After over a year of waiting, it’s almost time for the release of “Onyx Storm,” the next book in Rebecca Yarros’ “The Empyrean” series.
Yarros became an instant New York Times bestseller with “Fourth Wing” in April 2023, her novel about Violet Sorrengail, a student training to be a dragon rider at Basgiath War College in Navarre.
She published its sequel, “Iron Flame,” in November of the same year, which also hit the bestseller list as soon as it was released.
Yarros plans for the series to include five installments. The third book, “Onyx Storm,” will be released on January 21, 2025, picking up the threads Yarros laid out in “Iron Flame.”
This article contains heavy spoilers for “Fourth Wing” and “Iron Flame.”
‘The Empyrean’ series follows Violet Sorrengail as she trains to be a dragon rider
“Fourth Wing” saw Violet Sorrengail make her way into the Rider’s Quadrant at Basgiath, where she shocked everyone by bonding with two dragons: Tairn, the most powerful dragon of her Threshing class, and Andarna, a baby dragon.
Violet’s success was a surprise both because of her unnamed physical disability that causes her bones to break easily and gives her dizzy spells — the symptoms match Yarros’ diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome — and because many of her classmates want her dead, as they are the children of rebel fighters killed by her mother, Navarre’s general.
At the end of the novel, Violet discovers that the mythical venin — humans that give up parts of their souls to steal magic from the land — are real, as are the wyvern they create.
Her friend and bodyguard, Liam, dies in a battle with the creatures, though Violet saves others around her with her lightning-wielding power and Andarna’s ability to stop time. Violet also discovers her brother is alive and has been working with the resistance fighters against Navarre.
The revelations mean that Violet’s government and her mother have been lying to her, as has her love interest, Xaden Riorson.
Xaden, the son of the late leader of the rebellion, was her enemy, but they fell in love after Violet bonded with Tairn, who is mated to Xaden’s dragon, Sgaeyl. But when Violet finds out Xaden has been secretly working to protect those who live outside Navarre’s wards, as well as gryphon fliers — humans who ride on half-lion, half-eagle creatures — from the venin without telling her, she isn’t sure she can ever trust him.
At the start of “Iron Flame,” Violet has to return to Basgiath with her dragon Tairn and pretend she doesn’t know life-changing truths about her world, while Andarna falls into a deep sleep as she grows into her adolescence.
As her training progresses, assassins and leaders at Basgiath try to kill Violet and her friends for what they know. Eventually, Violet, Xaden, and half of the school flee to join the rebellion with their dragons (including a now-awake Andarna), and they’re soon joined by members of Navarre’s army, including Violet’s sister and gryphon fliers. The dragon riders and gryphon fliers have been trained to hate each other for generations but must work together to defeat the venin.
The book’s climax occurs just after Violet figures out that Xaden, in addition to his shadow power, has been keeping his ability to read people’s intentions a secret, a taboo power that could get him killed and makes Violet question their relationship. Meanwhile, the wards in Navarre fall, which have been keeping the venin out, leaving the students and residents of Basgiath vulnerable. The revolution fighters come to their aid.
Violet figures out how to raise the wards after discovering that Andarna is not what she seems (more on that in a second). The wards come up after Violet’s mother sacrifices herself for the sake of her children’s lives.
Yarros’ third book will have a lot to explore in terms of Violet’s power and her relationship with Xaden
The biggest shock of “Iron Flame” comes in the last chapter when Xaden becomes one of the venin. He stole power when he feared Violet was dying during the battle at Basgiath, sacrificing part of his soul to save her.
In “Iron Flame’s” epilogue, Violet’s nemesis, Jack Barlowe, tells Xaden there is no known cure to turning venin, so readers can assume Xaden will still be turning at the start of the third book. The description of “Onyx Storm” says that Violet will venture outside the wards in the rebellion’s base in Aretia to find allies and magic that can help Xaden, indicating his turn to venin will play a big role in the book’s plot.
It’s unclear how Xaden’s relationship with Violet and his dragon Sgaeyl will change now that he is venin, though his thirst for power will likely grow. His role in the revolution will also likely shift, as Xaden has served on its Assembly and is heir to the throne in Tyrrendor, a southern province of Navarre.
Yarros also set the third book up to dive deeper into Andarna’s power and identity. Andarna revealed during the battle at Basgiath that she is not a black dragon like Tairn, as Violet first believed. Instead, she is an unknown seventh type of dragon — and she waited 650 years to hatch until she knew Violet was coming.
Violet told Andarna she wanted to know everything about her. Still, they didn’t discuss her lineage or character traits before the book ended, so Yarros will probably explore the implications of Andarna’s revelations in “Onyx Storm.” (If you’re wondering how a dragon can reveal all this information, the riders and dragons communicate through their mental bond.)
Likewise, Yarros laid the groundwork for Violet to further explore her power in the third “Empyrean” book. “Iron Flame” includes a conversation about the possibility of Violet manifesting a second signet power because she bonded with Tairn and Andarna. However, she stops thinking about her signet when she realizes Xaden has a second he hasn’t told her about.
In an interview with Variety, Yarros confirmed that Violet does have a second signet that will be explored in the third “Empyrean” book — but she also said Violet’s second signet had already manifested in “Iron Flame” unbeknownst to her.
“Every single hint you would need to know what her second signet is is in ‘Iron Flame,’” she told Variety’s Jennifer Maas. “It’s manifested. Read it again and then call me.”
Fans have speculated that Violet’s second signet could be distance-wielding because that power had not been seen in over 600 years, the same amount of time Andarna had been waiting for her. Others wonder if she can communicate with the dead based on her interactions with what she believes to be a hallucination of her dead friend Liam when she is held captive at Basgiath.
Yarros shared a sneak peek of ‘Onyx Storm’ on social media
Yarros has been fairly tight-lipped about the content of “Onyx Storm,” though she released an excerpt of the book on Instagram on October 18.
The passage opens with a quote from the Book of Brennan, a guide Violet’s brother made for surviving Basgiath.
“I will not die today. I will save him,” it says in a personal addendum written by Violet.
The scene continues with Xaden demonstrating his powers to a group of cadets from Basgiath with Violet’s help. When Violet isn’t able to use her lightning against him before he disappears in shadow, Xaden tells Violet she will need to be better prepared for their next lesson, telling her, “You’re the only one capable of killing me.”
His comment is in italics, indicating Xaden is speaking to Violet through the mind connection they share because of their dragons rather than aloud.
“Onyx Storm” is available for preorder.
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