Get all your questions answered with this Onyx Storm summary! I briefed each and every chapter of the third fantasy book in Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series after reading them to help all of us fans answer lingering questions, fill in the gaps in our reading, and theorize what’s next. I also added parentheticals reminding you what specific people, places, and things are.
My goal is to keep it simple and helpful since it can be hard to get back into a detailed book series again. This means there are spoilers throughout. That said, you can use the jump links below to skip to any particular section if you don’t want to recap the book in full. Let’s get “fired” up!
If necessary, catch up on the Iron Flame ending first. You may also wish to learn more in my Onyx Storm signet guide and Onyx Storm dragon guide.
Onyx Storm Summary: Chapters 1-10
Prologue
Andarna (Violet’s changing second dragon) talks about how different she feels when she changes color and believes she was able to alter the venin.
Violet worries that Jack (a Fourth Wing rider turned venin) will reveal that Xaden is venin, and he’ll be arrested.
Andarna promises to help Violet find a cure.
Violet seeks to tell Imogen (a Fourth Wing rider) about Xaden.
Chapter 1
Violet and the others contemplate that the venin and wyvern may have all been killed.
They visit Sawyer, a rider and executive officer who was lost his leg, and discover that the venin aren’t dead— they’re on the inside.
Chapter 2
Violet kills a venin dressed as a scribe and realizes they’ve come for Jack. More venin are battled and Xaden appears and kills them. He felt them calling and warns Violet not to trust him.
Chapter 3
Violet participates in the Senarium peace negotiations with six nobles from each province. She is assigned to a task force, led by her riders’ survival course professor, Captain Grady, to find and recruit the seventh dragon breed (Andarna’s breed) in order to kill the venin.
Violet receives a missive from Viscount Tecarus (of the Poromish province of Krovla), reminding her that she has three days to hold up her end of the bargain (training flier cadets in exchange for the luminary).
Violet and Xaden have a sexual encounter. (Read my Onyx Storm Spicy Chapters Review)
Chapter 4
Violet and Xaden talk about thought sharing.
Brennan and Mira (Violet’s siblings) arrive, and Mira gives Violet a conduit and a wooden, runed practice disk for levitation, warmth, and sound shielding.
Violet believes they can save the negotiations, and she can keep her deal with Tecarus. She doesn’t want to tell the others, but Mira tells Brennan. Mira calculates six months before total collapse, but finding Andarna’s kind may take decades.
Chapter 5
Violet and the others await news of the negotiation from Brennan and Mira.
First Wing gossips. Baylor (a cadet) arrives and announces, “They’re here.” Cat (Tecarus’s niece, a flier, and former lover of Xaden) attempts to challenge the cadets, which pits them against Dain (Violet’s lifelong friend and Fourth Wing wingleader). Aura (a senior Second Wing wingleader) attempts to fight him, but Violet uses her daggers to make a flame erupt from Aura’s hand.
Chapter 6
Violet wields lightning and reminds them that they only survived the attack because Dain and the others gained access to knowledge Navarre (the large province where Basgiath is) hid.
Brennan returns from the Senarium and says Halden, heir to the throne, is going with Violet. Further, the Senarium agreed that all who flew for Aretia would be welcome back with a full pardon. Andarna will not submit for an examination, and she’ll be granted full access to hunt in the King’s forest. Violet asks about the alliance, as without it, the deal with Tecarus would fall apart, and Lewellen (who fostered Xaden and Liam) announces it’s failed.
So, Violet plans treason.
Xaden makes Violet promise she’ll sound the alarm if he “goes too far” to keep safe. Xaden gets his title back (as Duke of Tyrrendor, not just Aretia, the burned city that’s home of Riorson House and being rebuilt after the rebellion) and a seat in the Senarium.
Chapter 7
Violet and the others visit Sawyer, who is healing from losing his leg. She tells him what Mira found about altering the material a rune is tempered into without destroying it. Violet says it’s mostly iron, and Sawyer (whose signet is metallurgy) begrudgingly agrees to join their treasonous plot.
Mira and Violet discuss her treasonous plan. Violet knows that if the wards fall, she’s on the clock to find Andarna’s kind.
Violet, Rhiannon (a Fourth Wing squad leader), Ridoc (a rider), Sawyer, and Maren (Cat’s best friend; a flier) prepare, and Sawyer wields. It doesn’t go well, but Mira believes the wards remain intact.
