This chapter shows us that Violet is nowhere near ready to be a rider strength-wise, but Tairn is willing to work with her, which isn’t typical of dragons. We get more dialogue with Tairn in this chapter. He’s pretty sarcastic and witty, but you can tell he already cares about Violet. He tells her he chose her for her intelligence and courage. She was willing to defend Andarna with her life. Knowing that he can read all of her thoughts is a little awkward, but also comforting because we know she’s a morally good person. You don’t need to hide your thoughts unless you’re ashamed of them, and based on her first-person narration we’ve seen that she has genuinely pure intentions. Tairn even uses his power to make sure Violet keeps seated which is commendable as hell. He wants them to look good, but at the same time doesn’t really care what they think.
Violet’s mom attending this event is interesting, because you’d think that she’d be super proud of Violet for bonding one of the most dangerous and feared dragons. Unfortunately, she’s still not impressed, which makes Violet feel like she’s never going to be good enough.
When Violet speaks to Andarna and she speaks back it ignites a sense of excitement with readers. Since dragons only speak to their bonded riders it’s a bit odd that she would break that rule and speak to Violet. When she insists that Violet speak her name to the roll-taker it’s clear that Violet has done the unthinkable–bond two dragons. During my first read, I knew she was either going to bond a black or the feathertail dragon. When I realized she bonded both I was ecstatic. There’s no better feeling than proving people wrong who doubted you, or even wanted you to fail.
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