Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: Full Book Summary and Character Guide

Dragons. A deadly war college. A morally grey wingleader. And a girl who was supposed to spend her life surrounded by books but somehow ended up in the middle of a war.

Fourth Wing was the book that pulled me out of a nearly two-year reading slump, introduced me to a whole new level of fictional-boyfriend obsession, and eventually turned me into an audiobook person.

And yes, Xaden Riorson had quite a lot to do with that last part.

I originally read Fourth Wing on my Kindle, then went back for the GraphicAudio version, and apparently knowing what was coming did absolutely nothing to protect me from the emotional damage.

The dragons were still incredible. Xaden was still a problem. And Liam?

Nope. Still not over it.

So, whether you’ve just finished Fourth Wing, you’re coming back for a reread, or you’re about to start Iron Flame and have forgotten half the names, this is my full breakdown of book one.

I’m covering the entire story, the characters, the dragons, the betrayals, and that ending.

Especially that ending.

If you haven’t finished the book yet and want the spoiler-free version, including my ratings, GraphicAudio experience and exactly where the spicy chapters land, head over to my Fourth Wing review and spicy-chapter guide.

Otherwise, grab your drink, settle in and prepare to remember why this book had us all emotionally attached to fictional dragons.

Fourth Wing summary

A twenty-year-old woman who has spent her entire life preparing to become a scribe gets thrown into a military college where the entrance exam involves crossing a deadly bridge, the dragons can eat you, and your classmates are occasionally more dangerous than the actual enemy.

She survives by being smarter than everyone expects, bonds with two dragons when she’s only supposed to have one, and falls for the ridiculously attractive wingleader whose father was executed because of her mother.

Because apparently, dragons and a potential death sentence weren’t enough complications for one girl.

Then she discovers that the kingdom she’s been taught to protect has been hiding the truth about the war, the people she trusted have been keeping secrets, and the boy she’s falling in love with is involved in something much bigger than a little rule-breaking.

And just when you think you’ve finally got your head around what’s happening?

Rebecca Yarros throws in that ending.

Right. Let’s get into it properly.

Welcome to Basgiath. Try not to die.

Violet Sorrengail was supposed to become a scribe.

She grew up surrounded by books, history and the Archives, spending her life preparing for a future where the most dangerous thing she’d have to deal with was probably a particularly heavy stack of books.

Honestly, sounds lovely.

Unfortunately, her mother has other plans.

And when your mother is General Lilith Sorrengail, commanding officer of Basgiath War College, apparently you don’t get much say in the matter.

Instead of joining the Scribe Quadrant, Violet is ordered into the Riders Quadrant.

The place where cadets train to bond with dragons and become riders.

Assuming they survive long enough to get one.

Violet also has a physical disadvantage. Her joints are prone to dislocation, she’s smaller than most of the other cadets, and her body simply cannot withstand the same punishment as everyone else’s.

Her older sister Mira knows how dangerous this is and does what she can to prepare her.

But there’s only so much preparation you can do when your first challenge involves crossing a narrow stone bridge suspended over a ravine.

Welcome to the parapet.

And before Violet has even made it across, Jack Barlowe is already demonstrating that some of the cadets are perfectly happy to eliminate the competition themselves.

Lovely atmosphere. Very welcoming.

The parapet, Rhiannon and the beginning of a very questionable friendship situation

The parapet is the first major test every rider candidate must survive.

It’s narrow, exposed to the weather and suspended high above the ground.

Fall, and you’re dead.

Which makes the entire concept of an orientation day at Basgiath particularly concerning.

Violet meets Rhiannon Matthias while waiting to cross, and the two make a deal involving their boots.

Rhiannon gets footwear better suited to her needs, while Violet gets the grip she needs to make it across the wet stone.

It’s a small moment, but I love what it establishes about Violet.

She’s not going to survive Basgiath by suddenly becoming the strongest person in the room.

She’s going to survive by paying attention, thinking ahead and finding ways around the things her body cannot do.

And she’s already made a friend.

Which is a relief, because the next person waiting for her is Dain Aetos.

Her childhood best friend.

Dain is a second-year rider and squad leader who knows exactly how dangerous the Riders Quadrant is.

Naturally, his immediate response to seeing Violet is to try to get her out.

And then he keeps trying.

For a man who is supposed to know her so well, Dain spends an impressive amount of time refusing to listen to what she’s actually telling him.

But we’ll come back to him.

Because there’s someone else Violet meets at Basgiath.

And he’s considerably more interesting.

Enter Xaden Riorson. Unfortunately, I have a type.

Xaden Riorson.

Third-year rider. Wingleader of Fourth Wing. Bonded to an extremely powerful blue dragon.

And the son of Fen Riorson, the man who led a rebellion against Navarre.