At battle brief, Professor Devera (a rider) announces she’s taking over for Colonel Markham (a scribe). Leadership is set as follows: Iris Drue in First Wing (new character), Aura Beinhaven in Second Wing, Lyell Stirling in Third Wing (new character), and Dain Aetos in Fourth Wing.
Colonel Aetos (Dain’s father and Commanding General of Basgiath War College after Violet’s mother Lilith’s death) enters and charges Violet with treason.
Chapter 8
Colonel Aetos brings Violet to the Senarium for trial. Violet confesses to being the one who orchestrated altering the wardstone. Ironically, she did it the night before, and the king signed their pardons this morning.
Queen Maraya (of the Poromiel kingdom) appears and announces her library is bigger than Tecarus’s.
Colonel Aetos retaliates by ordering every second year under Rhiannon to serve two days of duty at the outpost of Samara (a military outpost in Navarre where Poromish provinces intersect).
Chapter 9
At Samara, Violet and the others learn that the fighting has ended. Lieutenant Colonel Degrensi says they crossed the border and fought with “their people,” but the alliance isn’t a popular one.
Violet tries to rest but has a nightmare about a fire in which a family portrait burns, and she calls Cat the Queen of Tyrrendor.
The small village of Newhall, where Maren’s family fled, is evacuated due to a venin attack. Violet and the others vote to stay and fight.
Chapter 10
Violet and the others battle wyvern in a tornado. Tairn (Violet’s black morningstartail) is injured, and Violet’s knee is dislocated, so Garrick (Xaden’s best friend; a second lieutenant) tries to help her. A Maven venin named Theophanie appears and says she wielded lightning and killed Maren’s parents to lure them there. She threatens Violet.
Chapters 11-20
Chapter 11
Theophanie wants Andarna. She promises if Xaden and Violet choose her as their teacher, she will give them control and knowledge. Violet questions whether Garrick has a second signet as a walker (distance wielder), as he traveled a thousand miles in minutes, which no one has done in centuries.
Xaden and Brennan angrily arrive to help Violet.
Maren enters with her two little brothers. Colonel Aetos is angry at them and orders the boys to return, but Xaden steps in and makes them Tyrrish citizens. Colonel Aetos orders Xaden and Garrick out of Basgiath.
Violet is healed.
Chapter 12
Xaden and Violet kiss, but he is apprehensive of himself and stops them there. He confirms that Garrick is a distance wielder and that Liam (a deceased rider) could wield ice. She tells him she thinks venin have signets.
Xaden writes to Violet that he is resting from burnout, but Violet believes he’s hiding his eyes.
Grady assigns Aura to Violet’s squad.
Violet and Imogen visit Jack, who looks like death. Violet offers him a medallion of alloy and powdered orange peel that can keep him alive for a week if he answers questions. Jack confirms that new venin (initiates, asim) are not as adept at hiding themselves, so they’ll be found and raised by an elder Sage or Maven. Venin do not have to be taught to channel evil on their own if they’re already experienced with the flow of magic. Information is given to them on a need-to-know basis. They trade some of their autonomy for access to power. There’s no cure because magic does not negotiate, and they don’t wish for a cure.
Chapter 13
Jesinia (Violet’s friend; a scribe) is kicked out of the adept program for failing tests.
Violet tells Ridoc, Rhiannon, and Sawyer that venin may be all around them.
Jesinia brings them six tomes for research. She learned that when the last “irid” dragon hatches in advance, a cadet born from a rider and scribe, she’ll get two signets. She also says that Grady requested tomes about Emerald Sea exploration in the north. She’s missing a section about an outside aisle supporting the second Krovlan uprising (southernmost Poromish province) in the 400s; it was assumed that Cordyn (Poromish city) sent soldiers. All communication was severed with most isles after they sided with Poromiel in 206. In turn, they killed every emissary sent for centuries. Violet’s father would have more information, and Dain would have to betray his father to get it.
The new Battle Brief map shows lots of red, including most of Braevick (the center providence of Poromiel). Devera believes the map shows an assault path toward their hatching grounds. The students are given books about venin. They will also travel to Aretia for two-week rune intensives. Devera confirms that the high-level venin can wield signets.
Xaden arrives to teach, but Violet believes his position ends their relationship under the code.
Chapter 14
Xaden’s class is Signet Sparring.
Violet asks Dain to get her father’s research from his father’s new quarters because they’re warded by bloodline.
