it out loud.
Dain leaves, and Xaden warns Violet about Dain. He doesn’t think she should put her full trust and faith into him. They talk about their situation, and Violet is in denial. She seems to not want to be tied to Xaden in such a deep manner. Xaden warns her that she’s going to have a target on her back for the foreseeable future. There are 41 unbonded riders, including Oren, who are going to want to kill her in order to bond with Tairn.
Soon, the Empyrean’s meeting is over and General Melgren addresses the crowd. Violet is allowed to remain bonded to both dragons, since dragons always have the final say in decisions. General Sorrengail asks the riders to step forward, and each rider painfully receives their dragon relic. Tairn uses their telepathic bond to show her what the relic looks like, since it’s on her back. Her relic is a large shimmering black dragon mid-flight, spanning from shoulder to shoulder. In the center is a shimmering gold dragon. She’s then approached by Dain, who assures her that he’d do anything to save her. He kisses her, and she’s overwhelmingly happy, yet the sparks are no longer there for Dain. She realizes that she doesn’t want him anymore.
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