Onyx Storm Chapters 10–13 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapters 10–13

Chapter 10

As their squad heads toward the village, Violet arrives first due to Tairn’s speed. Violet and Tairn manage to kill a few wyvern (dragon-like beasts that venin create and channel their power into), but are almost killed when Garrick and Chradh (Garrick’s dragon) arrive to help. However, Violet, Tairn, Garrick, and Chradh are soon caught in a tornado. Tairn is injured in the process and knocked unconscious, momentarily causing his bond with Violet to go dark; Violet dislocates her knee and is briefly unable to move. Garrick goes to help her, pointedly telling her that Xaden is not acting like himself and that he lost it when he learned that Violet was in danger, thus explaining why Garrick is here. Suddenly, a silver-haired Maven (a high-ranking and incredibly powerful venin) named Theophanie emerges. She tells Violet and Garrick that she can wield lightning just like Violet, and that she killed Maren’s parents to lure Violet here. She then uses her magic to choke Garrick in mid-air and tells Violet that she will only release him if Violet tells her which dragon chose her first—Tairn or “the irid.”

Chapter 11

Theophanie wants Andarna, Violet, and Xaden under her control, and she offers Violet unlimited knowledge and power if they join the venin army with her as their teacher. Her wyvern suddenly appears and plucks Theophanie off of the ground, and she escapes before Violet can do anything. It’s then that Violet realizes Garrick is distance-wielder—he traveled thousands of miles to get to her in a matter of minutes, something no rider has been able to do in centuries. She asks if he has a second signet, as she has only previously known him to be a wind wielder, but Garrick evades the question.

Later, Violet and Tairn land at Basgiath, and Xaden and Brennan angrily arrive to meet them. They bring the injured Violet into a room so that Brennan can mend her, and they’re soon joined by the rest of her squad as well as Maren’s little brothers, who survived the attack. Aetos arrives, furious that Violet and her friends went on an unauthorized rescue mission. He orders Maren to send her brothers back to their decimated village, but Xaden intervenes and uses his authority to grant them Tyrrish citizenship so they can live in Aretia. Incensed but unable to do anything about it, Aetos orders Xaden and Garrick to leave Basgiath by the next morning. Violet is distressed by this news, partly because she is going to miss him but also because she is worried he will be sent beyond the wards where it will be harder for him to avoid channeling. Violet is healed, at which point Xaden throws everyone else out of the room. Violet assumes that Xaden is going to lecture her about her recklessness, but instead he kisses her.

Chapter 12

Xaden and Violet kiss passionately. However, Xaden stops them from going any further because he does not trust himself. He tells Violet he nearly lost control when he learned that she was in danger, and that he would have been unable to prevent himself from using his venin abilities to save her if he had been beyond the wards. Violet is concerned by Xaden’s admission and promises him that she is going to find a cure. She then asks him about Garrick’s distance-wielding and Xaden confirms that some marked ones (children of the executed leaders of the Tyrrish Rebellion) possess second signets. Their discussion of signets reminds Violet of Theophanie, and she tells Xaden that she thinks that venin have signets in addition to their channeling powers.

A week later, Xaden writes to Violet and says that he is recovering in his room at Samara after suffering from near-burnout (a phenomenon that occurs when a rider pushes their magical abilities too far and exhausts their energy source, causing them to perish). Lewellen is standing in as proxy in case the Senarium orders any emergency meetings. However, Violet thinks that this is a coded message, and that Xaden is really telling her he slipped and used his venin abilities and is staying in his room until his eyes are no longer red. She confesses her fears to Imogen; they agree that Xaden needs to stay behind the wards. They also discuss Grady’s drafted team for the first questing mission, and Violet is enraged that Aura is on it.

Violet and Imogen go to visit Jack, who appears to be on the brink of death. Violet offers Jack either a medallion of alloy (which would keep him alive for another week) or a powdered orange peel (which would end his suffering because Jack is deathly allergic to oranges) if he answers her questions. Jack agrees to these terms, and Violet learns that initiates and asim (that is, new venin) are often trained by an elder Sage or Maven, that new venin do not need to be taught to channel if they, like riders, are already experienced with magic, that lower-ranking venin do not have access to the same level of information as higher-ranking venin, and that all venin bargain some of their autonomy in exchange for their new powers. Violet also confirms that venin can indeed sometimes sense each other. Jack also boasts that there is no cure, and no venin actually wants one; venin believe dragons are gatekeeping magic by forcing riders to channel from them, and thus are the true villains. Imogen uses her signet to wipe Jack’s memories and they leave, discovering Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Sawyer waiting for them in the hallway.

Chapter 13

Violet tells her friends that venin could be all around them and they would not even know it, which the group finds concerning. The four of them then go to see Jesinia (Violet’s friend who is training to be a Scribe), and tease each other along the way about their relationships—or lack thereof, in Ridoc’s case. Jesinia brings them a pile of texts, and Violet learns that Jesinia was kicked out of the adept program because she failed three exams that were designed to be impossible. This causes Violet to realize that Jesinia is being punished for deserting to Aretia with Violet during Iron Flame. She apologizes but Jesinia says it’s okay; she was added to Grady’s team and is researching irids (which they believe is short for “iridescents”). Jesinia informs Violet that Grady has been requesting information on Emerald Sea exploration in the north and guesses that their mission might be ordered there. She then laments the gaps in the Archives’ texts, such as a missing account of an outside isle supporting the second Krovlan (a southern Poromish province) uprising, and is excitedly awaiting the list of texts in Maraya’s library to fill in the blanks. Violet and Jesinia agree that Violet’s deceased father had unfinished research that could help them, but that Dain will have to betray his father for them to get it.

Later, Violet attends Battle Brief and is dismayed to learn that the venin are advancing toward Navarre’s hatching grounds. The students are given books about venin and told they will soon travel to Aretia for a two-week rune intensive. Professor Devera confirms Violet’s discovery that high-level venin can wield signets. She then says that the cadets will be starting a new class on signet combat, and that Xaden will be teaching the course. Violet is initially elated (both because she and Xaden will be in the same place again and because Xaden will be safer behind Basgiath’s wards), but she then realizes that their relationship now goes against Codex rules, as she is a cadet and he is a professor.

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