Chapter Nineteen

Violet and her squad are abducted and dropped into the Hadden Woods for a joint land navigation exercise with infantry cadets. Their dragon connections are blocked by an herbal mixture, and they discover they must find an extraction point while being hunted by dragons from a rival group. The exercise becomes deadly when Baide, an orange dragon whose rider Violet killed, attacks the group and incinerates a Second Wing rider.

Violet wakes in the forest after being drugged with smelling salts, discovering she and three squadmates (Rhiannon, Sawyer, Ridoc) have been transported alongside Second Wing riders (Tomas, Brisa, Mirabel, Cohen) and two infantry squads. Professor Grady explains this is RSC—a land navigation course requiring riders and infantry to work together. All eight riders have been given an herbal mixture that dulls their dragon connections and signets, leveling the playing field against infantry cadets who are trained in navigation. An additional complication: dragons from a rival group are hunting them. The groups spend two hours debating their location using two different maps before determining they are in Hadden Woods. As they crest a hill, they encounter Baide, an orange dragon, lying in ambush. Violet recognizes her as the dragon of Jack Barlowe, whom Violet killed the previous year. Despite lowering her eyes and following protocol, Baide attacks when a panicked infantry cadet named Gwen breaks and runs. Tomas, the Second Wing squad leader, attempts to retrieve her but is killed by Baide's fire blast. The dragon then flies away, leaving the survivors reeling from their first casualty.