In Depth Guide to Iron Flame the sequel to Fourth Wing

IRON FLAME SUMMARY

Violet meets her brother Brennan. He is alive and part of the revolution.

Violet is at Ryerson House and attends an assembly where they discuss revolution funds. The assembly doesn’t trust Violet and wants to keep her a prisoner. They decide to send the cadets back to Basgiath so they can finish their training. There is no use for them as riders if their training is incomplete.

Violet has her first talk with her brother, catching up about the six years they were apart. Brennan tells Violet the story of how he survived, saved by the previous Tairn rider, Naolin. He confirms that Navarre is hiding the truth and that

‘Venin coming out of the Barrens are sucking the land dry of magic, moving from city to city.’

Violet thinks wyverns are created by Venin. She remembers reading it in her father’s stories. Brennan is sure the next attack will be on Navarre because the energy in the hatchling grounds at Basgiath could keep them fed for decades.

Violet and Brennan go back to their dragons, and Violet explains to Brennan how he can sense Xaden due to Sgaeyl and Tairn bond.

Violet discovers her dragon Andarna has been through an accelerated growth because of the energy she used to save her, and now she is an ‘adolescent dragon.’

They’re going back to Basgiath to avoid suspicion and to spare the lives of the cadets already in the academy who wear a rebellion relic. Xaden promises to teach Violet how to strengthen her mental barriers to shut Dain out of her mind to avoid being discovered.

They arrive at the academy for graduation, and nobody suspects. Xaden and Violet go straight to Liam’s bedroom to find the letters he left there. Violet gives the letters to Rhiannon and expressly tells her not to burn them in case something happens to her.

Xaden explains to Violet that he didn’t exactly lie to her, but he didn’t want to put her in a difficult position because she was friends with Dain.

They attend the graduation, and Colonel Aetos accuses them of desertion. All third-year students are now lieutenants and commissioned in the army of Navarre. Xaden, being in the third year, will be away as well. He is sent to Samara, the easternmost outpost of the southern wing. Violet and Xaden will only have a few hours to see each other each week. Colonel Aetos threatens to harm Mira if Violet says anything to her second-year friends.

Classes begin, and Violet has her first class in the Rider Survival course with a new professor, Captain Grady. She then heads to the Archives to search for more information about Basgiath and the wards.

The first years go through the parapet, and as a second-year, Violet has to assist them at the start. She meets a first-year, Aaric Grayscale, who wants to enter the rider quadrant using a hidden identity. He is the third son of King Tauri, but he is there under the name of Aaric Grayscale.

Violet encounters Sloane at the parapet, Liam’s sister, and tries to give her advice, but Sloane hates her and blames her for Liam’s death.

After the parapet trial, new cadets are assigned to their wings, and we meet Solas, the dragon mentioned in the excerpt. He is a one-eyed Orange Daggertail, and his rider is Major Varrish. Solas burns three first years who tried to escape along with at least half of the third squad and one of the fourth wing first years.

Violet is in her War Brief class and goes into shock when Professor Devera tells all the students that the Athebyne post was attacked three days ago.

After class, Rhiannon finds Violet and tells her that she thinks the school is hiding something. She went to the infirmary, which was heavily guarded without any apparent reason.

During the class, a first-year student assassinates Nadine, thinking she was Violet. The assassin then goes for Violet, resulting in a fight where Violet kills him with her dagger. The mysterious assassin was sent by Colonel Aetos to kill her.

Violet goes to her room and feels Xaden already there against the wall. They talk about what happened to Violet with the first year who tried to kill him, and Xaden is livid about it. Xaden tells her that the outpost in Samara is a cruel place and that he had to prove himself all over again.

Violet teases Xaden about the furniture being “pretty solid” compared to the first time they were together. Xaden says his goodbyes, but before he goes, he passes Violet a letter.

“I told you I’d find a way to let you in, and right now, this is all I have.”

Before he leaves, Violet asks him how she will find him in Samara when she goes with Tairn. Xaden gives her his room location, and he tells her that only Violet can enter his room.

Three days later, Violet is still swooning over Xaden’s letter and how he is slowly opening up to her about his life.

Jesinia, her former friend turned scribe, is at the Rider’s Quadrant looking for Violet. She lends her a book about the first riders and asks Violet for help in translating a book written in a dead language.

