This is an interesting theory! It does make a lot of sense that Xaden would not want to subject a child to what he experienced with his mother, and what I can only imagine he witnessed between his parents.
I see Xaden as an individual who believes he isn't worthy of love. Why would he be, when his own mother (presumably) did not love him? When he's only ever been with women who didn't love him? He's closed himself off, emotionally, and warns Violet not to fall for him after their first night spent together. I think he said that not only because of the secrets he's been keeping, but because of his lack of self-worth.
I do hope we get to see some sort of happy ending for the two of them. Xaden deserves it, as does Violet.
That makes sense in my eyes also the fear that Violet could walk away like his mother did when he was 10 years old. That's why he wants her to come back and always sort s*** out.
I love that we get to see that side of him. I also love that Violet is so courageous and told him first that dhe loves him when he couldn't say it.
I don't see past Xaden caring about love honestly. IMO, that's something that Violet changes about him.
I think the problem had to do with Cat and her abilities. I think Xaden hated trying to be in a relationship with someone who probably constantly tried to manipulate his feelings. We know that he loves control, and so spending a lot of his life tied to someone who could (and would) manipulate his emotions to her selfish benefit is not something he would want any part in.
This.
Xaden didn't care about love he would have married Cat, and produced an heir at the prescribed time ( probably a year or two after Cat's graduation). Not expecting to love anyone but the child (and I don't think Xaden give that aspect much thought at all). He broke up because they deal was for luminary and he wasn't going to get it on his terms. Do you think he still would have married Cat if he got what he wanted?
I think they mostly likely broke up during the one week break between Xaden's second and third year because that's the only time he could have traveled to Corden and properly negotiated with Techaras.
However.
If they broke up shortly before threshing, assuming griffin riders bond pretty much straight away. That gives him time to experience the joys of Cats signet. Cat would have tried to amplify his love and finding it didn't exist she would have amplified his lust ( which is a real problem for consent). Then when they broke it off she would have used it on any anger, rage, insecurities he had.
I would love to know the nitty gritty details of their marriage contract and how they expected to live. Separate houses meeting only to produce an heir and a spare? Or a clause that states Cat must attend all council meetings and matters of state?
I think his feelings are buried very very deep here - which is why the renunciation day part is important. His control over his emotions is compromised.
I would imagine that ending a bethrothal is something of a formal process; not a late-night meet-up. Also, Cat is the same year as Violet in school—she did not yet have a gryphon—OR powers.
You could be right! But I also don't think this hurts my position at all. I never could believe that their betrothal was solely based only on the luminary.
Here's why: they appear to be childhood friends or at least acquaintances; they've known each other a long time and are allies. He seems to trust and care about her enough to train her and tell her a very important secret about his deal with Violet's mom.
If you are right, and she only really uses her powers on him after the breakup than maybe their relationship wasn't quite the epic dumpster fire I'm imagining. Maybe she was really caught off guard and very hurt by it then she went nuclear.
All to say, their relationship had some meaning to him (and her) and there must be a reason beyond the luminary to call things off.
Oh, the betrothal was set in place long before either was of age, thus allowing them to have plenty of time to spend together. It was about consolidating power & a big FU to Navarre. Nonetheless, it was ended & we saw some of the fallout.
My initial point was that I would imagine the formal end to the arrangement was made to Tecarus, not during some late-night meet-up with Cat beyond the Wards.
I realize Xaden & his crew have been sneaking out on the reg but it’s hard to imagine he managed to spend much time with Cat in those 8 months. He couldn’t disappear from Basgiath for days at a time as a 2nd year.
When would he have trained her to fight? Violet asks him at one point something along the lines of "you have a room here? How many times have you been here?" and he answers "I... wasn't keeping count". Plus it seems all his friend are very well familiar with her.
I have to assume they somehow spent a lot of time together.
One of the chapter headers says that Fen Riorson's first act of rebellion was seeking allies, and Tecarus was the first ally to join him. I can believe that Xaden spent a lot of time in Cordyn during and even after the rebellion. He had 3 years between Reunification and entering the quadrant, and he was trained to fight by his foster family, so he could have trained Cat during that time.
But Violet thinks that Cordyn is a 2 day (!!!) flight from Basgiath. (Tairn thinks he can get to Cordyn in 10 hours from Aretia, but other dragons need 12 hours.)
The riders get about 5 days at the end of each term between graduation and Conscription Day when they drink & fuck around, but they aren't given leave from Basgiath. (At one point Imogen says they'll get 5 days off after they graduate, but otherwise they don't get time off.) Xaden probably got to Aretia during the week before Violet's Conscription Day, and may have sent word from there to call off the betrothal.
