Chapter Eight

Violet and Xaden return to Basgiath with six other marked riders for their graduation ceremony, having just dropped Andarna into the Vale with Tairn. They navigate the quadrant carefully, retrieve Liam's letters from his room, and confront Xaden about his broken promises regarding full disclosure—only to be dramatically called out during the death roll as the ceremony begins.

Tairn and Sgaeyl fly the riot to Basgiath's flight field before dawn, carrying Andarna to the Vale while Violet and the others prepare for graduation. Violet and Xaden walk toward the quadrant together, their relationship strained by his earlier deceptions. Violet asks Xaden about scribes and mentions needing to handle Dain herself, but defers difficult conversations until after the ceremony. They gather with six other riders—Garrick, Masen, Imogen, Eya, Bodhi, and others—to execute an unknown plan. Once in the quadrant, they split up. Xaden helps Violet break into Liam's empty room to retrieve letters he'd hidden under his mattress, which she gives to Rhiannon to protect from being burned. Violet encounters Rhiannon and Ridoc, who believed her and Xaden were dead; she lies about where she's been but entrusts them with Liam's letters. Moving through crowded corridors, they rendezvous behind a pillar in the rotunda where Xaden explains that surviving their mission requires compartmentalizing truth and maintaining distance from friends for their safety. Violet demands full disclosure from Xaden regarding his secrets, threatening to stop falling for him if he continues hiding things. He refuses to guarantee complete honesty, claiming his role as revolutionary leader necessitates some secrets, infuriating her. As the final bell sounds, the eight riders walk toward the courtyard for graduation. Captain Fitzgibbons begins reading the death roll and names both Garrick Tavis and Xaden Riorson, shocking the assembled cadets.