Fans may be waiting a while for the release of Empyrean Book 4.
Author Rebecca Yarros has been working overtime for the last few years, putting out the first three books in her beloved fantasy series in just 20 months (May 2023 to January 2025).
While the series is not done (especially considering the cliffhanger ending of the recently released Onyx Storm), the pace of releases may be slowing down.
Rebecca Yarros Is Ready for a Break
According to author Rebecca Yarros, the fourth book in her acclaimed Empyrean series will not be released for a while.
Yarros, who just put out the third book in her ultra-viral dragon-riding romance Onyx Storm, released all three of the Empyrean books to this point in just under two years and is seemingly ready for a break before Empyrean Book 4.
Speaking with Elle in the lead-up to Onyx Storm, Yarros posited that "I’ve been really clear that I’m going to rest now," saying she pushed her body to the brink with the last three novels and will take some time writing the next one:
"I’ve been really clear that I’m going to rest now. I drove my body to a place that was untenable, and I knew it, and my family knew it, and my husband knew it, and it shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have allowed it to happen."
Just like her literary heroine Violet, Yarros has a chronic illness (having been diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). In the past, she has said that perhaps writing and releasing three massive fantasy novels (among other things) in a little over two years was perhaps not the best thing for her.
"It was really hard on my body," Yarros disclosed in a November 2023 conversation with Entertainment Weekly, something she has only maintained in the time since:
"I will tell you that the speed at which I wrote 'Fourth Wing,' in between I wrote In the 'Likely Event,' and then I wrote 'Iron Flame' happened so quickly in the middle of touring, in the middle of everything, that it was really hard on my body."
So that is to say that instead of a 14-month gap between releases (like that between Iron Flame and Onyx Storm), it will likely be much longer before Empyrean Book 4 is released.
When Will Empyrean Book 4 Be Released?
With indication of this period of "rest" coming for author Rebecca Yarros, the Empyrean Book 4 becomes a massive question mark.
A fourth Empyrean book has been confirmed to be on the way; however, when and what it will be called remains to be seen.
Yarros herself pulled the curtain back on the creative process behind the fourth book, telling fans in the comments of a January 2025 Instagram post that, "Nope," she has not even started writing the next book, waiting to get over a bit of "burn out" she is currently suffering from:
Fan: "I hope you're working on book 4! We know Book 3 isn't out but I'm gonna need that one sooner than later PLEASE."
Yarros: "Nope! I'll write a contemporary first (contracts are contracts) and can't start that until I can open a word doc without having an anxiety attack. Burn out is real and sucks. But I'm getting closer every day!"
If she has not started writing yet, then it will likely be quite some time before Book 4 sees the light of day. For comparison, Yarros wrote pretty consistently between the first three books and they were released five months apart (between Fourth Wing and Iron Flame) and 14 months (between Iron Flame and Onyx Storm).
This likely means a Book 4 release is 18 to 24 months away at the earliest. This would put the books' earlier release date somewhere around mid-2026 or early 2027 (again at the absolute earliest estimation).
That may anger fans, especially considering the shocking revelations of the latest story (including Violet's second signet revealing itself), but Yarros has made it clear she simply needs time.
So, hopefully, fans will be ready to give her that time and welcome her back when she is ready to debut the next chapter in her epic fantasy story. In the meantime, maybe fans will get more information on the upcoming Empyrean TV adaptation, which was first reported on by Deadline in October 2023.
Onyx Storm is now available in bookstores around the world.