A rebellion Violet’s mother helped crush.

His father was executed. The children of the rebellion’s leaders were marked and forced into the Riders Quadrant as punishment.

And Violet?

She’s the daughter of the general responsible for so much of what happened to them.

So yes, there’s a little family history to work through.

Mira warns Violet to stay away from Xaden because he has every reason to hate her.

Which is sensible advice.

Unfortunately, this is a romantasy novel, and Xaden is the wingleader.

We all know where this is going.

Violet quickly discovers that Xaden is holding secret meetings with the other marked cadets, something that could have serious consequences if the wrong people found out.

She keeps his secret.

Meanwhile, he becomes increasingly interested in her survival, even though that is not exactly the relationship either of them expected to have.

The tension between them starts early, but this is not a case of two people immediately forgetting every reason they should stay away from each other.

There’s history here. Resentment. Distrust. Real danger.

And a ridiculous amount of chemistry.

I already loved Xaden on my original Kindle read.

Going back for GraphicAudio and hearing Gabriel Michael voice him?

That was an entirely unnecessary development for my fictional-boyfriend standards.

Surviving the challenges

While Violet is busy trying not to think about Xaden, she also has to survive the actual training.

Which is rather difficult when you’re surrounded by cadets who have spent years preparing for combat and you’re still working out how to stop your shoulder from dislocating during a fight.

The challenges involve hand-to-hand combat, physical training and eventually the Gauntlet, a dangerous obstacle course designed to prepare cadets for mounting dragons.

And Basgiath doesn’t exactly encourage teamwork.

Cadets can die during challenges, and some are perfectly willing to make that happen.

Jack Barlowe continues to be an absolute delight.

Violet, however, refuses to make herself an easy target.

She studies her opponents, uses her knowledge of herbs and poisons to give herself an advantage, and learns how to fight in ways that work with her body.

She also begins training with people who actually want her to succeed.

Rhiannon becomes a genuine friend. Sawyer and Ridoc become part of the group. Imogen helps Violet develop her physical strength.

And Xaden?

He understands that Violet needs to become capable of protecting herself.

Not simply be removed from every dangerous situation.

It’s one of the things that makes the difference between him and Dain so noticeable throughout the book.

Dain keeps asking Violet to leave.

Xaden helps her find a way to stay.

Threshing: one rider, two dragons and absolutely no respect for the rules

Now we get to Threshing.

The day when dragons choose their riders.

And I need you to understand that this is one of my favourite parts of the entire book.

The cadets enter the valley hoping to bond with a dragon.

The dragons are under absolutely no obligation to choose anyone, and they’re perfectly capable of killing a cadet who annoys them.

Which, frankly, seems like a fairly broad category.

While everyone is trying to impress the dragons, Violet notices a small golden feathertail being targeted by Jack and two other cadets.

They want to kill her.

Violet intervenes.

Even though she knows she’s physically outmatched and could easily die trying to protect a dragon she has no reason to believe will choose her.

And then Tairn arrives.

The enormous black dragon who hasn’t bonded with a rider in years.

One of the most powerful dragons around.

And he chooses Violet.

Because apparently defending the little golden dragon told him everything he needed to know about her.

Honestly, I love him.

But we’re not finished.

The little golden dragon, Andarna, chooses Violet too.

Two dragons.

One rider.

Something that has never happened before in the recorded history of the Riders Quadrant.

And now Violet has to explain to an entire military college that she’s apparently been selected by two dragons who have absolutely no interest in following the usual rules.

Good luck with that.

The dragons’ leadership ultimately allows both bonds to stand.

And Violet’s life becomes considerably more complicated.

Because Tairn has a mate.

Sgaeyl.

And Sgaeyl’s rider?

Xaden Riorson.

Oh, for goodness’ sake.

The dragon bond, and why Violet and Xaden are now stuck with each other

Tairn and Sgaeyl are a mated pair.

Their bond is so strong that being separated for extended periods is a problem.

And because Violet is bonded to Tairn and Xaden is bonded to Sgaeyl, their lives become connected in ways neither of them can simply walk away from.

If Violet dies, the consequences could extend to Tairn, Sgaeyl and Xaden.

Which means keeping Violet alive is no longer simply something Xaden might want to do.

His own survival could depend on it.

Convenient.

Very convenient.

The dragon bond also allows Violet and Xaden to communicate mentally, giving them a rather interesting way to have private conversations.

And Tairn is not remotely interested in letting Violet pretend she doesn’t have feelings.

I particularly love the contrast between the dragons.

Tairn is ancient, powerful and permanently unimpressed by everyone.

Andarna is young, curious and fiercely protective of Violet.

And Sgaeyl?

