# CHAPTER 20: A Bodyguard, A Public Accusation, and the Fire of Justice
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review CHAPTER 20 of "Fourth Wing" — a chapter that crackles with tension, forbidden longing, and the brutal weight of dragon rider justice. If you thought the previous chapter was intense, brace yourselves, because this one delivers a public spectacle that will leave you breathless.
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Morning formation was the last place Violet Sorrengail wanted to be. Her ribs still throbbed from the attack the night before, and the memory of Xaden Riorson sleeping on her floor — his presence as much a shield as a threat — lingered in every beat of her heart. Captain Fitzgibbons droned on with minor announcements, but Violet tuned him out the second she saw Xaden striding toward them, cutting through the space between Flame and Tail Sections.
Her heart stuttered. It always did when he was near. Even the most effective poisons come in pretty packages, and Xaden Riorson was exactly that — as beautiful as he was lethal. He looked deceptively calm, but Violet could feel his tension like a panther stalking prey. She sighed at his unfair advantage over every man in that courtyard. He didn't even have to try to look sexy... he just was. And that's when it hit her: this feeling — the way her breath caught, the way her entire body drew tight — was why she hadn't taken anyone to bed, why she hadn't celebrated like her perfectly normal friends. Because she wanted *him*. There weren't enough curse words in the world for that.
His gaze locked with hers just long enough to quicken her pulse before he addressed Dain, ignoring the announcements behind him. "There's a change to your squad roll."
Dain straightened. "Wingleader? We just absorbed four from the dissolution of the third squad."
"Yes." Xaden looked to Second Squad, Tail Section. "Belden, we're making a roll change." The squad leader nodded. "Aetos, Vaughn Penley will be leaving your command, and you'll be gaining Liam Mairi from Tail Section."
Violet's stomach twisted. She knew exactly why the massive, blond first-year with the sprawling rebellion relic was being placed under Dain's command. "I do *not* need a bodyguard," she snapped at Xaden. Was she out of line speaking to a wingleader that way? Absolutely. Did she care? Not one bit.
Xaden ignored her, facing Dain. "Liam is statistically the strongest first-year in the quadrant. He has the fastest time up the Gauntlet, hasn't lost a single challenge, and is bonded to an exceptionally strong Red Daggertail. Any squad would be lucky to have him, and he's all yours, Aetos. You can thank me when you win the Squad Battle in the spring."
Liam stepped into formation behind Violet. She repeated louder, "I. Do. Not. Need. A. Bodyguard."
Imogen snorted. "Good luck with that approach."
Then Xaden walked past Dain and stood directly in front of Violet, leaning into her space. "You do, though, as we both learned last night. And I can't be everywhere you are. But Liam here" — he gestured back at the blond Tyr — "he's a first-year, so he can be in every class, at every challenge, and I even had him assigned to library duty, so I hope you get used to him, Sorrengail."
"You're overstepping." Her nails bit into her palms.
"You haven't *begun* to see overstepping," he warned, his voice dropping low, sending a shiver down her spine. "Any threat against you is a threat against me, and as we've already established, I have more important things to do than sleep on your floor."
Heat flushed up her neck and stained her cheeks. "He is not sleeping in my room."
"Of course not." He smirked, and her traitorous stomach dipped. "I had him moved into the one next to yours. Wouldn't want to overstep." He turned on his heel and walked away.
Dain seethed through clenched teeth. "Fucking mated dragons."
But the tension didn't end there. Commandant Panchek took the podium — a rarity that signaled something big was happening. Rhiannon whispered nervously, and Dain, catching sight of Violet's bruised neck, did a double-take. "Vi?" She assured him she was fine, but his eyes were locked on the marks. The apology in his soft brown eyes clogged her throat, yet she knew deep down: she hadn't told him because he wouldn't believe her anyway.
Then Panchek's voice rang out: "It has been brought to my attention as your commandant that a breach of the Codex has occurred... As you know, breaches of our most sacred laws are not to be tolerated. This matter will be addressed here and now. Will the accuser please step forward."
Everyone expected some minor infraction. Ridoc joked about being caught in Tyvon Varen's bed, and Violet traded quips about missing sex — she really did crave connection, but her mind kept circling back to the last person she should want. Then the accuser climbed the steps to the dais. It was Xaden.
Violet's stomach lurched. "This is about me," she whispered.
Xaden's deep voice carried over the formation. "Early this morning, a rider in my wing was brutally, illegally attacked in her sleep with the intent of murder by a group primarily composed of unbondeds. This is a violation of Article Three, Section Two of the Dragon Rider's Codex and, in addition to being dishonorable, is a capital offense."