Violet receives a letter from her sister Mira congratulating her on becoming a second year. After a while, she discovers that the letter has been censored, and someone has read her letter before her.

Violet has an encounter with Lieutenant Varrish, who believes it’s no coincidence that Violet, who was writing a book about feathertails, is now bonded to one of them.

Violet arrives at Samara and succumbs to Xaden, ending up kissing him. Later, in his room, Violet discovers that the true motive behind smuggling daggers is to use them to reinforce the wards. These are special daggers with a powerful alloy in the hilt. The dagger itself doesn’t hold any power, but it can be imbued with power by a rider (and used to kill Venin). (Spicy scene on page 115)

Violet and Tairn are back at Asl Basgiath , and Violet is being punished for Andarna not showing up at training sessions. She is forced to use her lightning power until she is completely exhausted.

After that, Imogen and Violet watch Sloane (Liam’s sister) practice fighting with other first years. They’re surprised at her lack of skills in fighting and are afraid for her life.

Back in school, they’re taken to an unknown location for their first exercise with Professor Grady. It consists of finding a location marked on the map and securing it by joining forces with infantry cadets. They fail the task, and Violet misses her chance to see Xaden because the exercise took place when Xaden was supposed to arrive at Basgiath to let his dragon be with Tairn.

Violet returns to the Archives and asks Jesinia for more books about how the first six built the wards.

Violet helps Sloane navigate her first official fight, poisoning the food of her opponent to give her an edge. She blackmails Sloane with the letters Liam left for her. Sloane must train with Imogen to improve her fighting skills, and at the end of each week, Violet will give her one of Liam’s letters.

Xaden and Violet meet at her dorm, and they fight. Violet is still angry with him because he is keeping secrets from her, and she demands “full disclosure,” believing it’s only fair.

The next day, Violet attends her class in flight maneuvers, where Varrish is waiting for her. She is about to be punished again due to Andarna not being present for the exercise. However, Tairn intervenes, biting Solas’s throat and forcing Varrish to apologize to Violet.

Violet goes to Xaden’s outpost and discovers that her sister Mira has been stationed there as well. Violet asks Mira about the wards and contemplates telling her that Brennan is alive.

After a few days, cadets are informed that there was an attack in the Easter Wing, and a significant part of the leadership has been called to arms.

On gym day, after successfully avoiding Dain for weeks, he finally approaches Violet. To her surprise, Dain challenges her to a match.

During the match, Dain reveals to Violet that the scars on Xaden’s back were caused by her mother, and he didn’t know they were going to be attacked in the War Games.

After the match, Violet takes Aaric (the undercover third son of the king) to the infirmary, and she discovers that he knows all about the Venin.

On the weekend, Violet meets with Xaden but is forced to go to her torture and interrogation class with Professor Brody. Violet tells Xaden that she discovered something useful in the books and asks him to talk to Jesinia to search for records of one of the first six.

During the interrogation, Dain is called to torture Violet and use his Signet on her, but he denies. Lieutenant Varrish wants to push Violet to extend the torture test so he can extract all her secrets.

Her friends realize Violet is hiding vital information and ask her to trust them. They manage to escape the torture chamber and are forgiven for their actions (Violet was injured, and by the codex rules, a cadet can choose not to participate in the interrogation exercise in that case).

Back in class, there is an important announcement:  Jack Barlowe has been mended and is back in school.

The professor informs the class that the Samara outpost has been attacked, and a rider is severely wounded. Violet realizes it’s Xaden and goes with Tairn to Samara to see if he’s okay.

On page 250 : Steamy scenes.

Violet arrives in Samara only to find that Xaden was injured but already mended by a healer. They have sex, and then they head out to deliver daggers to the “enemy” (Gryphon fliers). Xaden has been providing them with alloy daggers that can extend the ward, so they’re protected. There, Violet meets Catriona for the first time (she is a gryphon flier) and realizes Xaden and Cat had a history together.

Violet is back in school and waits for her punishment for going on leave to Samara without permission.

The punishment didn’t come because her friends helped Violet with her cover. Rhiannon discovers the special dagger Xaden gave to Violet, and Violet decides (at last) to tell the truth to her friends.

