Rebecca Yarros is notorious for her heart-stopping plot twists, and Iron Flame's twist comes as quite a shock, but in re-reading the series, it's clear this is a plot dynamic Yarros has been teasing the entire time.

It's common knowledge that Xaden's shadow-wielding makes him one of the strongest Xaden's second signet is kept under wraps. The gravity of this reveal calls into question every interaction Xaden has previously had throughout the series thus far, and by closer analyzing both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, it's easy to see where Yarros planted clues.

11 Fourth Wing, Chapter One

Violet Meet's Xaden At The Parapet

Violet's first interaction with Xaden comes very early in the series, setting up their enemies-to-lovers relationship from the get-go. In chapter one, Violet first notices Xaden when she is about to cross the parapet, and his eyes quickly narrow towards her once he realizes who she is. In this instance, Violet feels like he can hear her thoughts, even as the wind at the top of the tower rages around them.

In initially reading this scene, it seems Xaden has excellent skills at reading people and analyzing situations—which would for his quick, perceptive nature. However, knowing he has the ability to read her intentions in this scene sheds a whole new light on the scenario. From the very beginning of their relationship, Xaden has had access to Violet's mind and her intentions. This could be a reason he finds it so hard to hate her throughout the first book, as he knows Violet is genuine and of a pure mind.

10 Fourth Wing, Chapter Seven

Xaden Catches Violet Spying

Xaden has the signet ability to wield shadows, and in this scene, he helps to conceal Violet in the tree with shadows so the others don't spot her. Violet later climbs down once she feels everyone has left, only to be surprised to find Xaden waiting for her. During this scene, Xaden is wary of trusting Violet to keep Xaden and his friends' meeting a secret, as riders with a rebellion relic are not supposed to meet in groups larger than three.

"He looks at me like he's trying to see through me, and ice prickles my scalp"

However, Violet finds herself surprised once again when Xaden lets her walk away. During the sequence, she describes Xaden staring at her as though he's trying to see through her—a clear indication that he was reading her intentions. This marks one of the first moments in Fourth Wing where Violet and Xaden's relationship dynamic begins to build a bit of trust.

9 Fourth Wing, Chapter Eight

Violet Throws Her Knives At Jack Barlowe

Several times throughout the series, Violet describes a tingling or prickling feeling in her mind when Xaden is either near or staring directly at her. This scene quickly follows Violet's encounter with Xaden after she was caught spying, and she takes Xaden's advice to get Jack Barlowe off her back. After a bit of taunting, Violet spins around and throws two daggers incredibly close to Barlowe, proving her strength and bravery.

After she throws the daggers, she feels that same tingling sensation and shifts her gaze to meet with Xaden's. At this point, readers are able to pick up on a strange connection between Violet and Xaden, but it's not yet revealed as to why. With the knowledge that Xaden is in fact Inntinnsic, these earlier scenes make much more sense—as Violet's scalp prickling is really a reaction to Xaden reading her intentions.

8 Fourth Wing, Chapter Ten

Violet Catches Xaden Returning From A Mysterious Flight Mission

This scene is another example of Xaden's now obvious, but discreet, use of his second signet. When returning from a mysterious flight mission with Bohdi and Garrick, Xaden stops mid-step, sensing Violet is near. During this, Violet even mentions that her scalp prickles, and she comes to understand that Xaden somehow sensed her presence hiding in the shadows.

...It would only make sense for Xaden to have sensed her presence so acutely if he was openly using his second signet.

While Xaden is arguably very perceptive, it would only make sense for Xaden to have sensed her presence so acutely if he was openly using his second signet. When he's not suppressing his ability to read other people's intentions, Xaden can likely detect another's presence before visibly seeing them—hearing their thoughts or intentions instead. Aside from this one moment with Violet, his character has done this on a multitude of occasions—seemingly becoming aware of a character's arrival before any of the others beside him.

7 Fourth Wing, Chapter Nineteen

Xaden Saves Violet In Her Dorm Room

This is the first of several necessary moments in Fourth Wing in which Yarros makes it clear to the reader that Xaden is somehow reading Violet's thoughts. However, upon the first read, she does a great job of tricking the reader into believing Violet is simply speaking out loud without meaning to. After being attacked in her dorm by five other cadets, Xaden bursts into the room and quickly takes them all out. In her shock from the aftermath, Violet repeats a mantra stating she's alive in her head, and Xaden immediately answers her verbally.

I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm alive. I repeat the mantra in my head as Xaden wipes the blood from my dagger on the back of Oren's tunic.

