Chapter Thirty-Nine

Violet trains with Xaden in combat, learning to track him through shadows using their bond while other cadets watch. Later, she meets friends at a pub in Chantara, where conversation turns to manifesting signets and concerns about unprepared cadets; Dain then approaches her privately to negotiate retrieval of research from his father's quarters, requiring Violet to trust him completely.

The chapter opens with Violet sparring against Xaden in an amphitheater filled with shadows. Xaden challenges her to find him in complete darkness, instructing her to use their bond to track his location rather than relying on her conduit's light. Their training becomes intimate—Xaden kisses her and demonstrates that he can wield shadow from anywhere, making him nearly impossible to defeat. Violet eventually releases a lightning strike upward through the wards, causing gasps from watching cadets. When she asks why he teaches only her these advanced techniques, Xaden replies "Because you're the only one capable of killing me" before dismissing the class. The next afternoon, Violet sits with her friends—Ridoc, Sawyer, Rhi, Cat, Maren, and Trager—at the Six Talons pub in Chantara. They discuss Xaden's extraordinary power and Violet's fearlessness around him. The conversation shifts to signets: some cadets have manifested (Sloane as a siphon, Avalynn as a fire wielder, Baylor with farsight), while others like Lynx and Aaric have not yet manifested. Maren mentions her brothers are staying with Rhi's family in Aretia for safety. The group discusses regional temple worship. Dain arrives and pulls Violet into a private hallway, revealing he has reconnoitered his father's quarters and found sneaking others inside impossible. He offers to retrieve his father's research himself tomorrow night when his father is away, but only if Violet trusts him to do so without her presence. Violet hesitates—Dain could easily betray her by handing the research to his father—but ultimately agrees, providing Dain with the location of a secret compartment under her father's desk. The chapter ends with Violet's fate dependent on Dain's trustworthiness.