They decide to help her by looking through books about how to create wards, and Ridoc tells the group that Violet’s mother keeps journals from the first six in a sub-vault. A few weeks later, the Threshing begins. Aaric bonds to a Blue Clubtail, Andarna is still sleeping, and Sloane bonds to a red daggertail just like her brother Liam.

Violet is put on watch at the academic tower, but there is an ambush, and infantry cadets want to kill her. The men almost kill her, but Jack Barlowe saves her. Sadly, Eya is dead.

Violet meets with her friends. They have spoken to Jesinia, and she knows where the vault is. The journal is in the royal vault, and only someone in King Tauri’s bloodline can open it.

Violet meets Xaden in school and tells him that her friends know everything. He isn’t happy about it. They kiss (Page 286, some kissing).

They all go undercover to the vault with Aaric to find the journals. They have to pass some powerful wards to get the journals, but they succeed and are back without casualties. They now have Warrick’s journal.

Xaden and Violet say their goodbyes, and he flies back to Samara with Warrick’s journal.

Nolon, the healer from the school, approaches Violet casually and offers her a lemonade. Violet drinks from it and immediately begins to feel weird. He has drugged her, and she realizes it was Varrish’s doing.

They take Violet to “interrogation” with a rider (Nora) whose signet is discovering when people lie.

They keep Violet locked there without access to the bond with her dragon and Xaden, and she begins to see hallucinations, particularly of Liam.

Varrish is using her as a tool to force Xaden to come and save her so he can use his signet and interrogate him about the wards.

Varrish calls Dain to go into Violet’s memories. He does and betrays Varrish, saving Violet.

Xaden, in a very Rhysand way, appears in the school and is livid. He wants to kill Dain, but Violet protects him. He is his ally now. Xaden wants to take Violet out of the school as their facades are already compromised, and she killed Varrish, a vice commandant.

Violet’s mother, the general, appears, and she tells Violet that she made a deal with Xaden to protect her throughout her first year. She gives her an antidote so she can talk again to Tairn and orders Violet to get away from the school with Xaden. The General knows about the Venin

Xaden and Violet, with Dain’s help, want to take the students out of the school and join the revolution.

Part TWO:

Violet awakes in Xaden’s room in Aretia. Xaden is sleeping right behind her (Page 339: spicy scene – sex). They have sex.

Riorson House is full of cadets and dragons, and the assembly members are furious because they have been left in the dark. They are afraid Navarre (Melgren) will find them, and without wards, they’re in danger. Xaden, as the rightful heir of the duchy of Aretia, owns the place and convinces the assembly to trust Violet and the cadets.

Andarna awakens, and Violet goes to see her. She now has a black color with some green hues. Her wing couldn’t go through a normal growth, and the second set of muscles didn’t develop. Tairn tells Violet that Andarna would probably never be able to bear a rider.

Violet and her friends try to reorganize the cadets and professors who joined them, and they’re having their first “official Battle Brief as traitors” with Professor Devera and Lieutenant Colonel Aisereigh (Brennan disguised) taking the place of Markham’s position (the scribe).

In the middle of the class, Violet receives terrible news. A riot led by her sister Mira is coming to get them, but Mira is brought by Xaden to the mansion, and she joins the revolution.

Violet discovers how the first six created the wards. It was with the blood of the six most powerful riders. So Violet and another five powerful riders need to bleed on the warstone for the wards to be activated.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work, so they all get back to Riorson House. Violet decides she will go to the Viscount residence to get the luminary they’re missing despite Xaden expressly prohibiting it to her.

Violet and her siblings go to the Viscount residence, and Violet realizes Xaden is already there. Her dragon felt Tairn, and they followed them. Violet is angry with Xaden for being so overprotective and compares him to Dain. To make matters worse, the cousin of the viscount, Catriona, lives in the palace as well.

They are offered accommodations in the Viscount palace, and after dinner, Violet is brought to an arena to show her power. She needs to strike a chest that belonged to the Riorson family that symbolized the union between the houses (Xaden and Cat were engaged).

Once in the arena, much to Mira and Violet’s surprise, not only is the chest there but also venin. Violet is able to defeat the venin, and Tecarus ( the Viscount)makes a deal with the group.

In exchange for the luminary, Tecarus will receive weapons, and Tecarus asks Violet’s group to take the flier cadets as well and shelter them (their academy for gryphon flyers in Aretia was destroyed).

