Iron Flame: Chapter Summary (Part 2)

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Looking for an in-depth summary of Iron Flame? Look no further! Be sure to read the Part 1 summary of Iron Flame before reading this post.

Although I preferred reading Part 1 when compared to Part 2, the second part of Iron Flame was very fast-paced with lots of twists and turns. I finished the book at 3AM in the morning and really did not see the ending coming.

Based on what i’ve seen on booktok and bookstagram, some readers love the ending while some said it ruined the book from them.

Besides the summary of part 2, we’ll also be diving into Iron Flame’s ending explained.

Iron Flame Summary: Part 2 (Spoilers)

Chapter 37-42

Everyone who left Basgiath moves into Riorson House. The Assembly is pissed with this situation because they have no wards, no weapons and a bunch of untrained cadets. Some of them first years who haven’t manifested their signets yet.

Classes and training continue as usual at Riorson House. Violet tries to translate Warrick’s journal. Andarna wakes up but her wing is weak so she will never be able to bear a rider. Violet feels guilty and blames herself for Andarna’s rapid growth and complications.

Xaden and the marked ones dropped some Wyvern carcasses at the outpost to make riders aware of the truth. Mira finds out the truth and comes to Aretia, she meets Brennan after six years, gets angry and punches him.

Soon, Violet figures out how to raise the wards. The text she translated says they need a six of the most powerful riders, the wardstone and an iron rain, which means they’ll have to bleed on the wardstone. She gathers six of the powerful riders and cut themselves to bleed on the wardstone. However, it doesn’t work.

Now that they don’t have wards, their other option is to get the luminary to make more weapons so they can defend themselves. Violet, Mira and Brennan go to Poromiel, behind Xaden’s back to trade with Viscount Tecarus.

However, Xaden is already there, and so is Catriona. Violet learns that Catriona is the niece of Viscount Tecarus and that Xaden and Catriona were engaged, which is why Xaden knows Catriona so well and even has his own room there.

Catriona’s signet intensifies Violet’s jealousy and anger. Later on, Violet learns that Catriona is not interested in Xaden romantically, but wants power as Xaden is the Duke of Aretia.

Violet has to wield lightning so that trading the luminary is up for discussion. The Viscount asks her to target a chest, but then it turns out there’s a Venin hidden in that chest. The Sorrengail siblings fight the Venin and Xaden is so pissed at the Viscount.

Eventually, they come to an agreement – the Viscount will give them the luminary if they are willing to take the gryphons and their fliers off his hands and back to Aretia.

Chapter 43-48

Cat and other fliers join them at Aretia after climbing a dangerous cliff. During the journey, a flier dies. Cat blames Violet for choosing to protect a rider instead of a flier. Ridoc is injured but Brennan mends him.

Once they’ve reached Aretia, the fliers are absorbed into squads. Now, fliers and riders must work together to protect the continent from Venins. They take up classes together, one of them is to learn how to use runes. Cat is very good at rune magic.

At sparring, Cat challenges Violet and uses her signet (which isn’t allowed) to trigger Violet. She tells Violet she knows Xaden better (initimately) and Violet nearly kills her. Xaden takes her to the meeting room and reassures her that he is not interested in Cat and they have never been compatible.

In the meantime, Dain and Violet are friends. They work together on translating the journal again. The both of them and Xaden work together to imbue the wardstone with their powers.

Chapter 49-54

Soon, Dain and Violet figure out that it isn’t the most powerful six riders that is needed, but it is the six dragons, each from one den. However, if they put up the wards, gryphons and fliers will lose their powers.

They manage to get the wards up and they’re happy but the fliers still have their powers, it shouldn’t be that way. Something seems off with the wards.

In one of their assignments, fliers and riders have to work together to find hidden runes. Violet, Cat, Visia and Sloane are in a team. They enter a dark cave to find the runes but instead, they come face-to -ace with Solas (Varrish’s dragon) and he burns Visia.

Andarna is awake and kills Solas. She is now a dragon slayer, which is frowned on among dragons. The elder dragons agree not to punish her.

