Onyx Storm was released two weeks ago and, if you are like me and nursing the biggest book hangover ever, you are looking for someone to talk to about the shock ending and where we go from here.
No worries, I got you.
Major Spoiler Alert
Recap: The Ending of Onyx Storm
At the end of Iron Flame, Violet Sorrengail and her friends returned to Basgiath War College to save everyone (whether they liked them or not) from falling into the hands of the dreaded Venin. Unfortunately, Xaden Riorson had to pay the ultimate price to kill the big bad Venin Sage by turning Venin himself.
Many of us (me included) assumed that Onyx Storm was going to include quite a bit of brooding on Xaden’s part, but luckily he is not Edward Cullen and he kept his self-loathing to an acceptable level. You can find more information in our full review of Onyx Storm.
Key Events in the Final Chapters
The last few chapters of Onyx Storm jump from various character POVs to give the reader some exposure to what is happening on the battlefield near Draithus.
Here are the two biggest things that happened, and here are my predictions for where the story will go from here.
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Xaden Channels a New Level of Power
Xaden struggled immensely to fight against channeling power from the earth throughout Onyx Storm, and I almost thought he was going to cure himself by simply refusing to succumb to becoming “the dark one” as Tairn kept calling him. However, at the end of the book, when Sgaeyl is trapped in danger, Xaden knows he has no choice but to save her.
After all, his sassy dragon stood by him through all his trials, including when he turned Venin. I was surprised she still let him ride her given he had become an “abomination”, but that just shows how strong the bond is between the two of them.
We also find out that the Sage he is fighting is the same one that Xaden thought he had killed at the end of Iron Flame, the same one who haunts his nightmares and who forced him to turn originally. This of course makes sense because in Venin land, whoever a Sage “creates” would die if the Sage was killed.
Therefore, given that Xaden did not drop dead, I should have seen it coming that the Sage was still alive. Also, as I mentioned in my previous article, there are theories that the Sage is Naolin, Tairn’s previous rider.
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Violet’s Memory Loss and the Mysterious Marriage
Did you catch that there was mysteriously a big emerald missing from the hilt of the sword of Tyrrendor earlier in the novel? I totally saw a piece of jewelry in Violet’s future, given the dialogue around the seriousness of her relationship with Xaden throughout Onyx Storm.
Violet wakes up with 12 hours missing from her memory, a marriage certificate to Xaden, and a letter from him telling her not to look for him. Talk about plot twist. I think the whole thing had been planned by the two of them before they headed to battle at Draithus.
In her last exchange with Theophanie before killing her, Theophanie tells Violet that she and Xaden can be together forever if she turns Venin. Violet responds by saying they already will be. What if this means they married before they headed into battle?
Either way, Xaden made it clear earlier on that he would use Tyrrendor to protect Violet, not the other way around if it came to it. It is possible that their union was his way of saving Violet from his Venin self by giving her a safe place to be without worry of anyone killing her (she is now the Duchess of Tyrrendor – it would be treason to kill her).
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletterWhat’s Next for Violet and Xaden?
Xaden will not be able to hang around Violet anymore and he needs to go on the run. On the last page, there is speculation that Xaden is hiding in the shadows as Violet wakes up to make sure she is safe before he flees.
Andarna tells Violet that Tairn is in a sleep cycle but doesn’t give her any more details, so we are left to assume it is because he is recovering from battle. What if Andarna severed the bond between Sgaeyl and Tairn so that they are not limited to staying within a certain distance of each other and Xaden can go far away to cure himself?
I assume that Sloane and Dain will have something to do with the cure for Venin. She is a siphon and there is something strange going on with Dain; he had too little spotlight in this installment of the Empyrean series, and Sloane tells him that someone like him should not have as much power as he does.
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Why would someone who reads recent memories by touch only need that much power? Perhaps there is much more to develop there.
Also, Violet is arguably the cleverest cadet at Basgiath. Her knowledge of history, her signets, her dragon, and now her title as Duchess of Tyrrendor all point towards a lot of politics in her future.
I believe the next book will focus heavily on Violet and Brennan working together to strengthen Navarre and Tyrrendor’s defenses by partnering with Poromiel. She will also further develop her signets, especially her second one that manifested, now that Andarna has returned.
The Future of the Empyrean Series
I can’t wait to continue reading this story, but at this moment there is no release date for the next novel in the series. Until then, I guess I can find something else to read.