Xaden seeks an exemption to date Violet, but Colonel Aetos denies it.
Added to the squad are Captain Henson (new character who is an air wielder), Lieutenant Pugh (new character with far sight), Lieutenant Foley (new character who is an agrarian), Cadet Aura Beinhaven (fire wielder), Captain Anna Winshire (infantry liaison; Halden’s guard), and Lieutenant Xaden Riorson. Violet’s instinctive is to try South, but Grady orders them Northward.
Chapter 15
Xaden teaches sparring class.
Chapter 16
Violet and Xaden spar. He wants her to be able to find his shadows because she’s the only one capable of killing him.
Violet, Sawyer, and the crew relax at a bar.
Maren thanks Rhiannon because her parents took in her brothers.
Violet must trust Dain to retrieve her father’s research because he can’t sneak anyone else in without getting caught.
Chapter 17
Dain gives Violet her father’s research. She reads a letter that says first love is irreplaceable.
Xaden teaches sparring class, and Prince Halden enters with a missive for Violet from Viscount Tecarus. He gives her tomes and offers a meeting with King Courtlyn of Deverelli (the southernmost isle kingdom of The Isles) in exchange for Amelian Citrine, a gem that Queen Maraya offers to give him if it can be retrieved from Anca, an occupied territory beyond the wards.
Violet notes that riders’ dragons are irreplaceable.
Halden apologizes to Violet, and a shadow (Xaden’ signet) sends him into a wall.
Chapter 18
Violet opens her father’s book with the password, Aimsir– Lilith’s dragon. It’s A History of the Second Krovlan Uprising. He instructs her to fly to Cordyn and go to Deverelli to be safe beyond the reach of magic. She should seek the merchant Narelle Anselm with the rarest item she has and beware of the King of Navarre.
Tairn is confused because there is no magic beyond the Continent.
Violet admits to Xaden that she once loved Halden, and he is mad, but they kiss and talk about retrieving the artifact.
Chapter 19
Violet’s group now includes Mira, and they cross the border at Samara. They leave Andarna there for safety.
Anca is not occupied.
They stop at Home of Amelia, First of the Drifts. Aura wields fire and ignites Captain Grady, who she thought was venin. He dies, and the house is on fire. A wyvern kills Aura. Sgaeyl, Xaden’s dragon, kills the wyvern, and Violet wields lightning on its partner. Mira reveals she has the stone, along with a letter for Violet from Theophanie reminding her that she can be taken against her will. Theophanie must know Violet is looking for Andarna’s kind or a cure.
Chapter 20
Violet reads books on Deverelli. Jack tells Violet about asim progression and how channeling from the heart is as easy as breathing beyond the wards.
Ridoc, an ice wielder, shares that he’s learned to freeze water in an orange and thinks he can do the same to a person.
Captain Jarrett, a rider, is added to the task force. The meeting is set with King Courtlyn. The command is transferred to Captain Henson, and Lieutenant Pugh is the executive officer. Markham and Melgren (Navarrian military general) will search Aretia.
Violent is angry and negotiates her own squad: Lieutenant Xaden Riorson, Lieutenant Mira Sorrengail, Cadet Ridoc Gamlyn, Cadet Cat Cordella, Captain Drake Cordella (Cat’s cousin; a flier), Cadet Dain Aetos, Prince Halden, and his favorite guard.
Duchess Morraine (a member of the Senarium) reveals her daughter has proposed to Xaden.
Chapters 21-30
Chapter 21
Violet’s group arrives at King Tecarus’s palace. She rooms with Xaden, who reads her thoughts, making her wonder if his second signet (inntinsic) is growing. They head to Deverelli’s, and the onyx bond with Sgaeyl and Xaden is broken.
Chapter 22
They arrive and are disoriented by their lack of magic. Only Violet can still speak with her dragons.
Chapter 23
The group heads into the town bookstore, where Mira is attacked, and a battle ensues. They meet Narelle, the shopkeeper’s mother, who recognizes Violet as Asher Daxton’s daughter.
Chapter 24
Narelle apologizes for her family’s protection of the books. She questions them to earn Asher’s manuscript. They tell her they believe the Krovlan uprising fell apart because Krovla didn’t keep their part of the deal. Deverelli withdrew their brokerage to provide feathertail dragons, and then the troops of the other isles withdrew and told the Poromish king regent where to find the rebels.