A ripple of gasps swept through the courtyard. Xaden explained that he had been alerted by his dragon, interrupted the attack with two other Fourth Wing riders, and personally executed six of the would-be murderers, witnessed by Garrick Tavis and Bodhi Durran. But the attack was orchestrated by a rider who fled — a rider who had access to the map of first-year sleeping assignments. And that rider must be brought to swift justice.
Then Xaden's focus shifted to the center of the formation. "I call you to answer for your crime against Cadet Sorrengail. Wingleader Amber Mavis."
The quadrant drew a collective breath before an uproar ripped through the crowd. Dain shook his head in disbelief. "Amber would never. A wingleader would never. Get up there and tell everyone that he's lying, Vi."
"But he's not," Violet said gently, the reality of his disbelief hurting more than a blow to her already battered ribs. "I was there, Dain."
"Wingleaders are beyond reproach—"
"Then why are you so quick to call our own wingleader a liar?" she challenged.
Amber stepped forward, declaring her innocence. Dain begged Violet to stop it, to let him see her memories. But Violet knew his signet would reveal more than just Amber's betrayal — it would show that she had stopped time. She couldn't let that happen. "Touch me without permission, and you'll spend the rest of your life regretting it."
The wingleaders of First and Second Wing climbed the dais to form a quorum. And then the dragons came. Six of them soared over the ridgeline and landed on the courtyard wall — Tairn at the center, his narrowed, angry eyes fixed on Amber. Sgaeyl flanked Xaden. The very air crackled with menace.
Violet desperately asked Tairn to share her memories with the other dragons, to prove the truth. Tairn chuffed, and every dragon on the wall stiffened — they knew. Dain paled. Rhiannon squeezed Violet's hand. "Believe me now?" Violet hurled the accusation at Dain. "You're supposed to be my oldest friend. My best friend. There's a reason I didn't tell you."
The wingleaders reached a unanimous verdict. "We find you guilty, Amber Mavis."
"No!" Amber shouted. "It is no crime to rid the quadrant of the weakest rider! I did it to protect the integrity of the wings!" But the formation moved backward, leaving her isolated.
The sentence was to be carried out by fire. Amber called to her dragon, Claidh — but Tairn roared, snapping his teeth at the smaller orange Daggertail, and she retreated in submission. Violet's heart ached for Claidh, not for Amber. She begged Tairn to show mercy, to give Amber a chance. But Tairn's voice was unyielding: *"I let someone live once, and he almost killed you last night, Silver One. Justice is not always merciful."*
Tairn leaned low, his great head extending past the dais toward Amber. His teeth parted, his tongue curled, and he incinerated her with a blast of fire so hot Violet could feel it from where she stood. It was over in a heartbeat. But Claidh's grief exploded into a gruesome scream that shattered a window — and every rider slammed their hands over their ears.
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A week later, Violet still couldn't shake the image of that fire. She made her way toward the Archives, Liam Mairi a constant shadow at her side. She tried to tell him this wasn't necessary, that he'd been following her every day, all day. But Liam just grinned, revealing a dimple, and said, "Until otherwise ordered." He was annoyingly nice — courteous, funny, ridiculously helpful — even if he left little piles of wood shavings everywhere he went, whittling away with that small knife of his. Yesterday it had been a bear.
Pierson, the scribe on duty, greeted Violet warmly — but his smile died as he glanced at Liam. "Cadet Mairi."
Liam responded with perfect politeness, as if the scribe's tone hadn't changed at all. Violet sighed. This was her new reality: protected, watched, and utterly tangled in a web of politics, dragons, and a certain wingleader whose presence made her heart race and her defenses crack.
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# Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
This chapter is a masterclass in tension. The public accusation and execution of Amber Mavis is both thrilling and horrifying — you feel Violet's internal conflict as she watches justice served while mourning the collateral damage to Claidh. Xaden's protectiveness is simultaneously infuriating and swoon-worthy, and the raw vulnerability in Violet's realization that she *wants* him is beautifully written. Dain's stubborn disbelief adds layers of heartbreak, and the introduction of Liam as a genuinely likable bodyguard is a breath of fresh air. The dragon politics, the quorum, Tairn's unyielding judgment — all of it lands with devastating impact. I'm giving this chapter a solid 4.9 out of 5 stars.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.9 / 5 Stars
# Next Chapter Prediction
Now that Amber Mavis has been publicly executed and Violet has exposed herself as the target of an assassination plot, the backlash is going to be ferocious. Expect old loyalties to shift, new enemies to emerge from the shadows, and Violet's relationship with Xaden to deepen — especially as she starts to question everything about the rebellion and her own family's history. And with Liam as her constant shadow, Violet might accidentally uncover secrets about Xaden's past that he never intended to reveal... or worse, secrets that could get them all killed.
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