When they were in the cave, Sloane mentions that dragons who bond with a direct descendent of their previous rider will make the rider go insane or develop a second signet. Clearly, Xaden is not insane so he has been hiding his second signet all along.

Chapter 55-60

When Violet confronts him about it, he is hesitant but tells her anyway – he is an inntinnsic (someone who can read people’s thoughts, but he is able to read their intentions). He couldn’t tell anyone because riders get killed for having this rare signet as it might expose classified information.

General Melgren calls for a meeting with the rebellion. Xaden, Violet and a few others meet with him, General Sorrengail is present.

General Melgren (signet: sees battle outcomes but unable to see when three or more marked ones are present) tells them that Wyverns are going to attack Samara and Navarre is going to lose. In that battle, he sees none of the rebellions there. So he is asking them for help because most of their powerful riders are with the rebellion.

Violet feels like they have to help defend them but Xaden and the Assembly does not want to. Violet feels like this makes them no different than the leadership in Navarre because innocent people will die. This is also the moment where General Sorrengail sees Brennan for the first time in six years and she is in tears.

In a battle brief class, Violet comes to a realization that Wyverns who are about to attack Samara is just a distraction from the real attack on Basgiath War College, where the powered wardstone that is holding up Navarre’s wards is. The reason why General Melgren doesn’t know about this battle or it’s outcome is most likely because all the marked ones are fighting there.

Violet, Xaden, their friends and the rebellions make way to Basgiath. Violet begs her mother to let them see the wardstone. She is afraid that someone is going to bring the wards down. When they get to the wardstone, the guards are dead and they see Jack Barlowe, whose eyes are rimmed red. Jack is a Venin.

Chapter 61-66

Jack kills his dragon, Baide and that brings down the wards. Navarre is now defenseless and there is war. Everyone is trying to kill Venins and Wyverns. Sawyer loses a leg in the process. Fliers soon make their way to Basgiath and help fight in war.

Jesinia soon figures out that Violet’s and Dain’s translation is wrong. It’s six and the one. Which means there are seven dragons. But it makes no sense, there’s only six dragon breeds.

Finally, Violet figures out that Andarna is the seventh breed. Andarna waited six hundred and fifty years to hatch so that she could be bonded to Violet. Andarna is not a black dragon, her scales look black but it’s purple iridescent. She is the head of her own den, that’s why The Empyrean allowed her to bond as a juvenile.

Violet ask Xaden if he is okay to power the wardstone in Basgiath instead of Aretia because they dragon fire cannot be reused and there’s only one of Andarna. Xaden says home is where she is, and he is onboard with the idea. Plus, if she doesn’t ward Basgiath soon, they’re all going to die.

With all the information she has, Violet gathers dragons from each den to the wardstone. But the wardstone has no more power and it will take weeks to imbue the wardstone with power. Violet tries her best but she is close to burnout. General Sorrengail, uses Sloane (signet: siphon) to transfer her powers into the wardstone. The wardstone is imbued but General Sorrengail burns out and dies protecting not only her children, but Navarre.

The wards are raised successfully. Wyverns in the sky are falling to their deaths on Basgiath grounds.

Iron Flame Ending Explained

At the end of Iron Flame, Violet successfully raises the wards but as “magic does like everything to be in balance”, Violet’s mother, General Sorrengail dies in the process of imbueing the wardstone. The iron flame at the top of the wardstone is all is left of her after she decided to sacrifice herself for her children and the nation.

At this point, Xaden is battling the Sage (the creator of Venins) and is close to defeat. Xaden does not die but he turns into a Venin.

Later on, Jack Barlowe tells him that there’s no cure for this and he will now be the villain in Violet’s story. Jack proceeds to tell him that they are now brothers.

FAQs about Iron Flame

Who dies in Iron Flame?

General Sorrengail (Violet’s mother) dies at the end of Iron Flame. She imbues the wardstone with her power and eventually burns out.

Does Xaden die in Iron Flame?

No, Xaden does not die in Iron Flame. However, at the end of the book, he does turn into a Venin.

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I hope this summary was helpful. If you haven’t read Fourth Wing & Iron Flame yet, be sure to add the hottest fantasy series at the moment to your TBR!