They accept the deal, and Violet, Xaden, and Cia now have the luminary and 100 more cadets and gryphons, including Cat, Xaden’s ex-fiancée.

For all to go back, they must take another path, the Medaro Pass. It is a twelve-hour journey in which they will have to hike while the dragons fly patrol. But the path is full of gryphon traps, so the hike will be dangerous.

They manage to complete the path, and Violet learns more about fliers. They bond with the cadets like dragons, and they have similar tests in their academy, but none of them are tests where their lives are put at risk.

When they almost reach the top, wyverns appear nearby, but they successfully defeat them.

But now the group has a bigger problem at hand. A dragon has hatched in the valley, and the wyverns felt the pulse of energy. Because they share a collective consciousness with their creators (the venin), they already know about the baby dragons and are in danger.

For the next days, riders and fliers are trying to divert the venin’s attention from the valley, where four new dragons have hatched.

The second-year cadets from both fliers and riders group are summoned to the valley for a class.

Andarna doesn’t like the gryphons, and Violet notices she has a reddish sheen in her scales that wasn’t there before.

Professor Trissa arrives and tells the cadets that the class is going to be about runes. “Runes are strands of magic pulled from the rider’s power. The process is called tempering. A wielder can temper a rune using the amount of power they choose, then place it into something, like wood, metal…whatever object the wielder chooses. That rune will activate when triggered and perform whatever action it was tempered for. Unlike alloy, which houses power, runes are tempered with power for specific actions.”

The task for the group is to learn to temper a simple rune.

Later in Xaden’s room, Violet is practicing tempering runes and asks Xaden about her daggers. They all have runes, and it was a gift from him. Xaden tells her that he added an element of “need” to the daggers, so if Violet wanted to unlock a door, the rune would feel the need and open it for her. Any door.

Violet asks Xaden about the stone he always keeps by the bed. Xaden tells her it is a complicated rune made by Liam’s mom, and it had one use. It was a gift from his father to protect him in case they found them and wanted to execute them for treason. The rune could only be activated by dragonfire, which is the primary method of execution for traitors.

The rune indeed worked when the children of the officers were captured, successfully avoiding death (each child was given a rune by their parents).

There have been problems between fliers and riders, and they are not integrating as expected. Lots of fights between them and a clear division are not helping. Emetterio decides to solve this with a sparring match. “You may only challenge an opponent, and each cadet may only be challenged once.” Emetterio thinks this will address the grievances between flyers and riders.

The challenges are going well, and now it’s Catriona’s turn, and she challenges Violet. Violet realizes Cat was trained by Xaden as well, making the fight more difficult than she thought. Cat hates Violet because she was engaged to Xaden and was going to be queen. She tells Violet Xaden is only using her and that she isn’t at his level.

Violet snaps, nearly taking Cat’s life, but Xaden intervenes, and Cat taps out, conceding the match to Violet. The scene unfolds in a spicy chapter on page 458, Chapter 48.

After the intense match, Xaden carries Violet to the assembly chamber, where they share a passionate moment with Violet sitting on the throne.

“Look at how beautiful you are, Violet, coming for me on Tyrrendor’s throne.”

Xaden reveals to Violet that he was once betrothed to Cat, and when she turned twenty, the betrothal ended due to incompatibility and Tecarus’s refusal to provide the luminary. Violet inquires about the Throne in Riorson House, and Xaden explains that before the unification, Tyrrendor was a kingdom, and he is the Duke of Aretia by birth, the rightful heir to the throne.

The next day marks the absorption of the drifts into the riders’ squad, starting with the strongest squad. Violet’s squad, the Iron Squad, absorbs Cat’s drift. After absorbing Cat’s friends, Violet heads to the library to continue analyzing Warrick’s journal. She seeks Dain’s help to translate certain paragraphs, despite the tension in their relationship. Violet explicitly requests him not to bring up Liam when working together on the journal.

Violet and Felix have their weekly training session, where Violet is gradually gaining control over her signet and making progress.

Summoned to the assembly chamber after her class, Violet learns about an attack. The Venin have taken Pavis, a town just hours away from Draithus. Xaden is filled with anger and hopelessness, believing that the revolution is fifty years too late and that they are outmatched.

Two weeks have passed, and Dain and Violet persist in translating Warrick’s journal. A sudden realization strikes Violet – they have been using the wrong word. Instead of “blood,” it should be “breath.” The wards require the breath of the six dragons, not the blood of the riders.

