Character from Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Wingleader of Fourth Wing and son of the executed rebellion leader, Xaden commands shadows and loyalty in equal measure — a marked outcast who fights a secret war while protecting those he loves from a kingdom that wants them dead.
Xaden Riorson carries the weight of a failed rebellion on his marked wrist and the future of every Marked One on his shoulders. As the son of Fen Riorson — the rebellion leader executed when Xaden was a child — he was forced into the Riders Quadrant not as an honor but as a leash, a hostage to ensure the surviving marked children's compliance. He responded by becoming the most dangerous cadet Basgiath had ever produced, earning the rank of wingleader through sheer ruthlessness and tactical brilliance. His shadow signet lets him manipulate darkness itself, and his bond with the fierce dragon Sgaeyl only amplifies his power. Beneath the calculated exterior, Xaden is running a covert operation: funneling weapons, intelligence, and riders to Aretia to fight the venin that Navarre refuses to acknowledge. His relationship with Violet begins as strategic — the general's daughter is either a threat or an asset — but evolves into something neither of them can control. He keeps secrets like other people breathe, and this instinct to protect through concealment becomes the fault line in every relationship he builds. Xaden will sacrifice anything for the Marked Ones, and nearly has — but Violet is the one variable he cannot reduce to strategy.
Tall and powerfully built with dark hair, dark eyes, and sharp angular features that make him look carved from stone. An onyx rebellion relic wraps his left wrist and forearm in intricate, raised patterns — the mark forced on all children of rebellion leaders. He moves with the predatory grace of someone trained to fight since childhood. His jaw is sharp, his gaze intense and calculating, and a scar cuts through one eyebrow. He wears Rider blacks like armor and carries himself with the dangerous authority of someone who has survived everything Basgiath has thrown at him.
Also known as: Xaden, Riorson