Like the first two installments of the Empyrean series, Onyx Storm ends on a major cliffhanger. The final battle sees our squad face the venin and continue the fight for their future. Throughout the book, we got answers to questions that have built up throughout the series, but author Rebecca Yarros also introduces new characters and a variety of fresh conflicts. These exciting revelations and plot points have left fans of the Empyrean series hungry for more.
If you have yet to listen to Onyx Storm, stop right here! Before you read on, catch up with Violet, Xaden, and the whole Iron Squad. Then, come back to this space to join us on a deep dive about that ending and fan theories about where the series is going. And rest assured, there’s still plenty of room for speculation; this post only scratches the surface of the deluge of discoveries and action-packed battles from Onyx Storm.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the Empyrean series, including heavy spoilers for the most recent book, Onyx Storm.
The story leading up to Onyx Storm
While Fourth Wing gave us a crash course on the dynamics of the dragon riders and how they use their powers, Iron Flame set the stage for the political intrigue and discovery of the existing venin that dominates Onyx Storm.
In the final battle of Iron Flame, Violet’s mother, Lilith, sacrificed herself to imbue the wards with power, instead of letting Violet burn herself out in her own attempt. But before Violet was able to bring the wards back up to protect everyone from the venin, Xaden was fighting the venin general who he believed was after him, and then Xaden turned venin himself. At the beginning of Onyx Storm, Xaden is still only an initiate and doing his best to avoid channeling.
In this third installment, Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton return to voice Violet and Xaden, whose bond is as strong as ever. Their love is a refuge from the fear of Xaden turning full venin and the overall threats to dragon riders. Tairn and Sgaeyl are also at the center of the story as Violet and Xaden navigate the danger, political drama, and magical mysteries present in this installment.
Onyx Storm’s big revelations about signets, venin, and dragons
Onyx Storm treated fans to deep dives into the existing lore, more scenes with our favorite characters, and a nonstop rollercoaster of action. Major revelations throughout will most definitely affect the future of the series. Featured below are just a few of the book’s biggest reveals.
Though we found out in Iron Flame that Xaden had a second signet of reading people’s intentions, it turns out he’s not the only marked one with two signets. Garrick is a distance wielder, and at the end of the book, Imogen practices stone wielding to protect Dain during the final battle. Xaden explains to Violet that their dragons sought out the marked ones to gain more power in the fight against the venin.
Violet discovers that she has a second signet as well: She is a dreamwalker, which makes her an inntinnsic like Xaden. Additionally, we find that the six most powerful signets have only walked the Earth together once before in history. In the next book, hopefully we’ll find out what those powerful signets are—and if they’re together again.
After the leadership of Navarre succeeded in hiding the incursion of venin for so many years, the threat is constant in Onyx Storm. Xaden may not be the only venin among them at Basgiath, especially since the wards have been tampered with. Someone has also been passing information to the venin, and the Aretian wards are failing.
Violet and her squad go to the Isle Kingdoms to persuade them to ally with Navarre in the battle against the venin. The quest to the Isle Kingdoms is a fascinating glimpse into the cultures and belief systems in this world. Though the results of their quest for alliances are a mixed bag, Violet’s new position at the end of the book will affect diplomatic relations with the Isle Kingdoms.
At the end of the diplomatic mission, Andarna meets more of her kind, which we learn are called irids. The irid dragons used Andarna as a test case to see if humans could be peaceful, and they are disappointed with Andarna for fighting in the war. After everyone returns to Basgiath War College, Violet can tell how heartbroken Andarna is. She later tells Andarna to break her bond so she can leave and be with her dragonkind, and Andarna does leave. Tairn comforts Violet as much as he can.
As far as Violet’s past, we also find out that her father tried to pledge her to the Goddess Dunne as a baby to prevent her from turning venin. Violet’s incomplete dedication explains why her hair is only partially silver. The goddess didn’t take Violet because her future was uncertain—we know now that it was Xaden’s fate intertwined with Violet’s. Theophanie, a venin maven and Violet's central antagonist in Onyx Storm, also has partially silver hair because she chose to pursue more power for herself and abandoned her role as a high priestess of Dunne.