Violet addresses her squad about the revelation. Fliers must decide whether to stay or leave since they won’t be able to wield when the wards are up.

Nightmares persist for Violet as the sage torments her in dreams.

Andarna faces difficulties adapting to the other dragons and feels differentt from the rest. Her scales display different hues, making it impossible to predict her eventual breed.

In the flight field, Devera and Trissa organize squad exercises. The mission involves recovering hidden summoning runes, a test for both riders and dragons’ ability to sense them.

Paired with Sloane, Cat, and Visia, Violet follows Tairn’s sensing of a rune in a cave. They discover Solas has found them, leading to a confrontation. Violet defeats Solas with Andarna’s help, but Visia dies in the process. During the fight, Sloane’s signet manifests, revealing she is a siphon capable of draining magic.

Returning to her room, Xaden is angry with Violet for putting herself in danger. Another fight ensues, fueled by their insecurities. Xaden keeps asking Violet to question him

” Demand the truth! I need you to love all of me, not just what you decide to see”

So, Violet begins to ask the right questions, one of which is,

“What’s your second signet?”

Xaden’s dragon, Sgaeyl, was bonded to his grandfather, making Xaden a direct descendant. When a dragon bonds with a direct descendant, it will either produce a second signet or madness. Xaden avoids answering the question.

Violet and her group gather to try to make the wards work urgently, as a group of wyverns are ready to attack their outpost. This time, they use dragon fire, and it seems to work – the wards are up.

Without wasting time, with Tairn and Sgaeyl leading, they take flight to the high plains for the best vantage point to spot the wyverns when at the wards end. Violet and Xaden reach the location first, and Xaden reveals his second signet to Violet.

As an intrinsic, Xaden can read intentions. Having such mind powers is a death sentence for riders, and Violet, now aware of this, questions the authenticity of their love. Xaden assures her that he stopped reading her intentions when he felt she was more to him than “the general’s daughter.”

Their conversation is interrupted as wyverns approach, but they collapse with the wards. Everyone is relieved that the wards worked.

A missive arrives at Riorson House: Melgren, the commanding general of the Navarrian forces, requests a meeting with the representatives of the movement and no more than two marked ones, so he can read the outcome of a battle.

Violet and the rest meet with Melgren at Abethyne. Melgren seeks help for the Samara Outpost, where he has foreseen the outcome of a battle against wyverns and needs assistance to safeguard the outpost. In his vision, he loses, but Xaden’s group is not present.

Violet’s mother is also with Melgren and requests some time alone with her daughters. She hands Violet another journal with instructions to create a ward, stating that Warrick’s journal is not correct. She expresses pain for having been wrong about Violet and Mira.

General Sorrengail discovers that her son is alive.

Violet’s group is reluctant to aid Melgren in the fight, and they decide to return to Aretia. Violet is worried because she doesn’t want Melgren and her mother to fight alone, but the assembly refuses to participate. However, she learns that the Venin’s plan is actually to attack Navarre, not Samara. They need to warn Melgren, but it seems too late as he has already stationed all his troops in Samara.

The next day, they prepare for battle. Brennan decides to stay in Aretia, deeming it too risky to involve first years in a real battle.

After a lengthy flight, Violet and Xaden arrive in Basgliath to warn her mother about the imminent attack. Violet requests to see the wards at Basgliath and discovers two bodies near the warstone. indicating that the wards have been compromised.

Jack Barlowe is a Venin and betrayed everyone. He destroyed the warstone as well, and now the wards have fallen. Basgliath is completely vulnerable to an attack.

They capture Jack Barlowe alive and attempt to extract information from him through Dain.

During the battle briefing, the group assesses the situation. The wyverns bypass Samara and are heading directly for Navarre.

The Venin know exactly where they are because they’ve planted lures all over the college to the vale.

Violet’s group decides to put the infantry quadrant to hunt down the runes.

More orders are given, regarding formation, how to attack the Venin and wyverns, and intel info about their fighting tactics.

They are going to divide Basgliath and the Vale into grid sectors, each airspace assigned to a squad.