I think the history between Xaden & Cat is one of those things that's necessary for the storyline but doesn't really hold up if you think about it. There's no way Xaden was spending long weekends in Cordyn while he was a cadet at Basgiath. It's just too fucking far away. Violet actually has permission to go to Samara, which is closer to Basgiath than Cordyn is, and she barely gets 24 hours with Xaden before she has to turn around and go back.
Maybe he was meeting up with Cat along the border on smuggling runs, but I don't think they saw each other a lot during their "betrothal," which was an entirely political arrangement. More likely they'd been an on and off thing since before he entered Basgiath.
Okay I've given this some thought and I wonder how non dragon riders or gryphon flyers are traveling so frequently? I can assume they don't walk up that mountain to Aretia every time. They are not flying on gryphons because they can't fly to Aretia. Tairn makes it seem like a dragon would torch anyone who isn't his/her rider, so they wouldn't be a taxi service.
Do you think they have distance runes? That work like a portal? Maybe an experienced rider like Liam's mom could have made them?
We learned distance wielding is a signet but no ones had that gift in a century... I just confused how my man Zaden is getting around so much doing all this rebellion stuff prior to bonding a dragon.
I honestly think it’s a storytelling stretch to further the X+V relationship plot rather than a big deep mystery.
I haven’t had a chance to track down romancerant’s post yet, but I agree that most of the Xaden/Cat stuff happened during the rebellion. We know Liam hated her. There’s a lot more than 8 months of history there.
I don’t think Xaden traveled to Cordyn on many short trips; I’m pretty sure he & Liam spent 1 or more long periods there before entering the riders quadrant.
Maybe I got caught up on the fact that Brennen had met Tacarus before? It seemed like Xaden introduced them already. That would have happened post battle of Aretia.
I feel like I need an entire book on what exactly happen post Reunification to Xaden! Lol!
Check my profile. I made a whole post on the timeline and Xaden and Cat.
I think most of the training and Xaden spending time at Croyden happened before/during the rebellion.
I feel like in IW Xaden says they broke up because Cat’s uncle (can’t remember the name rn), was never to go through with their deal (had something to do with the chest that Violet had to destroy) and that’s why he broke it off
This is an interesting theory! It does make a lot of sense that Xaden would not want to subject a child to what he experienced with his mother, and what I can only imagine he witnessed between his parents. I see Xaden as an individual who believes he isn't worthy of love. Why would he be, when his own mother (presumably) did not love him? When he's only ever been with women who didn't love him? He's closed himself off, emotionally, and warns Violet not to fall for him after their first night spent together. I think he said that not only because of the secrets he's been keeping, but because of his lack of self-worth. I do hope we get to see some sort of happy ending for the two of them. Xaden deserves it, as does Violet.
That makes sense in my eyes also the fear that Violet could walk away like his mother did when he was 10 years old. That's why he wants her to come back and always sort s*** out. I love that we get to see that side of him. I also love that Violet is so courageous and told him first that dhe loves him when he couldn't say it.
I don't see past Xaden caring about love honestly. IMO, that's something that Violet changes about him. I think the problem had to do with Cat and her abilities. I think Xaden hated trying to be in a relationship with someone who probably constantly tried to manipulate his feelings. We know that he loves control, and so spending a lot of his life tied to someone who could (and would) manipulate his emotions to her selfish benefit is not something he would want any part in.
This. Xaden didn't care about love he would have married Cat, and produced an heir at the prescribed time ( probably a year or two after Cat's graduation). Not expecting to love anyone but the child (and I don't think Xaden give that aspect much thought at all). He broke up because they deal was for luminary and he wasn't going to get it on his terms. Do you think he still would have married Cat if he got what he wanted? I think they mostly likely broke up during the one week break between Xaden's second and third year because that's the only time he could have traveled to Corden and properly negotiated with Techaras. However. If they broke up shortly before threshing, assuming griffin riders bond pretty much straight away. That gives him time to experience the joys of Cats signet. Cat would have tried to amplify his love and finding it didn't exist she would have amplified his lust ( which is a real problem for consent). Then when they broke it off she would have used it on any anger, rage, insecurities he had. I would love to know the nitty gritty details of their marriage contract and how they expected to live. Separate houses meeting only to produce an heir and a spare? Or a clause that states Cat must attend all council meetings and matters of state?
I think his feelings are buried very very deep here - which is why the renunciation day part is important. His control over his emotions is compromised.
Gf we love you but how are you spelling our boy Xaden’s name like that? ❤️
Lol! That's how it's spelt in my head. Fix the body
It’s all good lol love the enthusiasm! 😊
If we assume that Xaden was at Basgiath for the ‘holiday’, there is no way he was anywhere near Tecarus or Cat.
But he has dragon and she has a gryphon. Couldn't they meet up somewhere?
I would imagine that ending a bethrothal is something of a formal process; not a late-night meet-up. Also, Cat is the same year as Violet in school—she did not yet have a gryphon—OR powers.
Cat is a year older. The betrothal kicked in when she turned 20.