Sgaeyl is dangerous, commanding and absolutely not a dragon I would want to upset.

Between the three of them, Violet has somehow acquired a very powerful dragon family and an extremely complicated relationship situation.

All before graduation.

The unbonded attack, Andarna’s gift and Liam’s new job

Bonding with two dragons does not make Violet popular with everyone.

In fact, some of the unbonded cadets decide that killing her might give them another opportunity to bond with Tairn.

Which is a spectacularly terrible idea.

They attack Violet in her room while she’s sleeping.

But Andarna has a secret.

She can temporarily stop time.

And when Violet is in danger, Andarna uses that ability to help save her.

Xaden intervenes, and the attack exposes just how vulnerable Violet still is.

It also reveals that Andarna is capable of something extraordinary, a gift that the dragons want kept secret.

Because if there is one thing this book has taught me, it’s that absolutely everybody is keeping secrets.

Xaden then assigns Liam Mairi to protect Violet.

Liam is one of the marked cadets, a first-year rider who grew up alongside Xaden.

He’s capable, loyal and absolutely not the kind of person Violet can easily talk out of doing his job.

And what starts as a protection assignment becomes a genuine friendship.

Which is wonderful.

Until it isn’t.

But we’re not there yet.

The slow burn, the shadows and the lightning

As Violet continues training, her relationship with Xaden becomes increasingly difficult to ignore.

They’re connected through their dragons.

They’re spending time together.

They’re beginning to trust each other.

And Xaden’s ability to control shadows is not helping me maintain reasonable expectations for fictional men.

His signet allows him to summon and manipulate shadows, making him an extremely powerful rider.

Violet, meanwhile, is still waiting for her own signet to manifest.

Every bonded rider eventually develops a unique magical ability through their dragon bond.

And Violet’s? Well, apparently it likes a dramatic entrance.

During the War Games, Jack attacks Liam in the air and sends him falling from his dragon.

Violet and Tairn can’t reach him in time.

So Violet calls on Andarna’s time-stopping gift, allowing Tairn to save Liam.

And then, in the middle of all that panic, Violet’s own signet finally manifests.

Lightning.

She brings down a powerful strike on the tower where Jack is positioned, destroying it and apparently killing him.

So the girl everyone thought was too physically fragile to survive Basgiath can now summon lightning from the sky.

I particularly enjoy that development.

And I love that her intelligence doesn’t suddenly stop mattering once she has a powerful signet.

She’s still Violet.

She’s just Violet with a dragon, a second dragon, and the ability to make the weather everyone else’s problem.

Violet and Xaden finally stop pretending

By this point, Violet and Xaden’s relationship has moved well beyond simply being attracted to someone they probably shouldn’t be attracted to.

They care about each other.

Their connection has become both emotional and physical.

And the tension that has been building for most of the book finally gets its payoff.

Chapter 30.

Then chapter 32.

And yes, the armoire.

If you know, you know.

I’m not going to turn this summary into a detailed spicy-chapter breakdown. I’ve already done that in my Fourth Wing review.

But I will say that the slow burn works because it’s not simply about two attractive people wanting each other.

Violet wants Xaden to be honest with her.

She doesn’t want to be treated as someone he can have a physical relationship with while keeping his emotions completely hidden.

And Xaden has spent years learning that secrets can be the difference between life and death.

He’s not particularly good at letting someone get close enough to see everything he’s hiding.

Which is a fairly significant problem when you’re falling in love with someone.

And an even bigger problem when you’re hiding an entire rebellion.

Athebyne, and the truth about Navarre

The final War Games assignment sends Xaden, Violet, Liam and a group of marked riders to Athebyne, an outpost beyond Navarre’s protective wards.

And this is where everything starts falling apart.

Violet discovers that Xaden has been secretly helping the neighbouring kingdom of Poromiel.

He and the other marked riders have been smuggling weapons to gryphon riders fighting a threat that Navarre insists doesn’t exist.

Venin.

Dark wielders who draw power directly from the earth.

The same creatures Violet has been taught belong in old stories rather than the real world.

And they have wyvern, dangerous magical creatures capable of taking on dragons.

Suddenly, everything Violet thought she knew about Navarre’s history and the war starts looking very different.

Navarre’s leadership knows the venin are real.

They know people beyond the wards are being attacked.

And rather than tell the truth, they have chosen to conceal the threat and protect their own kingdom.

The rebellion Xaden’s father led wasn’t simply the treasonous uprising Violet was taught about.

There was an entirely different reason for what happened.

And Xaden has been trying to help the people Navarre abandoned.

Now, I can understand why he didn’t immediately introduce himself to Violet by explaining that he was secretly supplying weapons to a neighbouring kingdom.

Considering who her mother is, that would have been a rather ambitious first conversation.

