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

A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.
—Article One, Section One
The Dragon Rider’s Codex

We’re going to start with the epigraph, which—let’s face it—is foreshadowing for our biggest loss in Fourth Wing: Liam. We should’ve seen the tragedy coming right from the start.

That very first epigraph reminds me of a conversation I’ve had with another reader, Zuzle. It’s about the relationship between dragons and humans that feels a lot more unbalanced, especially compared to gryphons and flyers. Dragons don’t die with their rider—gryphons do.
Zuzle also mentioned that she gets the sense that there’s more harmony and balance between gryphons and flyers. Not just in the fairness of their bond, but in other ways too—they don’t have combative signets, they use runes, and they share them among themselves.

Will this become more important to the overall story? Gryphons clearly draw power from the same source as dragons—earth—since they don’t have magic on the islands. Flyers can turn venin, so they’re definitely not angels. But nature loves balance. Are gryphons more in harmony than dragons?

Next, let’s note “the stone fortress I call home.” As we know, stone doesn’t burn. They built Basgiath knowing they needed protection against fire. And I don’t just mean dragon fire…

“I don’t need the prohibited power of mind reading to know exactly what she sees.”

Hello, Easter egg. The prohibited power of mind reading. First of all—yeah, we should’ve seen this coming. If it’s prohibited and mentioned, it exists. “To see what she sees”? Not “what she thinks.” There are a lot more kinds of intrinsics out there.

“Pale skin, pale eyes, pale hair.”

We know now her hair has an explanation. Her hair is like those touched but not dedicated. Do you remember the child on the isle with silver-tipped hair? I believe it was for the same reason. That child may have been touched but didn’t complete the dedication to get a full mane of silver.
That said, it’s also pale skin, pale eyes, pale hair. The hair is the distraction. I still stand by my original theory: Violet has been partly drained by venin.

“It’s like that fever stole all your coloring along with your strength.”
Grief flashes through her eyes, and her brows furrow.

To me, the fever has always hinted at the time Lilith nearly died after a venin attack.

And now, I’m more convinced than ever that it had something to do with Theophany. Because in Iron Flame, Theophany definitely talks about meeting Lilith before. Lilith was the counterbalance to Theophany. We know they’ve been in conflict for a long time—possibly during the pregnancy, too. Which would explain why Asher had enough and simply took Violet to have her touched by the gods, for protection.

“I told him not to keep you in that library.”

Well, we all know the library is basically the beating heart of the enemy. Chances are, Lilith was very stressed about letting Violet train as a scribe.

“I loved your father, but he’s dead.”

A reminder that, according to Rebecca Yarros, Asher really is dead. I’m also not getting into the whole “heart failure” thing.

We all know it couldn’t have been that simple. Here’s the kicker—there’s a theory that Sorrengail was poisoned. I believe it too. But at the same time, he was the best poison master, right? He taught Brennan, who (according to Xaden) is even better than Violet. Violet is so skilled she can smell and detect oddities immediately. There is no way Asher didn’t know he was being poisoned. I honestly think there’s much more to this.

“His chest pains started right after Brennan’s death.”

Five whole years of chest pains. See what I mean? That’s odd.

“You scored in the top quarter for speed and agility during the entrance exam. You’ll do just fine. All Sorrengails do just fine.”

Also, remember Asher changed his name from Daxton to Sorrengail.

And now—our first awesome Easter egg:

“Really damned quick. Lightning quick. What I lack in strength, I make up for in speed.”

Of course she is… lightning quick. ☺

“Maybe it’s childish, just a collection of stories that warn us against the lure of magic, and even demonize dragons, but it’s all I have left.”

Even demonize dragons. Not wyvern. The fables talk about wyvern separately. Dragons are the ones being demonized. I get the sense they did something really bad, especially in relation to the gods. My theory? You know how riders use dragons as conduits for power, and venin access it from the ground directly? I think it’s the same dynamic between gods and dragons. The gods do it the “right” way. The dragons… not so much. I think they’re the enemy in the gods’ story.

And here’s the second clue about Violet being touched by the gods:

“You know very well the natural pigment seems to gradually abandon it no matter the length.”

Her eyes, too—light hazel with varying blues and ambers that never favor one color. I wonder if this is also a signal to the gods who touched her.
Blue for Dunna. Amber? The only two people we know with amber eyes are Xaden after he turned venin and… her brother, Brennan.

“A woman with a full pack, whose high cheekbones and oval face remind me of renderings of Amari.”

Well hello there, Rhiannon. Tell us, why is it that your face looks like a Goddess of Gods? Also—it makes no sense. She’s from near the border in Montserrat, and yet Amari seems to be most revered, well… in Tyrrendor?

“Most successful riders are legacies.”

Now this is interesting. What do we know about the Sorrengails? Are they legacies? We don’t know anything about Lilith’s parents… just Asher’s. In a way, Violet might technically be a legacy.

And then we get to Xaden. Once we read just how HOT he is… we get a little Easter egg from him too:

“Oh shit,” I whisper, and his eyes narrow, as if he can hear me over the howl of wind that rips at my secured braid.”

Oh girlie, he can. He can even tell just how hot you think he is. Kinda fun, no? And to read Violet’s self-loathing thoughts right after? Yeah, that’s kinda fun too—because we all know he just read them. All of them.

“Your father killed my older brother. Seems like we’re even.”
“Hardly.”

Yeah, well… we really know now. They’re not even. Not even close.

Argh, this was fun!!! Ready for the next chapter? Coming up real soon!

Fourth Wing Read Along

• Fourth Wing Read Along – Chapter 1