Rebecca Yarros disappointed fans on Tuesday with a brief update on the next book in her Empyrean series. After the first three books came out in quick succession, fans wondered if the fourth one would follow a similar timeline. Unfortunately, it will not.
After fans added an "expected" release date of January 2026 on Goodreads for the untitled fourth book, Yarros clarified that the said date was unrealistic. "Let's put this rumor to rest," she wrote on her Instagram Story. "I love you all, but no. That release date is impossible."
— Crown_For_A_King (@Crown_ForAKing) July 15, 2025
At the end of Onyx Storm, the third and most recent book, we see Violet seemingly married to Xaden after the Battle of Draithus, but Imogen had wiped her memory at her request. At the end of the battle, Xaden turns fully venin (Yarros' version of the dark side) to allow Violet an opportunity to kill the antagonist, Theophanie, and win the battle. But Xaden is now gone, leaving his new bride seemingly in charge of his kingdom, Tyrrendor.
The book, like the two before, ends on a cliffhanger. Yarros told Variety that she has a title for the fourth book in mind, and has teased that a beloved character may die in this final installment.
After finishing Onyx Storm, Yarros took a break from writing. She revealed in March that she was back at it, but did not specify which project she was working on. "After Onyx Storm pushed my body and mental health to every possible limit, I told myself I could take a year to heal," she said on Instagram. "A year where I didn’t write or so much as open a Word document once I turned it in during September. I truly believe it was that self-given permission that’s made it feasible to be back here so much faster than I ever thought possible."
In an interview with Elle, Yarros further opened up on driving her body to an "untenable" place and requiring rest before recovering from the burnout.
In the meantime, Yarros has been working on the graphic novel adaptation of Fourth Wing and a contemporary novel. In an Instagram comment in January, she revealed that she could not open a Word document without suffering from an anxiety attack, but was contract-bound to write the graphic novel.
She is also involved in the Fourth Wing TV show being produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society. Amazon is trying to court Agatha All Along and WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer to serve as showrunner, per Deadline. Yarros is also working with Netflix on the film adaptation of her non-fantasy novel In the Likely Event.
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