Okay friends…chapter 7 might be one of my favorite chapters of the series so far. This is the first one-on-one interaction between Violet and Xaden. Let me tell you…this is where I realized that Xaden was 100% a love interest. Violet’s physical attraction to him is exponentially more severe than Dain’s. The chemistry and banter in their conversations is electric.
From the start of the chapter, we see Violet has been taking some helpful information out of the Book of Brennan. She understands that if she can’t beat her opponents physically, she needs to outsmart them. She has spent nine nights sneaking off to find poisonous flora from the forest and rivers she’s familiar with. Using her brains as her weapon is probably going to be a recurring theme throughout the books. It’s the one advantage she has here, along with her ability to get people to like her. She genuinely has a good heart with good intentions, which is how she’s able to make friends like Rhiannon.
We see these pure intentions exemplified in her thought process throughout the entirety of the meeting she witnesses below. She dances back and forth between admiring Xaden’s realistic leadership approach, and despising his abrasiveness. I think this makes him all the more intriguing to her. She empathizes with the rebellion children, despite her parents and upbringing. She knows they broke the rules by gathering in a large group, but sees that the intention of the meeting is to help each other out. She understands that children shouldn’t be made to pay for the actions of their parents. Despite this, they are eager to kill Violet out of vengeance. Xaden claiming Violet’s death scares Violet, but also gives her a sense of curiosity. What does Xaden want from her? Because of Xaden’s father, he is entitled to her execution by default.
The scene where Xaden confronts Violet for eavesdropping is so suggestive and foreshadowing of the signet reveal that happens in Iron Flame. On top of this, Xaden is a shadow wielder, which makes him a valuable asset to the kingdom. I love learning about peoples’ signets, since signets are created as a solution the person might need in response to a problem they’re dealing/have dealt with.
Xaden and Violet make flirtatious threats back and forth. I think Violet is a natural flirt, and can’t help her obvious attraction to Xaden. Violet shows her teeth by throwing the daggers at Xaden’s head, which seems to impress him more than anything. In this scene, Xaden has an easy opportunity to kill Violet without anyone knowing, but chooses not to. He asks her if she plans on telling anyone about the meeting, and when she says “no,” he seems to believe her. He lets her go–unharmed–back to campus. Violet is left with an undeniable curiosity about his intentions.
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