What happens at the end of Onyx Storm?
World-shaking battles are a feature of Empyrean novel endings. Instead of only Violet and Xaden’s perspective, we get chapters from Imogen and Rhiannon’s perspectives—read by Jasmin Walker and Justis Bolding—as they’re fighting the wyvern. The new narrators bring in even more excitement to the fast-paced battle, which takes place in the city of Draithus. Riders are duking it out with venin across the city, with Quinn dying alongside many others. The stakes have never been higher.
The chaotic fight starts because Theophanie has set a trap: She’s captured Violet’s older sister, Mira. When Violet and her squad come to save her, Theophanie slits Mira’s throat. Brennan tries to mend Mira, and he is about to fail when Sloane and Dain come to assist, siphoning enough power to Brennan for him to stabilize Mira. They also give Violet a package from Aaric.
Violet’s showdown with Theophanie is dramatic and game-changing. Though Violet thought Theophanie was a lightning wielder like her, she is actually a storm wielder like Violet’s mother, Lilith. When Theophanie gains the upper hand, Violet opens the package she received earlier from Aaric and finds a dagger. At the exact right moment, Xaden wields shadows and Andarna returns to distract Theophanie. Violet defeats her with the dagger, made from the stone of the temple of Dunne. The dagger is significant because it was blessed by the high priestess of Dunne, whom Theophanie had forsaken.
Xaden is summoned by his venin sage, Berwyn, while Sgaeyl is trapped under a net and wounded. When he finds out that Commandant Panchek is a traitor, he’s stopped from killing him because Panchek is a venin. Xaden channels from the earth and wields shadows in a massive onyx storm that ends the battle and saves Violet and Sgaeyl, but essentially turns him fully into a venin, except for one piece of his soul that holds onto his love for Violet.
So, what happens to Violet and Xaden at the end of Onyx Storm?
At the opening of the final chapter, Violet wakes up at Riorson House and doesn’t remember where she is and how she got there. Despite the short time between the chapter before and this final one, Violet and Xaden are now married. Xaden has disappeared and left a note that says, “Don’t look for me. It’s yours now.” She finds out that Imogen wiped her mind of the last 12 hours.
It won’t be so easy to reunite with Xaden now that he’s given over to the darkness. Also, Brennan’s guard tells Violet that the many deaths of humans and dragons, as well as six missing dragon eggs, are being blamed on Xaden. But four other riders are also missing, including Garrick, so it’s not clear who has the eggs.
Violet is now the Duchess of Tyrrendor. It’s unlikely that Violet will give up on Xaden. Her wiped memory must be part of a plan to hide his current location or a plan they’re building. However, since Violet’s second signet is dreamwalking, they’ll probably meet again in that plane before they’re in the same physical location.
Where does the Empyrean series go from here?
The fight against the venin is in crisis now that they’ve lost Xaden, one of their strongest fighters. After Commandant Panchek’s betrayal, we also know that there are other venin at Basgiath. Berwyn taunts Xaden about a new “brother.” Theories are bubbling that it’s Bodhi or Garrick, but we’ll have to wait to find out. It’s also unclear if Sgaeyl’s bond with Xaden is broken, or even if Tairn and Sgaeyl's bond is broken, since Andarna tells Violet when she wakes up at Riorson House at the very end of the book that Tairn "needs a cycle of rest to recover."
If there isn’t a cure for turning venin in the traditional sense, there still must be a way to restore Xaden’s soul. Based on Violet’s father’s research, the irids like Andarna could be the key. If the other irids choose to get involved, they’ll have to reckon with their peacemaking philosophy and the need to defeat the darkness.
Rebecca Yarros has a talent for keeping us guessing. Even as many existing mysteries are solved, new questions crop up. The extent of Violet’s dreamwalking signet, as well as the possibility of a venin counterbalance, will be just one thing to watch out for. Fans will have to wait a while, but after the absolute bombshell of Onyx Storm, we’re sure it will be worth it.
Julia Rittenberg is a writer with a love of good stories. She lives in Brooklyn with a ton of books and vintage tchotchkes that her cat politely does not knock over.