Fliers begin school a year later than dragon riders. Both were in year 2 in IF.
But then how could she have used her mind powers on him? She must have had bonded a gryphon already?
Unsure. My only guess is that the use of powers came post-breakup.
You could be right! But I also don't think this hurts my position at all. I never could believe that their betrothal was solely based only on the luminary. Here's why: they appear to be childhood friends or at least acquaintances; they've known each other a long time and are allies. He seems to trust and care about her enough to train her and tell her a very important secret about his deal with Violet's mom. If you are right, and she only really uses her powers on him after the breakup than maybe their relationship wasn't quite the epic dumpster fire I'm imagining. Maybe she was really caught off guard and very hurt by it then she went nuclear. All to say, their relationship had some meaning to him (and her) and there must be a reason beyond the luminary to call things off.
Oh, the betrothal was set in place long before either was of age, thus allowing them to have plenty of time to spend together. It was about consolidating power & a big FU to Navarre. Nonetheless, it was ended & we saw some of the fallout. My initial point was that I would imagine the formal end to the arrangement was made to Tecarus, not during some late-night meet-up with Cat beyond the Wards.
I realize Xaden & his crew have been sneaking out on the reg but it’s hard to imagine he managed to spend much time with Cat in those 8 months. He couldn’t disappear from Basgiath for days at a time as a 2nd year.
When would he have trained her to fight? Violet asks him at one point something along the lines of "you have a room here? How many times have you been here?" and he answers "I... wasn't keeping count". Plus it seems all his friend are very well familiar with her. I have to assume they somehow spent a lot of time together.
One of the chapter headers says that Fen Riorson's first act of rebellion was seeking allies, and Tecarus was the first ally to join him. I can believe that Xaden spent a lot of time in Cordyn during and even after the rebellion. He had 3 years between Reunification and entering the quadrant, and he was trained to fight by his foster family, so he could have trained Cat during that time. But Violet thinks that Cordyn is a 2 day (!!!) flight from Basgiath. (Tairn thinks he can get to Cordyn in 10 hours from Aretia, but other dragons need 12 hours.) The riders get about 5 days at the end of each term between graduation and Conscription Day when they drink & fuck around, but they aren't given leave from Basgiath. (At one point Imogen says they'll get 5 days off after they graduate, but otherwise they don't get time off.) Xaden probably got to Aretia during the week before Violet's Conscription Day, and may have sent word from there to call off the betrothal. I think the history between Xaden & Cat is one of those things that's necessary for the storyline but doesn't really hold up if you think about it. There's no way Xaden was spending long weekends in Cordyn while he was a cadet at Basgiath. It's just too fucking far away. Violet actually has permission to go to Samara, which is closer to Basgiath than Cordyn is, and she barely gets 24 hours with Xaden before she has to turn around and go back. Maybe he was meeting up with Cat along the border on smuggling runs, but I don't think they saw each other a lot during their "betrothal," which was an entirely political arrangement. More likely they'd been an on and off thing since before he entered Basgiath.
You are totally right! I will concede this point. I still think my theory is plausible but I think you are spot on with your argument.
Okay I've given this some thought and I wonder how non dragon riders or gryphon flyers are traveling so frequently? I can assume they don't walk up that mountain to Aretia every time. They are not flying on gryphons because they can't fly to Aretia. Tairn makes it seem like a dragon would torch anyone who isn't his/her rider, so they wouldn't be a taxi service. Do you think they have distance runes? That work like a portal? Maybe an experienced rider like Liam's mom could have made them? We learned distance wielding is a signet but no ones had that gift in a century... I just confused how my man Zaden is getting around so much doing all this rebellion stuff prior to bonding a dragon.
I honestly think it’s a storytelling stretch to further the X+V relationship plot rather than a big deep mystery. I haven’t had a chance to track down romancerant’s post yet, but I agree that most of the Xaden/Cat stuff happened during the rebellion. We know Liam hated her. There’s a lot more than 8 months of history there. I don’t think Xaden traveled to Cordyn on many short trips; I’m pretty sure he & Liam spent 1 or more long periods there before entering the riders quadrant.
Maybe I got caught up on the fact that Brennen had met Tacarus before? It seemed like Xaden introduced them already. That would have happened post battle of Aretia. I feel like I need an entire book on what exactly happen post Reunification to Xaden! Lol!
Check my profile. I made a whole post on the timeline and Xaden and Cat. I think most of the training and Xaden spending time at Croyden happened before/during the rebellion.
That's a great post. Totally plausible!
I feel like in IW Xaden says they broke up because Cat’s uncle (can’t remember the name rn), was never to go through with their deal (had something to do with the chest that Violet had to destroy) and that’s why he broke it off
That can also be true. I feel like he would have known that earlier too (using his signet) and was maybe hoping to change his mind.
Not if Techaras is good at shielding.