But I can also understand why Violet is devastated.

She’s fallen in love with him.

She’s trusted him.

And she’s discovering that almost everything she thought she knew about him, her country and the people around her is incomplete.

Including something else.

Someone has been passing information to Colonel Aetos.

And Violet realises exactly how that could have happened.

Dain Aetos, you have some explaining to do

Remember how Dain has spent the entire book touching Violet’s face while telling her he’s trying to protect her?

Well.

His signet allows him to read recent memories through physical contact.

And Violet realises that he has accessed her memories without her consent.

Information about Xaden’s movements has reached Dain’s father, Colonel Aetos.

And that information has been used to send Xaden and his group to Athebyne.

Straight into a situation where they are unlikely to survive.

The outpost is deserted, and Colonel Aetos has left Xaden with a choice.

Leave the nearby trading post of Resson to face an attack, or stay and fight an enemy that the kingdom officially refuses to acknowledge.

Either way, the marked riders have been placed in an extremely dangerous position.

And Violet now knows that information taken from her memories helped put them there.

This is where Dain loses me.

I understand that he believes in following the rules. I understand that he genuinely wants Violet to be safe.

But reading someone’s private memories without their permission is a pretty spectacular violation of trust.

And what happened to the information afterwards has put people in danger.

You cannot spend an entire book insisting you’re protecting someone while repeatedly ignoring what they want and expect that to have no consequences.

Dain might believe he has good intentions.

That doesn’t undo what happened.

And Violet is about to find out just how much it’s going to cost.

The Battle of Resson, and the moment I am still not over

Xaden and the others decide to stay and defend Resson.

The trading post is under threat from venin and wyvern, and leaving would mean abandoning the civilians and gryphon riders to face them alone.

So they fight.

And this is where Fourth Wing stops feeling like a dangerous military college story and becomes something considerably bigger.

The venin are powerful.

They can drain magic from the land.

Their wyvern are terrifying, and the riders quickly discover that the methods they’ve been taught for fighting ordinary enemies are not enough.

Violet uses her lightning against them.

Xaden and the other riders fight alongside the gryphon fliers.

And the battle becomes increasingly desperate.

Then Liam’s dragon, Deigh, is killed.

And because a rider cannot survive the death of their bonded dragon, Liam dies too.

No.

Absolutely not.

Liam, who has spent so much of the book protecting Violet.

Liam, who has become one of her closest friends.

Liam, who made it through all those dangerous challenges and should have had a future beyond Basgiath.

Gone.

I knew this was coming on my GraphicAudio reread.

I knew exactly what happened.

And I still ended up fighting back tears in peak-hour traffic.

There is something particularly cruel about going back to a book, recognising all the little moments that made you love a character, and knowing exactly where their story is going to end.

Liam deserved more.

And yes, I’m still upset about it.

Violet’s injury and the end of the battle

The fighting continues, and Violet finds herself facing an enemy that cannot be defeated by ordinary dragonfire.

She is badly injured and stabbed with a poisoned dagger.

The poison begins spreading through her body.

She uses Andarna’s gift again, pushing the young dragon’s abilities to their limits while fighting to protect the surviving riders.

And by the time the battle is over, Violet is unconscious and dangerously close to death.

Xaden refuses to take her back to Basgiath.

Instead, the survivors bring her to Aretia, the former rebel stronghold that Violet believed had been destroyed.

It’s where Xaden’s people have been building their resistance.

And where Violet is about to discover that the official version of history has been hiding considerably more than she realised.

Aretia, Xaden’s secrets and a very complicated relationship

Violet wakes three days later.

She’s alive.

The poison has been dealt with, and Xaden has brought her somewhere she can recover.

But finding out that you’re alive is only the beginning of what Violet has to process.

Liam is dead.

Her country has been lying about the venin.

Her childhood best friend has betrayed her trust.

And the man she loves has been involved in a secret resistance movement while keeping her completely in the dark.

Xaden promises to stop hiding things from her and tells her that he wants to earn back her trust.

Which is a start.

But Violet isn’t ready to simply forget everything that’s happened because the man is attractive and has an impressive dragon.

As much as I love Xaden, I think she’s entitled to ask a few questions here.

Quite a few, actually.

And just when Violet thinks she’s finally beginning to understand the truth about the rebellion, someone walks into the room.

Someone who is supposed to be dead.

That ending. Brennan Sorrengail is alive.

Her brother. Alive.

Violet has spent years believing that her older brother died during the rebellion.

She’s carried that loss with her throughout the entire book.

His old journal has helped her survive Basgiath, giving her advice from someone she thought she’d never see again.

And now he’s standing in front of her.

Alive.

In Aretia.

Working with the resistance.