Violet tells Dain his father must know the book is about feathertails.
Violet admits to Narelle that she left Halden because she caught him having sex with a professor. Narelle gives them Asher’s six tomes.
Xaden kisses Violet.
Chapter 25
Xaden and Violet have sex.
The group learns that King Courtlyn has decided to keep Halden, and Tecarus calls for Xaden to speak with him.
Chapter 26
Xaden takes Violet with him. Halden says he reestablished diplomacy with Deverelli and asked to use Tecarus’s manor for a search mission with dragons in exchange for the Blade of Aretia, which wasn’t his to give. Courtlyn stabs Halden’s hand and makes it clear he knew Xaden’s father.
Xaden seeks him as an ally and will openly trade, but Courtlyn prefers to supply those at war.
Violet wonders if they defeated or cured venin.
Courtlyn serves Captain Anna Winshire’s head to his panthers after she colluded to steal with Halden. Xaden attempts to bargain and flashes an emerald-studded hilt. Courtlyn orders all but Tecarus dead.
Chapter 27
Twelve guards attack Xaden, and he kills them all, revealing red around his eyes to Violet. Andarna enters and grabs Courtlyn’s panther, so he agrees to their terms for the panther’s release. Violet gives him Andarna’s shell for Halden’s crimes. He asks if they will start searching at Unnbriel, the closest main isle.
Chapter 28
At Battle Brief, Violet shares that Courtlyn also wanted to trade for her, which is odd since they don’t have magic. The map shows southward movement, which leads Violet to believe the venin know the Aretian wards are up and are moving into position for when they fall.
Mira has taken personal leave.
The first years seek to help Violet, and they all become concerned about the length of time the search will take. They must disobey direct orders and not report or return until they find Andarna’s kind.
Xaden’s eyes are still amber, and Bodhi (Xaden’s cousin) hands him vials of serum and antidote.
A second-year turned venin on the mat, and Professor Carr kills her. Bodhi asks Violet to take Garrick.
Chapter 29
Xaden’s eyes are still amber.
Trager (a flier) and Maren are added to the squad. Aaric (also known as Cam, King Taui’s “missing” son who secretly became a rider) decides to join them because he doesn’t trust his brother, and Halden is shocked to see him.
Mira confirms some runes work off the continent.
They arrive at the isle of Dunne, but Violet doesn’t think Andarna’s kind settled there due to the lack of magic.
Mira reveals she visited their estranged paternal grandmother, Niara. Violet wonders why her father’s books have so much information about flora and fauna.
A soldier scares Violet and Xaden.
Chapter 30
They must defeat the best in combat to earn entrance to the court. Violet brings Xaden, Aaric, Cat, and Dain. Tairn notices a claw in their symbol. Their temple has warfare symbols: sword, shield, fire, water, claw, and book. The attendants have silver hair like Violet’s.
Chapters 31-40
Chapter 31
Aaric wants to fight, but Xaden steps in, suggesting he should consider it revenge for what he did to Aaric’s brother. (He isn’t referring to Halden.) Their temple Goddess of War picks Dain and Violet to fight, too.
Chapter 32
Xaden and Violet win their matches but wonder where the lighting during them came from. Violet learns her opponent was Queen Marlis. She says there haven’t been dragons there for centuries, and she’s unwilling to be an ally unless they receive dragons in return.
Chapter 33
The Queen seeks twelve dragon eggs because the fully grown dragons are too headstrong and arrogant.
They travel to Vidirys, the capital of Hedotis. They meet the second of the triumvirate, Faris, and his wife, Talia, who is Xaden’s mom.
Chapter 34
Xaden agrees to have dinner with his mother and learns he has two young stepbrothers.
Violet gives Talia fried arinmint.
Chapter 35
The quest squad has dinner with Xaden’s mom and the triumvirate: Faris, Nairi, and Roslyn. Talia suggests a contract marriage between Xaden and Cat would be beneficial, which angers Xaden and Violet. Violet realizes their dessert is poisoned, but it’s too late for Garrick, who collapses.
Chapter 36
Violet reveals to the triumvirate that she has also poisoned them (with arinmint), and they will die within the hour. She attempts to bargain her antidote for theirs. A battle ensues in the kitchen with the cook, who stabs Ridoc.
Chapter 37
It turns out only Ridoc’s jacket was stabbed. Violet figures out the poison and antidote, using her father’s book to save Garrick. She cleverly bargains their free release and an alliance in exchange for her antidote to save the triumvirate.
