Chapter 8 begins with Violet getting ready for breakfast duty. Dain wakes up early with her and walks with her. On the way there, they run into Rhiannon and Tara, who seem to have spent the night together. Dain makes a comment about wishing he didn’t have to be exposed to his subordinates’ sex life, leading him to ask about Violet’s. She shuts down the topic immediately, and Dain mentions Jack. He advises her to lay low and not draw attention to herself from him. We see her motives for taking breakfast duty when she slips the poisonous powder into her sparring opponent’s (Oren Seifert) breakfast. She’s taking Brennan’s advice and figuring out who she’s set to fight beforehand, so she can prepare poisons for them.
The timeline shifts to later in the day when Violet is attending Professor Kaori’s class on dragons. Kaori is explaining the different breeds of dragons and their characteristics. They learn that there are fewer and fewer dragons every year that are willing to bond.
Kaori introduces the class to Blue Daggertails, which is the breed that Sgaeyl is. Then, he introduces a Black Morningstartail, which is the most rare and cunning breed of dragon. Black dragons in general are known for being rare, intelligent and physically larger than the others. He explains that there are only two known black dragons that exist: General Melgren’s dragon, Codagh, and a dragon that hasn’t been seen for five years that belonged to someone named Naolin. Naolin died in the Tyrrish Rebellion when he tried to revive Brennan using his siphoning signet. Jack insists that he wants the unbonded black dragon, despite the fact that the dragon isn’t willing to bond. Kaori explains how dragons only follow their own agenda, and it’s unadvisable to think humans have any influence on their decisions. It’s seen as a sign of disrespect.
Violet is upset when she hears the story about her brother and Naolin, but she’s happy to learn more details about the event that led to her brother’s death. Kaori, in private, tells Violet that her Brennan and Mira are/were great riders, but she’s more intelligent than both of them.
Time skips forward again to the sparring gym. Violet is nervous, but hoping her poison works. Jack prods Violet, and she throws two daggers at the wall behind him, nearly hitting him. Dain scolds Violet for not following his advice from earlier, and she tells him she’s tired of laying low.
She’s then called to spar Oren, who vomits from the poison, allowing her to pin him into submission. Over the next few combat challenges, she is able to successfully poison all of her opponents and win their matches. She escapes with minor injuries from these fights, which makes her situation believable. Unfortunately, when she’s set to fight a cadet from Third Wing, the cadet becomes sick before the fight. Violet’s timing was off. She begins to believe she’s off the hook for the day, when Xaden volunteers to take the sick cadet’s place on the mat.
The Official Empyrean Series Fan Club 