It is finally happening. If you finished Iron Flame and immediately stared at a wall for three hours, you aren’t alone. That ending was brutal. Now, the countdown for the third book in the Empyrean Series, officially titled Onyx Storm, is the only thing keeping most of us going. Rebecca Yarros didn’t just give us a cliffhanger; she basically threw us off a mountain and told us to fly.
But let's be real for a second. There is a lot of noise online. People are throwing around wild theories and fake release dates like they’re fact. If you want the actual, verified truth about what’s coming next for Violet and Xaden, you have to look at the concrete details released by Yarros and her publisher, Entangled: Red Tower Books.
The Release Date and the Onyx Storm Wait
Mark your calendars for January 21, 2025. Yeah, it feels like a long time. It’s a bit of a shift from the rapid-fire release schedule we saw with Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, which both dropped within the same calendar year. Yarros has been pretty open about why the pace slowed down. She’s a human, not a content machine. She needs to breathe. Plus, she lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and pushing out 600-page fantasy bricks every six months is a recipe for a massive health flare-up.
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We should be happy about the wait. Honestly. A rushed book usually means a messy plot. By giving Onyx Storm the time it needs, we’re more likely to get the tight, high-stakes storytelling that made us fall in love with Basgiath War College in the first place.
What Does the Title Onyx Storm Actually Mean?
Names in this series are never accidental. Fourth Wing was about the start. Iron Flame was about the rebellion and the literal fire needed to keep the wards up. So, what about Onyx Storm?
The "Onyx" part is a gut punch. It’s almost certainly a reference to Xaden Riorson’s eyes—those dark, flecked-with-silver depths we’ve spent two books obsessing over. But it’s also the color of Tairn. More importantly, it’s the color of the shadows Xaden wields. Given where we left him at the end of Iron Flame, the word "Storm" suggests a total lack of control. A tempest. A disaster.
Xaden is no longer just a shadowed rebellion leader. He’s something else entirely. Something the world of Navarre fears more than anything.
The Venin Problem
Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the shadow in the room. Xaden Riorson is a venin.
He did it for love. Typical Xaden, right? He drained the earth to save Violet because he couldn't let her die. But the cost is catastrophic. In the Empyrean universe, once you turn, you’re on a ticking clock. The hunger for magic isn't something you just "will" away. It’s a biological and spiritual craving that eventually hollows you out.
Violet spent all of Iron Flame trying to figure out how to ward off the venin. Now, the person she loves most is one of them. Onyx Storm is going to have to deal with the fallout of that transformation immediately. Can a venin be cured? Jack Barlowe says no. But Jack Barlowe is also a psychopathic liar, so we take everything he says with a massive grain of salt.
New Locations Beyond Navarre and Aretia
One thing Yarros has teased is that we are going to see more of the map. In Iron Flame, we finally saw Aretia and the Poromiel border. But the world is bigger than just the flight commons and the vale.
There are hints that we might head further into the Barrens. If there’s a cure for being venin, it’s likely buried where the corruption started. We might also see more of the Isles. The politics of this world are expanding. It’s not just "students vs. teachers" anymore. It’s a full-scale continental war.
Expect the dragons to be pissed off too. Tairn isn't exactly the "forgive and forget" type. His bond with Xaden is now tethered to a creature that drains the very source of dragon magic. That is a volatile cocktail. And Sgaeyl? She’s gone quiet. That silence is terrifying.
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Why Violet’s Second Signet is the Biggest Mystery
If you spend five minutes on Reddit or TikTok, you’ll see a thousand theories about Violet Sorrengail’s second signet. Yarros has confirmed that Violet already manifested it in Iron Flame. Most people just missed it because it wasn't a flashy "look at me, I’m throwing lightning" moment.
Here are the most likely candidates that Onyx Storm will officially reveal:
- Distance Running/Speed: Some think she’s moving faster than humanly possible.
- Speaking to the Dead: Specifically Liam. But Yarros has hinted that Liam might have just been a hallucination caused by stress and exhaustion.
- Gravity/Intention: The ability to influence what others do or how they feel.
- The "Needs" Signet: Sgaeyl mentions that a signet is a reflection of who the rider is at their core. Violet is a scribe-turned-rider who needs information and truth.
Whatever it is, it’s going to be the key to saving Xaden. Lightning is great for killing, but it’s terrible for healing. Violet needs a different kind of power for the fight ahead.
The Real-World Impact of the Empyrean Series
It is hard to overstate how much these books have shifted the "Romantasy" genre. Before Fourth Wing, adult fantasy was often split into two camps: the "high fantasy" stuff with twenty-page descriptions of trees, and the "romance" stuff where the plot was just a suggestion. Yarros bridged that gap.
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She brought the pacing of a thriller to the world-building of an epic. That’s why the pre-orders for Onyx Storm are already breaking records. People aren't just reading these books; they’re living in them. They are joining "clutched" groups and debating dragon lore like it's historical fact.
How to Prepare for the Launch
Don't wait until January to get your life in order. The release of a book this big is basically a cultural event in the book world.
- Re-read the first two books in December. You’ve probably forgotten the smaller details about the wards and the different types of venin. Yarros loves a good "Easter egg" that only pays off 400 pages later.
- Avoid the "leak" culture. As we get closer to January 2025, fake spoilers will be everywhere. People will claim they have advanced copies. Most of them are just looking for clout.
- Check your pre-order. If you want a first-edition "sprayed edge" copy, you basically have to order it yesterday. The special editions of Iron Flame sold out and then showed up on eBay for three times the price. Don't let that be you.
Basically, the stakes couldn't be higher. We have a hero who has become the villain’s shadow. We have a heroine whose body is fragile but whose mind is a weapon. And we have a world that is literally being sucked dry of its soul. Onyx Storm isn't just a sequel; it’s the turning point for the entire five-book arc.
The wait sucks, but honestly? It’s going to be worth it when we finally see what happens when the lightning meets the storm.
Next Steps for the Dedicated Rider:
Go back to the final chapters of Iron Flame and pay close attention to Andarna’s dialogue. Her "transformation" and the revelation of her true breed are the biggest clues for how the rebellion plans to fight back. Understanding the "Seventh Breed" of dragon is the most important homework you can do before the new book arrives. Stay focused on the journals of Warrick and Lyra—they held the secrets to the wards, and they likely hold the secrets to the cure as well.