They leave and fly to Zehyllna. They are outnumbered, but the residents seem happy to see them, and Violet feels magic.
Chapter 38
They meet Calixta, the mistress of festivities, awaiting their arrival for an alliance, having been told by Courtlyn. They must play a game of cards to see the queen. Each card reveals a gift. Mira gets wine, Maren gets two orange tunics, Dain gets a slap in the face, Aaric gets a fractured hand mirror, Garrick gets a rusted steel bucket, Xaden gets an empty glass box, Violet gets a broken compass, Ridoc gets a kiss, Cat gets a gold and ruby necklace, Drake gets a kitten, and Trager gets an arrow to the heart, killing him.
Chapter 39
Silaraine, Trager’s gryphon, dies with him. The group agrees to go to Losyam, a small isle, to burn their bodies.
Xaden admits he doesn’t believe he can be cured.
Chapter 40
There are hundreds of small islands to search, so they split into groups.
Violet can still see amber in Xaden’s eyes.
Violet stays behind while the fire burns and comes upon a shimmering sky blue dragon. She sees six dragons of varying sale tones on the beach– irid featertail dragons. A dragon says hello to her, though they aren’t bonded.
Chapters 41-50
Chapter 41
Andarna’s scales change from black to green, then blue. The dragons are all feathertails interested in talking to Andarna. The dragons tell Andarna that Violet failed her by using her power as an instrument of warfare. Andarna has not developed for this reason. Their breed is meant for peace.
Chapter 42
The dragons are concerned they seek victory, not peace. Andarna says that peace requires the Aretian wardstone, which can’t be fired without the irids. The dragons say there is no cure for dark wielders. Andarna begins shifting to gold.
Ridoc realizes Xaden is venin.
Chapter 43
Violet explains Xaden’s venin stage to Ridoc. She reminds him that Xaden saved them by killing the dark wielders’ Sage, which gave her mom time to imbue the wardstone. Ridoc seeks more reassurance, and Violet says that if Xaden hurts her, she’ll know he’s not himself anymore. He wants Violet to tell Sawyer, Rhiannon, and Jesinia in exchange for keeping the secret.
They all fly back to Basgiath, where Colonel Aetos says he will punish them.
Violet gets a letter from Theophanie indicating that she saw them flying.
They learn Suniva fell to dark wielders, and Queen Maraya is dead.
Chapter 44
The quest squad isn’t punished because King Tauri is so happy to have Aaric back.
At Battle Brief, they learn that the dark wielders have done much damage in their absence. They debate where to place their 40,000 troops from Zehyllna. Professor Devera shares that dark wielders fell from the sky in Suniva and started a fire. The venin stole their alloy-hilted daggers, which had just been shipped there. It’s believed there are traitors in their ranks who conveyed this information. The venin flew in a thundercloud, and Violet realized Thophanie must have been with them as a lightning wielder and a Maven. Violet can kill them with lightning if she isn’t seen. They debate using Sawyer’s dragon Sliseag for help.
Violet keeps her end of the bargain and tells Sawyer, Rhiannon, and Jesinia that Xaden is turning venin.
Chapter 45
They practice “battle mount” maneuvers: dismounting in a running landing, wielding, and taking to the sky.
Violet gives Xaden a black onyx metal wrist cuff with a piece of the turret on top of Riorson House for his birthday.
Felix (a former dragon rider who’s a member of the Revolution and the Assembly) says two wyverns came through the wards at Aretia– they’re failing.
Chapter 46
Andarna continues to hide. There is debate about opening the borders to Poromish citizens willing to climb the Medaro pass (on the border of Tyrrendor and Poromiel), which Xaden wants. Halden threatens to take his troops to Tyrrendor.
Xaden’s eyes remain amber.
Wyvern have been trying to fly into Aretia. Lynx (a Fourth Wing cadet) starts shaking and manifesting shadows, so Xaden isn’t the only shadow wielder anymore. Lynx is the balance.
Xaden resigns from being a professor due to his absence. He leaves because Tyrrendor needs him.
Chapter 47
Sawyer gets Violet’s help mounting Sliseag with a level he fashioned on his prosthetic leg, and it works. The squad flies to Aretia, where Brennan tells Violet he’s struggling to mend Xaden.
Chapter 48
Xaden arrives, kisses Violet, and tells her he thinks he’s slowing the progression of his dark side.
