Fourth Wing | Chapter Summary & Spoilers (Chapters 6-10)

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Chapter Summary & Spoilers (Chapters 6-10)

The Bite-Sized Version

Oh boy, our heroine Violet Sorrengail is really in a pickle now – she got her shoulder dislocated and her arm broken while sparring, and her wannabe boyfriend Dain Aetos lost his marbles watching it happen. Way to keep it cool, Romeo. The poor girl’s so doped up on pain meds she can barely talk straight, but she’s still dead set on becoming a dragon rider. Gotta admire that stubborn streak!

So they haul Violet to the Healer Quadrant, where we meet Winifred, the poor nurse who’s probably got Violet’s entire medical history memorized by now. Turns out there’s this super rare signet power for magical healing, and wouldn’t you know it, Violet’s dead brother Brennan had it. Dain’s begging Violet to throw in the towel, but this girl’s as stubborn as a mule – she’s like “Heal me up, Scotty!” (Okay, maybe she didn’t say it exactly like that, but you get the idea).

Meanwhile, Violet’s got a secret weapon up her sleeve – Brennan’s handy-dandy “Surviving Basgiath for Dummies” journal. With that and her newfound love of plant-based pharmaceuticals, she’s been pulling some sneaky stunts to get ahead in the challenges. Of course, her sworn enemy Xaden Riorson catches her in the act, but instead of ratting her out, he weirdly just gives her a new nickname (“Violence”) and tells her to learn how to actually fight. Hey, at least he’s not trying to murder her…yet.

The Bit-Sized Version

Chapter 6

This bit describes the dangerous nature of being a daughter of General Sorrengail at Basgiath War College, Violet‘s determination to stay despite the risks, and how maybe her scribe smarts will be useful after all.

• So, Violet is officially messed up from sparring, and diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and broken arm. Her squad leader and wannabe boyfriend, Dain Aetos loses his marbles in front of everyone after seeing her hurt and carries her in his arms to the Healer Quadrant. You start to wonder how she actually is going to survive this long enough to see a dragon.
• When they get there, we meet Winifred, the healer who probably has Violet’s medical chart memorized by now. You learn that healers are not magic, but use traditional medical training to heal. There is a signet for healing, but it is incredibly rare. We find out that there is a man named Nolon that is still alive with this signet, and that Violet’s deceased brother, Brennan, had this signet as well. 
• There’s this whole drama about whether to call Nolon to magically heal Violet. Dain’s freaking out and begging Violet to see this as a sign that she is not cut out for the Riders Quadrant. He’s all, “Let’s send her to the Scribes!” But Violet? She’s not having it. Girl’s stubborn as hell and wants to stay put. Maybe she is her mother’s daughter.
• Violet’s all drugged up on pain meds (slurring her words and everything), but she’s dead set on staying with the riders. She’s all, “Heal me, Nolon, but just this once. I don’t want them thinking I’m weak!” Because nothing screams “tough” like begging for magical healing after your first day.
• During the mending, we learn that one of Violet’s fellow cadets, Imogen, was conscripted to the Riders Quadrant as punishment for her parents being rebels. They forced all of the rebel abandoned children into the Riders Quadrant, mostly in hopes that they wouldn’t survive. Apparently, Basgiath War College runs on the Hunger Games type of admissions.
• Later, Violet heads back to the barracks with her arm in a sling. Her best friend, Rhiannon Matthias is relieved to see her and vows to help her survive.
• Violet finds a journal under her pillow. It’s from Brennan, passed down by Violet’s older sister Mira. It is called “The Book of Brennan.” This thing is a literal how-to-survive Basgiath for dummies – it’s got maps, insider info on how challenges are assigned, and tips for surviving the Riders Quadrant.
• The chapter ends with Violet feeling hopeful. She’s got two weeks before the real challenges start, and now she’s got this secret playbook to help her survive. She thinks, “I know how to survive,” and she’s ready to put her plan into action.

Chapter 7

This bit takes us on a nighttime adventure with Violet to gather supplies for her upcoming challenges.

• After finding “The Book of Brennan” Violet uses the one book Mira let her keep, “The Book of Poisons” (all books in Basgiath are apparently self-explanatory), to give herself a shot at winning her challenges against more of her fellow cadets who want to murder her.
• She sneaks out after curfew to collect poisonous berries and other sketchy things to make her competitors go night-night before she has to fight them. 
• While she’s up in a tree foraging, she overhears a bunch of other cadets gathering for a secret meeting. Turns out they’re all “marked ones” (children of the former rebel officers) and are led by, you guessed it, enemy #1 Xaden Riorson. 
• Because of their backgrounds, they’re having trouble at school and are trying to figure out how to survive and not flunk out. You might think this would create some empathy towards Violet, but they’re still like, “Why haven’t we killed her yet!”. Violet’s mother continues to win her points in the school’s popularity contest.
• Xaden firmly solidifies himself as enemy #1 by ending the meeting by telling everyone not to worry and that he’ll deal with Violet himself. Great person to be hiding mere feet away from. 
• Thinking everyone is gone, Violet tries to leave, but Xaden catches her. They have a minor standoff where she tries to show off her skills with daggers and Xaden shockingly doesn’t try to murder her.
• Turns out Xaden’s impressed with her and lets her know he owes her a favor if she keeps her mouth shut about their meeting. Not ever able to leave conversations on a good note, he leaves with a cryptic warning that he’ll “handle” her another time. 
• Violet makes her return to school unscathed and with her poison berries in hand, but also with some budding questions about WTF is happening politically around her.