Brennan is also the one who used his mending abilities to save Violet after she was poisoned.

So not only has her brother been alive this entire time, he’s been involved in the very movement Violet has just discovered exists.

And he’s the reason she’s still alive.

Imagine spending an entire book finding out that your government has been lying about the war, your boyfriend is secretly involved in a rebellion, and your childhood best friend has been helping the wrong people.

Then you wake up and discover your dead brother is not actually dead.

Violet deserves a very long nap.

Preferably somewhere with no dragons, military officers or men keeping secrets.

And that is how Fourth Wing ends.

Not with graduation.

Not with Violet and Xaden getting a nice, uncomplicated happy ending.

But with Violet discovering that the world she thought she knew is almost entirely different from the one she’s actually living in.

And now she has to decide what to do with that information.

Honestly, how are you supposed to finish that final chapter and not immediately reach for Iron Flame?

Fourth Wing characters

Right. Let’s sort out who’s who.

Because between the Sorrengail family, the marked cadets, the squad members, the dragons and the people who apparently have an entire secret rebellion to organise, there are quite a few names to remember.

I’m sticking to what we know by the end of Fourth Wing, so there are no later-book character revelations here.

Violet Sorrengail

Main character. Age: 20. Quadrant: Riders, formerly training to join the Scribes. Dragons: Tairn and Andarna. Signet: Lightning wielding.

Violet is the youngest Sorrengail sibling and the daughter of General Lilith Sorrengail.

She was raised to become a scribe before her mother ordered her into the Riders Quadrant.

She’s smaller and more physically fragile than most of the other cadets, and her joints are prone to dislocation.

But Violet’s greatest strength has never been her physical ability.

It’s her intelligence.

She has an incredible memory, a deep knowledge of history and a talent for finding solutions that other people overlook.

She’s also stubborn. Very, very stubborn.

And I love that about her.

Violet doesn’t survive Basgiath because her physical limitations suddenly disappear.

She survives because she learns how to work with them, makes friends who support her, and refuses to let other people decide what she’s capable of.

By the end of the book, she’s bonded with two dragons, discovered her lightning signet, fallen in love with Xaden and learned that the history she grew up studying has been hiding the truth.

She’s also lost someone she loves and discovered that her supposedly dead brother is alive.

Quite a busy first year, really.

Xaden Riorson

Wingleader and romantic interest. Age: 23. Quadrant: Riders, third-year cadet. Dragon: Sgaeyl. Signet: Shadow wielding.

Son of the executed rebellion leader Fen Riorson, wingleader of Fourth Wing, and a man who has apparently made keeping secrets his entire personality.

Xaden carries a rebellion relic marking him as the child of a rebel.

He’s powerful, strategic and fiercely protective of the marked cadets.

He’s also secretly helping the resistance fight the venin, something that puts him at enormous personal risk.

And then there’s Violet.

Their relationship starts with genuine reasons to distrust each other.

But as the book progresses, Xaden becomes one of the people who sees Violet’s capabilities rather than simply focusing on her physical limitations.

He pushes her to become stronger, helps her learn how to defend herself and gradually lets her see more of the person behind his carefully controlled exterior.

I already had Xaden firmly established among my favourite fictional men before my GraphicAudio reread.

Then Gabriel Michael gave him a voice.

And apparently, I was not finished making questionable decisions about my fictional-boyfriend ranking.

Xaden’s secrets are a very real problem for his relationship with Violet.

But as a romantasy love interest? The shadows. The dragon. The tension.

Respectfully, I understand the appeal.

Dain Aetos

Squad leader and childhood best friend. Dragon: Cath. Signet: Reading recent memories through touch.

Dain is Violet’s childhood best friend and the son of Colonel Aetos.

He’s a second-year rider who spends much of Fourth Wing trying to convince Violet to leave the Riders Quadrant.

His concern for her safety is genuine.

His inability to accept that Violet should be allowed to make her own decisions is a considerably bigger issue.

Dain follows the rules. He trusts the military hierarchy, and he believes that keeping Violet safe is more important than letting her take risks.

Which might sound reasonable until you realise that he’s repeatedly ignoring the person he’s supposed to care about.

And then there’s his signet.

By the end of the book, Violet realises that Dain has accessed her memories without her permission and that information about Xaden’s movements has reached his father.

Information that helped put Violet, Xaden and the other riders in danger.

I don’t see Dain as a simple cartoon villain.

I can understand why he believes he’s doing the right thing.

But that doesn’t mean I’m ready to forgive him.

Not after Athebyne.

Rhiannon Matthias

Violet’s best friend. Dragon: Feirge. Signet: Retrieving objects from a distance.

Rhiannon, or Rhi, is the first friend Violet makes at Basgiath.