Chapter 49
Xaden and Violet have sex.
Chapter 50
Violet has her recurring nightmare about the Sage, but this time, she thinks about channeling from the earth, and her hand looks like Xaden’s, with a relic. Xaden’s had the same dreams and believes Violet’s second signet is dream walking. It’s a form of inntinsic more powerful than Xaden’s because he can only read someone while they’re awake and is limited by their ability to shield. They confirm Violet entered Maren’s worst nightmare (the family portrait).
They are under attack.
Chapters 51-56
Chapter 51
Greenfire wyvern are on their way, traveling in smaller pairings. Violet moves past the wards, and Andarna protects the wardstone. Some wyvern are killed. Tairn is in pain.
Chapter 52
The wyvern’s wingspur broke off in Tairn’s leg. The prince orders Andarna to protect Dunne’s temple. Violet attempts to remove the wingspur, but wyvern approach. She believes that, if the wyvern are this close without being halted by the wards, they will skip over the undrained territory of Krovla and go for the hatching ground.
Theophanie approaches, and Violet realizes she was a high priestess of Dunne.
A dark wielder vanishes like Garrick.
Wyvern fall from the sky, and Xaden appears. There is no red in his eyes. He says the wards went up.
The irids arrive.
Chapter 53
The irid dragon Leothan tells Andarna he powered the wards to keep Violet safe and take Andarna back with him. Eventually, Andarna agrees and leaves.
Chapter 54
Violet mourns the loss of Andarna.
Mira and Brennan argue over the missing months in their mother’s journal– when she left them with their grandmother, Niara, who stopped speaking to them afterward. Mira believes her parents dedicated Violet to Dunne during that time, and Violet recalls the Unnbrish high priestess telling her it was good her dedication was not complete. They wouldn’t take Violet because her path wasn’t certain. The priestess said if Violet chose poorly, she could earn their mentorship, but she’d have to “turn.” Violet realizes her dad took her there. Mira says the priestess predicted she’d turn dark, and Xaden steps in and admits he has turned venin, not Violet. Mira becomes angry.
Chapter 55
Navarre may declare war on Tyrrendor for defying the Senarium. Xaden cuts them off from shipments of Talladium.
Chapter 56
Violet struggles with runes without Andarna. Bodhi wants to drop out of school, so he’s prepared to take over for Xaden. Xaden won’t allow it.
Onyx Storm Ending: Chapters 57-66
Get the Onyx Storm ending explained in even more detail.
Chapter 57
Violet is in Xaden’s dream with the Sage. It’s the first time she knows it’s his dream.
Garrick returns from patrol injured by Theophanie.
She said they reached Draithus and (the coastal Poromish city bordering Tyrrendor) to bring Bodhi and Violet or Mira will die.
Chapter 58
They debate what to do and realize Theophanie wants Jack, not Bodhi.
Violet must choose one objective for the mission, and she chooses to kill Theophanie. Brennan reminds her she can’t save everyone or stray from orders.
Chapter 59
In Draithus, the wyvern outnumber them. Teine is chained, and Theophanie is holding knives to Mira. Garrick brings Jack. Theophanie slits Mira’s throat. Dragons and riders arrive, including Sloane and Dain. Brennan struggles to mend Mira. Sloane attempts to transfer power from Dain to Brennan. Mira survives.
Sloane leaves a package from Aaric, which appears to be Aaric’s mail.
They all leave except Bodhi and Violet.
Chapter 60
Tairn must try to remove Teine.
Theophanie returns to battle Violet. Violet realizes Theophanie isn’t a lightning wielder but a storm wielder, like her mother.
Bodhi believes his signet (countering signets) can help, but Cuir, his dragon, grabs him and takes him away.
Violet fights Theophanie.
Chapter 61
(Rhiannon’s point of view) Rhiannon inspects the Medaro Pass. Maren, Cat, Sawyer, Neve (a flier), Ridoc, and Bragen (a flier) are with her. They fight wyvern, and she orders a shield formation for the strength of the squad.
Chapter 62
(Violet’s point of view) Thophanie’s dagger scrapes Violet’s throat. Violet breaks her nose and gains control. Theophanie says that to survive in their world, you must protect your magic. She says that occupying ground where magic has been repurposed creates a barrier. You must drain it yourself. Violet must do so before Thophanie gets there or she’ll die. Violet races to a wyvern for a barrier, and Sgaeyl lifts her and then drops her to Tairn.