The group has the night to rest for the big battle the next day, and Violet and Xaden are together in their room. Tiny spicy part but they’re interrupted. ( page 572)

Rhiannon has important news. Brennan, who stayed in Aritia and didn’t want to fight, is here in Navarre with the rest of the fliers who are now helping hunt the lures.

Violet asks Brennan to mend the wardstone, and he is their last chance to fix the wards.

Meanwhile, Jesinia is in the archives working on comparing Warrick’s journal to Lyra’s, to see if she can figure out why the wards in Aretia are faulty.

The fight begins, and Violet’s mother creates a storm to help Violet with her lightning power.

The horde is everywhere; they greatly surpass them in numbers, and this is only the first wave.

The objective is to hold out enough for Brennan to mend the warstone. If they can raise the wards, they can stun the wyvern long enough to kill them.

Everyone is holding up well. Violet sees that Sawyer is outmatched and goes to help him. After a tough fight, she saves him and his dragon (Sawyer lost a leg). Violet has an encounter with one of the sages, and he tells Violet that their leader wants her.

Melgren’s troops are near Navarre now, coming from Samara. So, help isn’t coming yet.

Violet fights with a sage, and he says to her the same words as in her nightmare. Cat helps her, but they are outmatched. Andarna arrives for help and burns the Venin (first time she breathes fire).

Tairn tells Violet that Brennan has mended the stone but that he doesn’t sound hopeful. Violet leaves the battleground and goes to see what Brennan has discovered.

She encounters Jasinia, and it seems she has discovered the mistake in the journal. They still need the breath and fire of the dragons, but the journal says they have to be 7, not 6.

Meanwhile, Melgren wants to leave Basgliath defenseless and concentrates their forces in the Vale. Xaden tells Melgren that’s not a good idea considering Brennan is there trying to fix the wards, and those are their last hope to stop the second wave of wyverns.

Tairn tells Violet that the leader of the enemy has arrived. They don’t have too much time until the second wave destroys everything. Violet’s mother convinces Melgren to wait, and Xaden is sure they won’t attack them because the leader is waiting for him.

Violet can fix the wards, and Xaden tells her to go, that he can handle himself while she gets the wards. Violet doubts and is not convinced, especially because Xaden seems to know something about the enemy’s leader. But she doesn’t have another option but to trust him.

Violet is going to imbue the wardstone to give them time and activate the wards temporarily. While she is imbuing the stone, she realizes the seventh dragon is Andarna; she is a new species, and they will need her fire breath to activate the wards permanently.

Violet is burning out; it’s too much for a sole person to imbue a wardstone of that size. But her mother comes to her aid, and with the help of Sloane, she drains all her mother’s power to imbue the warstone. Sadly, this is too much for any human, and General Sorrengail dies in the process.

The ward is up now. Wyverns start to fall from the sky, and the venin panic and run. But Andarna brings bad news. Xaden needs Violet, and she urges her to go with him. According to Tairn, “he lives.”

Violet reaches Xaden, who is guarded by Sgaeyl in a protective way. Xaden stands at the edge of the ravine, his back turned towards Violet. Violet tells him about the wards and her mother’s death. Xaden is acting strange; he doesn’t look at her eyes and seems to be emotionless.

Xaden drags his gaze and finally looks at Violet with a faint, almost indistinguishable red ring emanating from his gold-flecked irises.

He has turned into a venin.

The last chapter is from Xaden’s POV. He is recounting in his dreams the last fight with the general of the venin. We discover that he has been having nightmares like Violet has.

The general is giving Xaden a last chance: “turn for love.” He says that after killing him, he is going to find Violet and drain her. That’s why the only way to save her is to turn into one of them—to have the power to best him and protect Violet.

He begins to feel a new power emerging, and then he awakes. We, as readers, don’t know if that really happened, but it is clearly implied.

He is sleeping by Violet’s side and is pained by the thought of Violet suffering from her mother’s death. Sadly, he knows he is going to be the cause of Violet’s pain soon enough.

He silently leaves the room and goes to the cell where Jack Barlowe is held prisoner. Xaden wants to know if there is a cure, but Jack tells him that he isn’t sick; what he has is power.

“

You can never give back what’s taken – you’ll only hunger for more.”

Xaden is afraid; he doesn’t want to become one of them, but he can feel the power and the craving for it.

“ All this time, you’ve been convincing everyone you’re the hero, and now you’ll be the villain..especially in her story”