Fourth Wing’s New 2026 Release Will Finally Tell The Xaden Story I’ve Wanted For 3 Years

Rebecca Yarros is returning to The Empyrean Series with a new Fourth Wing book in 2027, and it can finally tell one major story about Xaden Riorson in full. After the rapid pace between the releases of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, which came just a few months apart in 2023, things have understandably slowed down for the saga. Onyx Storm released early last year, and since then Yarros has been working on some other projects, as well as taking well-earned breaks after launching a Romantasy series that took the world by storm.

Work on the next Fourth Wing book is underway, but Yarros has a treat in store for fans to help ease the wait until then. In fact, she has a couple. The long-awaited Fourth Wing graphic novel will arrive in April, 2027, but before then we’re going to get Threshing Day. Set on the day that cadets bond with their dragons, it’s going to tell a total of 13 different stories, each from the POV of a different character, about how that day went for them.

There are plenty of familiar characters I hope to see return in the book. It’d be fascinating to get the perspective of someone like Violet Sorrengail’s mother, Lilith, while it could also be heart-wrenching to bring back a character such as Liam Mairi. It remains to be seen exactly which characters Yarros’ book focuses on, but the one we know for sure will be there is Xaden, and it’s something I’m very excited about.

Threshing Day Can Give Us The Full Xaden & Sgaeyl Story

Credit: Entangled Publishing

The bond between Xaden and Sgaeyl, the blue Daggertail (one of the rarest types of dragon in Fourth Wing), is one of the most fascinating in the entire Empyrean Series. That’s in part because of how their story has developed, not least since Sgaeyl is mated with Tairn, one of the two dragons Violet is bonded to, and Xaden has started a relationship with her. But it’s also because of their history from before Fourth Wing even started.

We know that Sgaeyl was previously bonded to Xaden’s grandfather, and broke the rules by pairing with him, because dragons aren’t supposed to bond with relatives of their previous riders. Ever since that reveal, I’ve wanted to know more.

The books have touched on the reasons behind it, but it only makes me more curious about the full story. It’s revealed that Xaden killed Prince Alic Tauri, brother of Aaric, at Threshing, after the prince attacked Garrick Tavis, and that Sgaeyl admired his ruthless, relentless nature and willingness to stand up for his own people. But we do not know all the specifics of that, including the full extent of what happened with Alic and why Xaden needed to step in.

Even then, for him to intervene is one thing, but for him to kill someone, and a prince at that, is another matter entirely. I feel like there has to be more to that story, which Threshing Day can reveal. On top of that, it can add much greater context to Sgaeyl’s decision to go against the rules. She took a monumental risk in doing so, and it’d be great to learn more about that choice, and exactly why she couldn’t refuse the opportunity to be with Xaden.

It’s also simply the case that blue dragons remain rare in the book. Though we’ve heard about others being on active duty, the only two we know of for sure are Sgaeyl and Molvin (Aaric’s dragon). Both of them chose to bond with people who have royal blood, which might just be Yarros riffing on the idea of “blue blood,” but it’d be interesting to know if there’s more to it, especially given how the bonding is connected to Aaric’s family. There’s a lot of room to flesh this out further, which makes the upcoming book feel more important.

Threshing Day’s Xaden & Sgaeyl Story Will Hit Harder After Onyx Storm

Image via Entangled Publishing

Onyx Storm‘s ending put Sgaeyl and Xaden (and everyone else) through a lot of drama, and going back to the beginning of their story will hit even harder after what happens to them. Xaden draws more power from the Earth, fully embracing his venin transformation, and then forms a mysterious plan with Sgaeyl. The dragon is shocked by his idea, but he insists it’s the only way, and what happens next is for book four to reveal.

Alongside that, there’s also a strong suggestion that Tairn and Sgaeyl’s mating bond is broken at the end of Onyx Storm, which makes the story more tragic. So, if Threshing Day goes into more depth on the reasons why Sgaeyl bonded with Xaden, and perhaps touches at least a little on her being mated to Tairn as well, then it’s going to have a greater emotional impact knowing where things end up at the end of the third Fourth Wing book, but that just makes it all the more exciting to read.

Threshing Day will be released on September 29, 2026.

Publisher(s)

Red Tower Books

Publication Date

2023-04-05

Author(s)

Rebecca Yarros

ISBN#

9781649374042

Genre(s)

Fantasy, Romance