Third And Final Chapter Of Tales From The Airport Bathroom Is Now Posted!

Third and Final Chapter of Tales from the Airport Bathroom is now posted!

Chapter 3/3 now posted on AO3: READ HERE

As promised, this will eventually become a longer fic! In the meantime, please enjoy the last chapter of TFTAB :)

Summary:

In which Lt. Xaden Riorson, a begrudging member of the Navarrian Air Force's special ops squad, meets one Violet Sorrengail, a secret operative for the Navarrian Intelligence Agency.

or

Xaden is a simp, and Liam and Garrick think it's hilarious. There is nothing slow about this burn.

===

"You're Fen Riorson's son, you're in Cordyn for mysterious 'family business' and your friends are nowhere to be seen, yet you don't see me asking what you're really getting up to," she retorts. "Don't ask questions when I know you aren't willing to give answers either."

I'm so close now that I could touch her if I reached out. I could wipe away the spatter of blood - not hers - that made its way to her cheek, a bloom of crimson against her pale skin. Instead, I pick up the end of her braid which is draped over her shoulder, and run my fingers through the tail of it. I'm tempted to yank out the hair tie and let her hair fall loose. "How would you know? You never asked."

The two of us stare at each other amidst the bloodbath, two bodies drawn together as if by gravity. She feels inescapable; like Violet was someone I would inevitably crash into no matter what I did.

"You said I didn't want to know what you know," Violet whispers. "On the plane. That was what you said."

I can feel her body heat through my clothes. I want to tear off every scrap of fabric that separates me from her.

"I didn't take you as someone who liked to do as you're told." My voice sounds gravelly and low, and my control is only hanging on by a tiny thread. This is so fucking dangerous.

“You should be scared of me.”

Violet and Xaden - Fourth Wing

Artist: @kotikomori for @readingportal

We’re back kiddos

chapter 3 of castles crumbling (aka Tales from the Airport Bathroom extended version) now posted!

Chapter 3: Fire and Brimstone is now up on AO3: READ HERE

Remember when I said I didn't know when chapter 3 would come out? lol yeah, here's 8.6k words that I wrote and edited in a day, bc xaden pov. Enjoy!

Summary:

Violet should already be dead. People whispered about her weak body and how she would never live up to her family's martial accomplishments. Violet rose above them all, however, fighting and killing to survive the Navarrian Intelligence Agency's brutal BASGIATH training protocol. Now, people whisper about Violet's swift ascension through the NIA's ranks as one of its most valuable operatives and assassins. The whispers don't matter to Violet: She has her own agenda, and it's a dangerous one - finding out what happened to her father.

But one mission changes everything: Suddenly, Violet finds herself in the crosshairs when she stumbles on information Navarre wants buried, and the country she fought for begins to turn on her. Violet knows too much, but she's determined to do what she does best: Survive. Her only hope is the son of the man who they say killed her brother, but their partnership is far from assured. Some grudges run deep, and trust is a currency too valuable to give freely. Xaden realizes Violet may be the key to everything, but with enemies seen and unseen closing in on all sides, the consequences of failure are deadly.

===

If there is one thing I’ve learned about dealing with the Cordella’s, it’s to be on my guard at all fucking times.

That’s not just because Syrena is fully capable of giving me a run for my money through her sheer combat prowess. It’s also because Catriona Cordella is an instigating, power-hungry vulture that seems to specialize in bringing someone from mild annoyance to all-out rage in five seconds flat.

I’ve kept my fingers crossed that Syrena would come on her own today, but when Bodhi and I enter the alleyway just off the main square, I’m resigned to the fact that I have no such luck when she emerges from the shadows with Cat in tow.

Bodhi looks at me with apprehension as I cross my arms across my chest and lock my mask in place. I’m not here to play Catriona’s fucking mind games today, and I know she’ll be in top form given our previous interactions since I broke it off with her.

“Syrena,” I acknowledge, before my eyes slide over to Catriona. “Catriona.”

“Riorson,” Syrena dips her head in greeting. She looks exhausted. She’s the niece of a prominent Poromish politician, but she hasn’t lived her life in luxury.

No, she’s fighting against Navarre’s own mistakes, and she’s paying the price for it.

Have fun!!!

what's this? a lil unedited blurb from chapter 3? from Xaden's pov? how exciting!

===

My pack is already loaded in my car, but I pop the trunk to let the other three load their gear. I'm about to slam it closed when Imogen comes running up, tossing her bag in on top of the others and squeezing herself into my backseat, much to the vocal displeasure of Garrick.

"Take your own damn car, Im, there's no room back here," he growls as she elbows him out of the way of the seatbelt.

"I'm not the one that takes up the space of two people, Garrick," she hisses. "Stop bitching."

Liam snorts from the passenger seat as they continue to bicker, while Bodhi looks like he'd rather be literally anywhere else.