Caroline Ashton

Caroline voices a harsh tactical position in Battle Brief when she suggests doubled patrols and the possible razing of Poromish border villages in response to Athebyne. Dain and Devera reject the civilian-targeting proposal as contrary to rider rules of engagement.

Caroline aligns with riders hostile to the fliers during the courtyard crisis. She takes bets while Aura holds a flier at knifepoint, and she challenges Violet’s call for trust by asking whether Navarrian riders are expected to trust the fliers.

When Devera adds wielding to challenges, Caroline objects that safety is easy to promise when cadets are not facing Sorrengail. Violet privately concedes that the objection is fair because her own signet has no place on a challenge mat.

Caroline is introduced in close physical company with Jack Barlowe after bonding Gleann. Jack keeps her tucked under his arm and acts familiarly with her as they head toward the academic wing.

Caroline’s contact with Violet is openly suspicious and unfriendly. She glares at Violet at the infirmary, and later blocks Violet’s group with other First Wing second-years to question how they escaped interrogation and whether the new patch proves the rumors true.

Caroline stays publicly associated with Jack after his survival is revealed. She escorts him back to his First Wing squad and later appears at his side with other First Wing second-years shortly before Violet is drugged.

Under the renewed strict Code enforcement, Caroline helps monitor Violet’s movements. Violet notes that Caroline and her followers trail her when she goes to visit Sawyer, adding to the surveillance that keeps Violet and Xaden from moving freely.

Caroline bonds the dragon Gleann at Presentation, making her a newly bonded rider cadet.

Caroline is a water wielder. In Signet Sparring, Xaden disrupts the advantage before she can use it effectively, knocking her backward with shadow and propelling her off the mat.

Caroline goes to the infirmary for Nolon while looking uninjured, and neither Violet nor Xaden knows why she is there. The visit stands out because Nolon lectures her about punctuality before taking her inside.

During the Suniva analysis, Caroline asks why six crates of alloy-hilted daggers were sent there, drawing Kiandra’s explanation that Suniva was meant as a distribution site. She also argues that Xaden should be sent against a similar assault because he is the most powerful rider available and has held back more than a dozen wyvern.