Chapter 8

This bit opens with Violet preparing for her day, donning her dragon-scale vest and putting her hair in its signature braid. We quickly learn that life in this academy is tough – a dozen women have been added to the death toll. Yikes!

• Violet’s got a crush on Dain. They have these cute morning walks where Dain escorts her to duty. They are shamelessly flirting like school kids but trying to keep it all very hush-hush because apparently squad leaders and cadets aren’t supposed to be an item. Scandalous!
• There’s a funny moment when Rhiannon and her girlfriend Tara get caught coming out of a room they shouldn’t be in. Dain tries to lecture them about curfew, but Rhiannon cheekily points out that he and Violet are up early, too.
• Dain and Violet discuss the first challenge that day and he tries to pull his usual knight in shining armor routine that is reading more like gaslighting to us. We get an interesting look into Violet’s internal monologue where she’s thinking about how comparatively ruthless wingleader Xaden doesn’t baby her and maybe she likes that?
• Now, onto Violet’s clever (albeit morally questionable) strategy. She’s been using her knowledge of herbs to… let’s say, “level the playing field” in her challenges. She’s been slipping her opponents some performance-hindering concoctions before their matches. It’s not exactly playing fair, but hey, when you’re trying to avoid death, you do what you gotta do!
• We get a glimpse of the academic side of things with Professor Kaori‘s class. We learn about the black dragon, called the Black Morningstar tail, who hasn’t agreed to bond since his previous rider was killed during the uprising. He is one of the largest and smartest dragons in the Vale. There is a discussion about there being fewer dragons willing to bond with riders. There are not enough dragons for first-year riders which makes surviving even more competitive. 
• There’s also mention of “signet power” – special abilities gifted to riders by their bonded dragons. They discuss Naolin, who had a rare signet to be able to siphon power from others and the land around him. Violet realizes this is who her brother Brennan was trying to save when he died. Brennan burnt himself out in the process of trying to mend Naolin. This ties into larger themes about the limits of power and the dangers of playing god.
• Flashing forward, Violet continues to rack up wins in her challenges (thanks to her herbal helpers), and she’s feeling pretty good about her chances. She’s managed 5 wins and has made it to September. Then the chapter ends with a twist – Violet’s planned opponent is unable to fight due to her sabotage taking effect too early, and Xaden unexpectedly volunteers to challenge her instead. Cue Violet wishing for her quiet life as a Scribe.

Chapter 9

This bit throws us into a combat training session between Violet and her wingleader, enemy #1, Xaden Riorson.

• Violet faces off with Xaden for the first time in combat training, and unsurprisingly, gets her a$$ kicked, but surprisingly, doesn’t get murdered.
• Xaden spends their session big dogging Violet by disarming her and swatting her away like a fly, but she doesn’t back down. We quickly learn he’s actually using this fight as a weird teaching moment when he reveals that he knows about Violet’s little herbal helpers and how she’s been using them for challenges. 
• Instead of ratting her out, he’s just like, “maybe figure out how to fight”. Enemy #1 makes a good point. He also gives her a new nickname, “Violence“, that she pretends not to like. Helicopter mom Dain is seething watching the session, because he’s unable to intervene and protect Violet.
• Afterwards, Dain and Violet debrief in his room. He tells her for the millionth time that she’s in massive danger and he took helicoptering to a new level by talking to Colonel Markham about transferring her to the Scribe Quadrant.
• Violet and her mommy issues do not take this well, and she’s upset that Dain is basically calling her a wuss. Dain reminds her that there’s this little thing called the Threshing coming up where she’ll need to attempt to bond with a dragon, and that her chances of getting murdered by other first years and/or dragons will sky rocket. Oh, and no one is allowed to help them. We’re back in the Hunger Games.
• He essentially begs her to consider benching herself in the Scribe Quadrant, and she begrudgingly agrees to think about it because she knows he’s coming from a good place.

Chapter 10

This bit opens as Violet and her squad face practice on the Gauntlet. It’s a vertical obstacle course with a dizzying array of spinning logs, swinging balls, and vertical climbs, all leading to a final ramp that seems to defy the laws of gravity.

• When one of Violet’s squad mates, Aurelie, falls during practice (RIP girl, we hardly knew ye), Violet is visibly shaken and struggles with feeling hopeful about her own chances of success. Violet decided to burn Aurelie’s belongings in a ceremonial pit, as her parents chose not to retrieve her body. Violet finds herself questioning everything. Should she stick it out or trade her dragon dreams for the safety of a scribe’s quill?
• Enter Xaden, emerging from the shadows with his usual air of mystery. He is returning from the flight field with two other riders. Violet thinks, “What are they doing out so late?” But she doesn’t pause for long as their encounter crackles with tension – part rivalry, part something else neither wants to name. He challenges her to look at the Gauntlet from a different perspective, that there isn’t only one way, and to always remember to have hope.
• As Violet watches him walk away, she’s left with a mix of emotions – motivation, determination, and maybe a tiny spark of something more towards enemy #1. 
• The stage is set for Violet to prove herself as not being the weakest link, not just to the academy, but to herself. Will she rise to the challenge, or will the Gauntlet prove too much? Only time will tell in this high-stakes world of dragon riders and deadly trials.