They meet before crossing the parapet, and what starts with a practical exchange of boots turns into one of the most reliable friendships in the entire book.

Rhi is capable, loyal and willing to put in the work.

She helps Violet with combat training, while Violet helps her with the academic side of life at Basgiath.

And unlike so many other people around Violet, Rhi doesn’t spend the entire book trying to decide what’s best for her.

She simply shows up. Supports her.

And becomes the kind of friend you would absolutely want beside you at a military college where people are actively trying to murder you.

Book club best friend material.

Liam Mairi

Marked cadet and Violet’s protector. Dragon: Deigh. Status at the end of Fourth Wing: deceased.

Liam is a first-year rider who grew up alongside Xaden after the rebellion.

He’s one of the marked cadets and becomes Violet’s protector after Xaden assigns him to keep her safe.

But he’s so much more than a bodyguard.

Liam is loyal, funny, capable and genuinely caring.

He becomes one of Violet’s closest friends, and his friendship gives her another connection to the marked cadets beyond her relationship with Xaden.

Which makes what happens at Resson absolutely devastating.

When Deigh is killed during the battle, Liam dies too.

I genuinely thought knowing his fate would make my GraphicAudio reread easier.

It did not.

And if you’re about to start Iron Flame after finishing Fourth Wing, I suggest taking a moment to recover before moving on.

I’m still working on that part myself.

Tairneanach (Tairn)

Black dragon. Rider: Violet Sorrengail. Mate: Sgaeyl. Associated signet: Lightning wielding.

Tairn is one of the largest and most powerful dragons at Basgiath.

He’s ancient, intimidating, fiercely protective and has absolutely no patience for nonsense.

Especially Violet’s.

He chooses her during Threshing after she risks her life to protect Andarna, and their bond changes everything.

Tairn is also mated to Sgaeyl, which means he and Violet are connected to Xaden through their dragons.

He can communicate with Violet mentally, and his commentary on her decisions is one of my favourite parts of the book.

I love Tairn.

I love that he recognises Violet’s strength before so many other people do.

And I love that being an enormous, terrifying dragon doesn’t prevent him from having the attitude of someone who has been dealing with everyone’s nonsense for several centuries too long.

Honestly, relatable.

Andarna

Young golden feathertail dragon. Rider: Violet Sorrengail. Special ability: Temporarily stopping time.

Andarna is the young golden dragon Violet protects during Threshing.

She’s considerably smaller than the other dragons, but that doesn’t make her any less important.

After Tairn chooses Violet, Andarna chooses her too, creating the extraordinary dual bond that nobody at Basgiath seems to know quite what to do with.

Andarna has the ability to temporarily stop time, a secret that becomes essential to Violet’s survival throughout the book.

She’s young, curious and incredibly protective of Violet.

And I would protect this fictional dragon with my life.

No, I am not accepting questions about why I am this emotionally attached to a dragon.

If you’ve read Fourth Wing, you understand.

Sgaeyl

Blue daggertail dragon. Rider: Xaden Riorson. Mate: Tairn. Associated signet: Shadow wielding.

Sgaeyl is Xaden’s dragon and Tairn’s mate.

She’s enormous, powerful and extremely dangerous.

Her bond with Tairn is the reason Violet and Xaden become so closely connected after Threshing.

And Sgaeyl is not particularly interested in making anyone feel comfortable.

She has a commanding presence, a fierce loyalty to Xaden and a relationship with Tairn that makes the dragons’ own priorities rather important to their riders.

If Tairn is the dragon who makes me laugh, Sgaeyl is the dragon who makes me think twice before opening my mouth.

I would like to remain on her good side.

The rest of the squad

• Ridoc Gamlyn, a first-year rider in Violet’s squad, bonded to the dragon Aotrom. He’s funny, outspoken and has a talent for finding humour in situations where everyone else is understandably concerned about dying. I liked him even more on my GraphicAudio reread.
• Sawyer Henrick, a first-year rider who previously failed to bond with a dragon and is repeating the year. He helps Violet with combat training, while she helps him with history. Steady, determined and an important part of Violet’s friendship group.
• Imogen Cardulo, a second-year rider and one of the marked cadets. Her mother and sister were executed following the rebellion. A formidable fighter, and not particularly interested in pretending she likes Violet when they first meet.
• Jack Barlowe, a first-year rider who makes it his personal mission to kill Violet. Repeatedly. He also attacks Andarna during Threshing and later tries to kill Liam during the War Games. By the end of Fourth Wing, he’s presumed dead. I would say I’ll miss him, but that would be a fairly spectacular lie.
• General Lilith Sorrengail, Violet’s mother and the commanding general of Basgiath War College. Forced Violet into the Riders Quadrant and played a major role in crushing the rebellion led by Xaden’s father.
• Mira Sorrengail, Violet’s older sister and an established dragon rider. Protective of Violet and openly unhappy about her being sent into such a dangerous environment.
• Brennan Sorrengail, Violet’s older brother, a skilled mender and brilliant military strategist believed to have died during the rebellion. Revealed alive in Aretia at the very end of the book.
• Colonel Aetos, Dain’s father and a senior officer in Navarre’s military, involved in sending Xaden and the marked riders to Athebyne.
• Fen Riorson, Xaden’s father and the former leader of the rebellion against Navarre, executed before the events of the book begin.

