Major spoilers ahead, so I’m going to assume you’ve finished the entire series. These thoughts cover all the books, not just Fourth Wing.

Oh, the epigraph of this chapter is one of my favorites. We are getting more insights into my favorite god, Malek, but I think there is a wealth of information here worthy of its own theory.

“It is a grave offense against Malek to keep the belongings of a dead loved one.” Why is it a grave offense? And if that is the case, what are the consequences?

“He who does not burn for Malek will be burned by Malek.” That is an interesting thing to say. So far, we know quite a few people who did not exactly burn all belongings. In fact, it feels impossible to burn everything. For example, no doubt Lilith burned almost everything of Papa Sorrengail, yet many journals still exist scattered around the world. So I do wonder if Malek actually wants or needs possessions, or if this is a way for the college to ensure that everything gets erased with the person, leaving no trace of them or potentially classified items. Could it be?

Today… today is presentation day. Today was amazing. Probably one of the most satisfying chapters to date for celebrating Violet’s mind. Let’s get started.

“Good luck today.” Imogen tucks an errant strand of pink hair behind her ear and aims a sickly sweet smile right at me. “Hopefully you won’t fall… short.”

What I love about this is that Rebecca Yarros really is a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope. But the same thing applies to friendships too. I strongly believe that the bond between Violet and Rhiannon is the type of friendship that comes easy and feels like sisterhood. But the type of friendship between Violet and Imogen? That runs deep. It is more like trauma bonding.

A little insight into patches here too. “Most wear them like badges of honor, but I recognize them for what they really are, intelligence that I might one day need to defeat them.” And with that, this is the chapter where we learn that Heaton has a circulator patch with a floating sphere. We know that Heaton can hold his breath underwater. One must wonder why this will be useful for Violet later in the books. I do think we need to go down under somewhere in the Bay of Malek to meet Malek, but there is still some time before we do that in books four or five, I suspect.

This is so casually slipped into the conversation that we might just forget it exists:

“Now that you mention it, the whole Treaty of Arif might just be the death of me.”

“Ahh, the agreement between Navarre and Krovla for mutually shared airspace for both dragons and gryphons over a narrow strip of the Esben Mountains, between Sumerton and Draithus.”

One would ask, why would gryphons and dragons have shared airspace? Given how extremely volatile relationships are, it feels almost bizarre that Navarre and Krovla would reach such an agreement, no?

Next, we take a moment to loathe Dain a little, and then we continue with the main show of the chapter: Violet climbing the Gauntlet and, of course, using her wit to overcome it.

Of course, I love how Rebecca Yarros pays such close attention to the smallest details. “I unsheathe my largest dagger from home.”

“Not done yet. On my stomach, I turn to face the ramp, then reach over the side and yank my dagger free.”

I loved how seamlessly she set the path for us to understand Violet’s logic in using the Codex to her advantage. How she used something that was clearly part of her, by crossing the parapet with that dagger, and how she could not leave it behind on the Gauntlet because that would have meant she did not make it. Bravo, Rebecca Yarros. Beautifully done.

And then we take a moment to hate on Amber Mavis. Gosh, she was horrible. But once we read how Xaden is clearly proud of Violet and how Mavis needs to shut the hell up, this whole chapter is nothing short of delicious.

Continue with the Fourth Wing Read Along

• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 1
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 2
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 3
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 4
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 5
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 6
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 7
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 8
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 9
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 9 – Xaden’s POV
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 10
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 11
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 12
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 13
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 14
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 15
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 16
• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 16 – Xaden POV