CHAPTER NINE

Violet Sorrengail crosses the deadly parapet during a storm to enter the Riders Quadrant, where cadets must walk a narrow two-hundred-foot-high stone bridge as part of their initiation. Jack Barlowe, another candidate, attempts to murder her during the crossing by throwing another cadet to his death and then pursuing Violet, but she survives and stops him at knifepoint as he reaches the courtyard, invoking Rider regulations to prevent him from killing her on the grounds.

Violet steps onto the rain-slicked parapet after her friend Rhiannon, using historical facts to calm her panicked mind as she navigates the narrow, windswept bridge. She witnesses Jack Barlowe throw a scrawny candidate from the parapet to his death, then target Violet herself. As Jack pursues her across the bridge, mocking her weakness and describing how dragons will kill her, Violet pushes through her fear and runs toward the citadel entrance. Jack nearly catches her as she reaches the courtyard, but she draws a dagger and holds it against his groin, threatening to cut him if he continues. She recites Article Three, Section of the Codex, which forbids riders from harming one another in formation or under superior supervision, preventing Jack from striking her. Two riders—a redheaded third-year woman and a man in a worn leather jacket—oversee the standoff and confirm the regulations are in effect. When asked what she'll do, Violet keeps Jack at bay until he grudgingly agrees to follow the rules and steps down into the courtyard. As he passes, he leans close and whispers a death threat, promising to kill her himself. Violet is now officially entered into the Riders Quadrant.