Fourth Wing dragons and riders: quick reference guide

Because remembering an entire squad’s worth of people is difficult enough without adding a dragon family tree.

Dragon	Rider	What to remember
Tairn	Violet Sorrengail	Powerful black dragon, mated to Sgaeyl
Andarna	Violet Sorrengail	Young golden feathertail with the ability to stop time
Sgaeyl	Xaden Riorson	Blue daggertail, Tairn’s mate
Cath	Dain Aetos	Dain’s red dragon
Feirge	Rhiannon Matthias	Rhiannon’s dragon
Deigh	Liam Mairi	Liam’s dragon, killed at Resson
Aotrom	Ridoc Gamlyn	Ridoc’s dragon

The important relationship to remember is Tairn and Sgaeyl.

Their mating bond connects Violet and Xaden, making their survival a shared concern.

Andarna’s additional bond with Violet is extraordinary, but the full significance of having two dragons remains one of the mysteries established in book one.

Fourth Wing FAQ

What is Fourth Wing about?

Fourth Wing follows Violet Sorrengail, a young woman who is forced to abandon her plans to become a scribe and enter the dangerous Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College. She must survive brutal training, bond with a dragon and learn to fight despite her physical limitations. Along the way, she develops a relationship with Xaden Riorson, bonds with two dragons and discovers that the kingdom she has been taught to protect has been hiding the truth about the war. It’s a romantasy novel combining dragon riders, military training, magic, political secrets, found family and a slow-burn romance. And quite a lot of emotional damage.

Who does Violet end up with in Fourth Wing?

Violet and Xaden develop a romantic relationship throughout the book. Their relationship starts with distrust because of their families’ involvement in the rebellion, but their connection grows as they train together and become linked through their dragons. By the end of Fourth Wing, Violet has fallen in love with Xaden. However, after discovering his involvement in the resistance and the secrets he’s been keeping, she isn’t ready to simply return to their relationship as though nothing has happened. Xaden wants to earn back her trust. And Violet has quite a few questions she’d like answered first.

Why does Violet bond with two dragons?

During Threshing, Violet risks her life to protect a young golden feathertail from other cadets. Tairn, an extremely powerful black dragon, chooses Violet as his rider. Andarna, the young dragon Violet protected, also chooses her. The dragons’ leadership allows both bonds to stand, making Violet an extraordinary case within the Riders Quadrant. The full significance of her dual bond remains unresolved by the end of Fourth Wing.

What is Violet’s signet?

Violet’s signet is lightning wielding. Her power manifests during the War Games when she uses lightning against Jack Barlowe while trying to save Liam. The signet comes through her bond with Tairn. Andarna’s ability to temporarily stop time is a separate gift that she shares with Violet. Which means Violet has access to lightning and a dragon who can stop time. Not a bad result for someone everyone expected to die during her first week.

Why does Dain betray Violet?

Dain’s signet allows him to access recent memories through touch. Violet discovers that he has used this ability on her without her consent and that information about Xaden’s movements has reached his father. Colonel Aetos uses that information to send Xaden and the marked riders into a dangerous situation at Athebyne. Dain believes strongly in following military rules and protecting Violet, but his actions violate her privacy and contribute to a situation that puts her life and the lives of her friends in danger. By the end of Fourth Wing, Violet’s trust in him has been badly damaged. And I can’t say I blame her.

Does Liam die in Fourth Wing?

Yes. Liam dies during the Battle of Resson after his dragon, Deigh, is killed. Because a rider cannot survive the death of their bonded dragon, Liam dies too. He has become one of Violet’s closest friends by this point, making his death one of the most devastating moments in the book. It also hits particularly hard on a reread. I knew exactly what was coming when I listened to the GraphicAudio version, and it still got me.

Is Brennan really alive at the end of Fourth Wing?

Yes. Brennan Sorrengail, Violet’s older brother, is revealed to be alive in the final chapter. Violet believed he had died during the rebellion, but he has been living in Aretia and working with the resistance. He is also the mender who saves Violet after she is poisoned during the Battle of Resson. His return is the final major revelation in Fourth Wing and changes Violet’s understanding of her family and the rebellion.