Theophanie is on the battlefield with venin and wyvern. Violet and Tairn decide to attack. Violet wields lightning. A tornado strikes.
Aaric’s dragon, Molvic, brings a thousand soldiers and their horses from Zehyllna.
Violet continues to fly for Theophanie.
Chapter 63
(Imogen’s point of view) Imogen and her dragon, Glane, kill several wyvern. Dark wielders head for the turret where Quinn (a Fourth Wing rider and best friend of Imogen) is. Imogen descends and heads that way.
Dain joins her. Fire erupts. Imogen turns her shield to stone, and the fire parts around them. Dain fights the venin on the wall, and Imogen heads to the turret.
Quinn projects herself to the venin, and the real Quinn approaches from the stairs below. Imogen and Quinn kill the venin with daggers to the chest. However, the venin has stabbed Quinn near the heart, and she dies.
Garrick says Imogen must go because the dark wielders are at the walls draining the stone, and he tries to find something to do. Imogen says they must disarm to live.
Chapter 64
(Violet’s point of view) Violet’s conduit shatters. Theophanie slows the storm to make it harder for Violet to wield. Tairn and Violet get caught in a net and fall. Violet discovers a marble dagger in Aaric’s package. It was a gift from the high priestess’s temple of Dunne in Aretia. Theophanie approaches. Xaden sends powerful shadows, and Tairn says to use the darkness. Violet realizes Aaric’s signet is precognition. Violet uses the marble to wield lightning and hits Thophanie. Andarna appears, distracting Theophanie, and Violet kills her with the marble dagger. Stone doesn’t kill venin, but she was never just venin (as a high priestess), and Dunne is wrathful.
Chapter 65
(Xaden’s point of view) Sgaeyl is wounded.
Panchek (Commandant at Basgiath) is a venin, so Xaden can’t kill him or Berwyn, his Sage venin. Panchek is the traitor from within. Another person close to Xaden is there, having turned venin.
Berwyn kills the dragon with his dagger and threatens Sgaeyl. Xaden wields dark shadows to kill venin guards and knock Berwyn and Panchek unconscious. Xaden’s soul departs, and he becomes the ice, killing wyvern across the city. He clings to his love for Violet, but he’s no longer an initiate. His eyes have red veins.
Sgaeyl conveys that the wards are completed but extend no further than Draithus.
Chapter 66
(Violet’s point of view) At Riordan House, an officer tells Brennan that four riders, their dragons, and three elders were killed in the valley. Four riders, including Garrick Tavis, and six eggs from the hatching ground are missing.
Xaden is presumed responsible.
Violet is disoriented. There is an emerald ring on her finger. She married Xaden but doesn’t recall it because she asked Imogen to use her signet to wipe her memories. Xaden left a note telling her not to look for him “it’s” hers now, implying she now rules Tyrrendor.
Recap of the Top Spoilers From the Onyx Storm Summary
Xaden becomes Duke of Tyrrendor.
There is no cure for being venin.
Violet’s second signet is dream-walking, a form of inntinsic.
Andarna’s kind, irids (or iridescents), are found in Zehyllna, but they are peacemakers unhappy with her being used like a weapon in war. For a time, Andarna breaks her bond with Violet and leaves with the irids, but she later returns.
Xaden’s mom is married to one of the triumvirate on the isle of wisdom, Hedotis.
Violet’s dad started to dedicate her to Dunne when she was young to help her health, but the high priestess stopped because she foresaw Violet’s future path with Xaden being venin was unclear.
The most shocking death is Quinn. Other deaths include Maren’s parents, Captain Grady, Aura, Anna Winshire, Trager, Silaraine, and Queen Maraya.
Armed with a gift from Aaric (who has precognition), Violet kills Theophanie, a powerful venin called a Maven (a storm-wielder), who was once a high priestess and has silver hair like Violet.
Commandant Panchek is venin, and he was the traitor leaking information from the inside.
Berwyn, Xaden’s Sage venin, has also turned someone close to Xaden venin. Clues point to Bodhi or Garrick.
Xaden channels dark magic to protect Sgaeyl, which progresses his stage of venin and causes others to die or go missing, including some dragon eggs.
Violet has married Xaden but doesn’t recall it because she asked Imogen to wipe her memories.
Xaden tells Violet not to look for him and “it’s” hers now, implying she now rules Tyrrendor.
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