Fourth Wing: Chapter 19 Analysis

This chapter builds the relationship between Xaden and Violet. Some of my favorite Xaden lines come from this chapter. Once Xaden unfreezes and kills all of the attackers, it shows that he’s willing to kill for Violet. He still hides this intention under the guise of Tairn and Sgaeyl’s bond. We are all starting to see through this, especially after he kills Oren. He notes that in hindsight he should have made him suffer more, which again, proves this protection is more than just an unfortunate bond. Xaden’s over exaggeration of how much he “hates” being bonded to Violet further proves this. They are the typical enemies to lovers trope, but their connection is even deeper since their parents were main figureheads of the Tyrrish Rebellion. 

I am curious to see where Xaden and his homies are sneaking off to in the middle of the night. Obviously, he doesn’t trust Violet enough to tell her, but he’s starting to realize Violet can be trusted. She knows a couple of pretty damning secrets about him, and has hidden it from everyone, even her inntinnsic friend. 

Finding out that Violet and Xaden can speak to each others’ dragons is also fascinating. I’m interested in getting to know Sgaeyl better, even though this isn’t my first read. She seems like the ideal counterpart for Tairn. It was also interesting learning that Andarna is a baby dragon. This information could be detrimental to the livelihood of dragons, so Violet and Xaden both have a secret they must not share with anyone. So little is known about feathertails, and it’s not hard to see why now. They have little control over their power, so it can be easily taken and used by a greedy rider. Andarna knows she can trust Violet, which is another huge step in the progression of their relationship. This conversation also helped readers see that Tairn and Xaden are comfortable enough with each other that Xaden is comfortable scolding Tairn for leaving him out of the loop. It also brings up the question of Threshing. Did Xaden have access to communicate with Tairn at that point? Did he call him when Violet was in trouble, or was this some devised plan from the start? 

I’m anticipating learning who Violet is going to name when Xaden demands she tell him who opened the door for the attackers. Violet only mentioned she was a woman. Not only this, but a woman who she can’t believe would do something like this. We will soon find out who!