Who are the venin in Fourth Wing?

The venin are dark wielders who draw magical power directly from the earth. They can drain the land of its energy and use powerful magic, and they’re associated with wyvern, dangerous magical creatures capable of fighting dragons. Navarre’s official history treats the venin as creatures from old stories rather than a real, present-day threat. But Violet discovers that they exist and have been attacking people beyond Navarre’s protective wards. The resistance has been supplying weapons to help fight them, while Navarre’s leadership has been concealing their existence. This revelation changes Violet’s understanding of the rebellion and the war.

Is Fourth Wing spicy?

Yes, but it’s a slow burn. I rate Fourth Wing three chillies out of five. Most of the book focuses on the tension between Violet and Xaden, with the more intimate scenes concentrated in the second half. And chapter 32? Well, the armoire has a reputation for a reason. You can find my full spice rating, exact chapter breakdown and GraphicAudio listening warnings in my Fourth Wing spicy-chapter guide. Because some things are better experienced with headphones. Particularly when your car has Bluetooth.

What book comes after Fourth Wing?

Iron Flame is the second book in Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series. The reading order is Fourth Wing, then Iron Flame, then Onyx Storm. The series is best read in order, as each book builds on the events, relationships and revelations of the previous one. I am currently working my way through Iron Flame on GraphicAudio, and I’ll be giving that one the same treatment once I’ve finished. Because apparently I enjoy becoming emotionally invested in fictional people and then immediately signing up for more of it.

My thoughts after rereading Fourth Wing

I loved Fourth Wing the first time I read it.

It was the book that pulled me out of a reading slump that had lasted nearly two years, and it was the reason I properly fell into romantasy.

Going back for the GraphicAudio version reminded me why.

It’s not just the dragons, although Tairn and Andarna are absolutely two of my favourite characters.

It’s not just Xaden, although he certainly isn’t hurting the situation.

It’s Violet.

I love that she’s not suddenly transformed into a physically unstoppable heroine just because she finds herself in a dangerous world.

She’s clever. She’s stubborn. She has limitations that she has to work around.

And she finds people who believe in her.

The friendships matter just as much as the romance.

Which is why Liam’s death still hurts, even when you know it’s coming.

And the way the book gradually reveals that the history Violet has spent her life studying isn’t the full truth?

I love that, too.

The first time through, you’re learning everything alongside Violet.

On a reread, you notice the little details that were sitting there all along, waiting for you to understand what they meant.

And then there’s Brennan.

I genuinely love an ending that makes you want to pick up the next book immediately.

Fourth Wing absolutely delivers on that front.

What Fourth Wing sets up for Iron Flame

By the end of book one, Violet has survived her first year at Basgiath, bonded with two dragons, discovered her signet and learned that almost everything she thought she knew about Navarre’s history is incomplete.

But there are still quite a few things left unresolved.

• Violet and Xaden’s relationship. She loves him, but she’s just discovered how much he’s been hiding from her. Rebuilding that trust is going to take more than a handsome face and a powerful dragon.
• The truth about the venin. Navarre has been concealing a threat that is putting people beyond its wards in danger. Violet now knows that the resistance has been trying to fight it.
• Brennan’s return. Her older brother is alive, working with the resistance, and has apparently been keeping some rather significant family news to himself.
• Dain’s betrayal. Violet’s childhood best friend has violated her trust, and the consequences of the information passed to his father have been devastating.
• Andarna’s extraordinary bond. Violet has bonded with two dragons, something unprecedented at Basgiath, and there are still unanswered questions about what that means.

And, of course, there’s the small matter of what happens next when Violet has to return to a world where she’s no longer sure who she can trust.

No pressure.

Just a kingdom hiding the truth about a war, a secret resistance, a complicated relationship and two dragons who have made it very clear that Violet is their rider.

What could possibly go wrong?

Before you pick up Iron Flame…

If you want to revisit my original reading experience, including how GraphicAudio turned me into an audiobook person and what happened when Xaden acquired a voice, you can read my full Fourth Wing review.

If Fourth Wing was your entry point into romantasy and you’re looking for something else to add to your TBR, have a look at my romantasy book recommendations.

As for me? I’m continuing with Iron Flame on GraphicAudio.

Because apparently getting emotionally attached to fictional dragons, crying over Liam in traffic and discovering that an entire kingdom has been lying about the war wasn’t enough.

I need to know what happens next.

And if you have already finished Fourth Wing, I have one very important question.

Which hurt more: Liam’s death, Dain’s betrayal, or finding out Brennan was alive this entire time?

Because I have thoughts about all three.

And I would very much like to discuss them with people who understand why I am still emotionally attached to a fictional dragon.