"Yes. You're alive." Xaden steps over Oren's body and two others, retrieving my dagger from the fallen woman's shoulder before reaching my armoire. I don't even recognize her, and yet she tried to kill me.

Garrick and Bodhi haul out the first bodies.

"I didn't realize I said that out loud."

This is the first of many moments where Violet figures she is just so caught up in the moment that she speaks out loud by accident. After so many other unique dynamics to their relationship, this scenario raises some questions from the reader. However, without the knowledge of Xaden being an Inntinnsic at this point in the series, it would be hard to catch on one's own.

6 Fourth Wing, Chapter Twenty-Two

Violet and Xaden's First Kiss

Yarros' clever word play throughout much of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame helped to keep Xaden's second signet reveal a huge surprise for readers. And in the scene where Violet and Xaden first kiss, Yarros easily camouflages Xaden's power, instead making it seem that the two of them simply have great chemistry. During their kiss, Violet feels as though he can hear her thoughts given that their ionate embrace perfectly aligns with the desires running through her mind.

It is later revealed in Iron Flame, that while Xaden knew Violet wanted to kiss him at this time, it in no way took away from his desire to kiss her back. He later explains that it's at this point during their relationship that he actively attempts not to read Violet's mind, but it's not something he can always control if Violet's shields are down.

5 Fourth Wing, Chapter Thirty-Two

Violet s Xaden In His Dorm Room

Yarros is known for her extra steamy scenes in Fourth Wing, but she manages to continue to carry the plot even through the romance-heavy dialogue. During one of the book's more intimate moments, Violet states in her own mind that she could die right on the spot from pure bliss, in which Xaden again answers out loud that he would die along with her. At this point in the series, Violet and Xaden can already speak mind-to-mind, which can cause some confusion about how to interpret this scene.

However, Violet, just a few sentences later re she has the ability to speak with Xaden telepathically, and they begin to do so throughout the course of the scene. The distinction Yarros makes between his apparent ability to read Violet's thoughts from their dragon bond is necessary, as it helps to later explain Xaden's Iron Flame reveal.

4 Fourth Wing, Chapter Thirty-Five

Xaden Asks If Dain Read Violet's Memories

This is probably the biggest clue Yarros drops in Fourth Wing about Xaden's second signet. After arriving at the outpost in Athebyne for war games, it becomes clear to the group that they've been set up and left to fend for themselves. As Xaden is attempting to make sense of the situation, he asks Violet if Dain has touched her face at all in the last few weeks, to which Violet its that he always does.

Dain's signet gives him the ability to see recent memories if he touches someone's face.

The reason this is significant is that Dain did so after Xaden had told Violet about his secret flight to Athebyne with Bodhi and Garrick—something Dain could have seen in her memories. While Violet is adamant she would know if Dain read her memories, Xaden is extremely confident that she would not. This is a subtle nod by Yarros to the existence of Xaden's second signet, and sets up the narrative surrounding Dain's massive betrayal in Iron Flame.

3 Iron Flame, Chapter Eighteen

Xaden Wants To Meet Jessinia

To prepare for one of Iron Flame's biggest reveals, Yarros begins to add more depth to the hints she drops in the book's earlier chapters. For instance, when Xaden finds out Violet told Jessinia about the Fable of the Barrens, he immediately requests to meet her to see if she's trustworthy. In a joking manner, Violet teases that even Xaden isn't powerful enough to gauge this just by looking at her—but Xaden reiterates that he's an incredibly good judge of character.

Given the book is only ever in Violet's POV (aside from Xaden's Fourth Wing and Iron Flame bonus chapters), readers can really only gather so much from Violet's perspective. However, Yarros was clever to gradually increase the information she teased through Xaden's character, shielding both Violet and the audience from discovering the plot twist too soon.

2 Iron Flame, Chapter Twenty-Two

Xaden And Violet Run Into Varrish

Yarros had to get intentional with her plot twist foreshadowing in Iron Flame, especially because much of the first half sees Xaden stationed at the Samara outpost. Because his character is in a limited number of scenes early in the book, Yarros made sure to add multiple scenarios in which readers could pick up on his second signet. One example being his and Violet's run-in with Varrish before one of her team trials.

During this scene, Xaden is worried that Varrish will torture Violet to the point of death as a consequence of her failure to produce Andarna for flight lessons. Violet argues with him that he can't possibly know those are Varrish's plans, to which Xaden responds "His intentions are pretty fucking clear. Trust me." This is the first time Yarros specifically singles out the use of the word "intentions", and it helps readers make the connection to Xaden's second signet later in the book.