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Fourth Wing is a new adult romantic fantasy novel written by the American author Rebecca Yarros. It is the first book in the Empyrean series, following the journey of Violet Sorrengail, who is forced by her mother, General Sorrengail, to join the Basgiath War College and become a dragon rider in the kingdom of Navarre. Even though she has been trained her entire life to enter the Scribe Quadrant, Violet must endure deadly quests and competitions that push her to her limits while trying to avoid being killed by one of the most powerful riders in the quadrant, Xaden Riorson.
The book was published in the United States on May 2, 2023, by Red Tower Book, an imprint of Entangled Publishing. Its viral success within TikTok reader community, BookTok, significantly contributed to its No. 1 ranking on The New York Times bestseller list. It won The International Book of the Year 2024 at the annual TikTok Book Awards. The book sold over 2.7 million copies in its first week and has been translated into approximately 30 languages.
Yarros has mentioned in interviews that the idea for Fourth Wing emerged when her publisher announced that they were going to start a romantic fantasy line, prompting her to submit five proposals. After several reviews, her publisher selected the third idea, which explored the Empyrean world. The inspiration for the story stems from her fascination with dragons, her military experience with her husband, and her personal struggles. Violet’s physical fragility, as described in the book, was influenced by Yarros’s own experience living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting both her and her children. Yarros has expressed a desire to represent people with chronic illnesses, showcasing that they can also be heroic.
Violet is pushed by her mother to join the Dragon Riders Quadrant, even though she wants to be a scribe like her late father. She struggles with chronic pain and weak joints due to her mother’s sickness during pregnancy. In the Rider Quadrant, cadets must connect with a dragon through dangerous trials, which grants them special magical abilities. Violet’s older sister, Mira, helps her prepare for conscription day by giving her a journal with survival tips from their deceased brother Brennan, a dragon rider who died in a rebellion, and an unbreakable corset made of dragon scales. Children of insurgents, like Violet, are marked with tattoos. Mira warns Violet to be cautious of others branded, as they may seek revenge on her family.
Violet becomes friends with Rhiannon Matthias after she joins the Rider Quadrant and survives an assassination attempt from Jack Barlowe, who sees her as a threat. She meets Xaden Riorson, a third-year student whose father was executed by Violet's mother. In Basgiath, she reunites with Dain Aetos, a childhood friend who worries for her safety and suggests she move to the Scribe Quadrant, but she refuses. Violet joins Rhiannon in Fourth Wing under Xaden's command, with Dain as their squad leader, and learns Dain can read minds, which she agrees to keep secret.
Cadet training starts, and Violet, despite being good in academics and trained as a scribe, struggles with sparring courses. She is targeted by marked ones who blame her for her mother’s actions. To improve her combat skills, Violet offers to teach Rhiannon about history in exchange for training. She also makes friends with Ridoc and Sawyer, teammates in her squad. Using Brennan's journal, she learns her sparring partners' names and begins to poison them to avoid injury. One night, she overhears marked ones having a secret meeting and is caught by Xaden, who asks her to stay quiet for a favor in the future. In a sparring match later, Xaden shows her how to improve her fighting skills.
Violet and her squad meet the dragons and see a rare golden feathertail, a species known for avoiding human connections. During threshing, Violet learns that Jack wants to kill the golden dragon, thinking it is weak. She intervenes, but Jack and his friends attack her. Xaden and his dragon, Sgaeyl, watch the fight. Violet defeats her attackers, and then a large black dragon named Tairn appears, kills the remaining students, bonds with Violet, and takes her back to school. Violet becomes the first rider with two dragons, also connecting with the golden dragon, Andarna. She learns Tairn's previous rider died trying to revive someone during a revolt. Dain kisses Violet, regretting that she no longer has feelings for him.
Violet struggles to maintain balance on Tairn during flying training, feeling frustrated with Dain’s protective nature, which she interprets as believing she is weak. One night, Tairn wakes her when six unbonded cadets attempt to kill her. Xaden rescues her, and when Violet reveals a senior cadet let the attackers in, Xaden confronts and causes the cadet's death in front of everyone. After the attack, Xaden hires Liam, his foster brother, to keep Violet safe. During a meeting with their dragons, Violet learns she can communicate with Sgaeyl because of her bond with Tairn and that Andarna is a young dragon, which requires her abilities to remain secret. After weeks of waiting, Violet finally gains power from Tairn. She kisses Xaden due to Tairn’s feelings for Sgaeyl, but later, during a sparring session, Jack tries to kill her, and she escapes by revealing an allergen.
The annual Squad Battle arrives, cadets compete to take valuable items from others. Violet's team captures General Sorrengail's map of military outposts, allowing them to monitor the front lines. While flying to a military base called Montserrat, Violet and Xaden find they can communicate telepathically through their dragons. They face an attack from gryphon fliers from Poromiel. Later, during a capture the flag game, Violet uses her dragon Andarna to freeze time, saving Liam from an attack by Jack, whom she ultimately kills using her lightning powers. That night, Violet and Xaden become intimate, but she tells him she needs emotional connection to continue their physical relationship. She starts asking him personal questions, including why he and his cousin Bodhi were out after curfew. Xaden shares they were at a nearby military base but doesn’t explain further.
Reunification Day is celebrated to mark the victory over rebels. Violet seeks out Xaden, who is grieving for his father, and they express their mutual attraction, culminating in intimacy. Their moment is interrupted by news of the final round of War Games. They lead a group of marked ones at an outpost beyond the empire, where they encounter gryphon flyers. Violet learns that Xaden has been secretly supplying weapons to them. Although hurt by this betrayal, Xaden reveals that Poromiel is under attack by venins, evil creatures thought to be mythical, and that the leaders of Navarre are hiding this truth. They receive a message from Colonel Aetos, warning them of an ambush at Resson. Violet realizes Dain has been tampering with her memories, causing the situation to worsen.
Despite the danger, Violet and her crew decide to help the gryphon fliers against the venin attack. Liam's dragon is killed, and he dies in Violet's arms. Using her lightning powers, Violet defeats the last venin and briefly stops time with energy from Andarna, but she becomes seriously injured. Xaden and the survivors seek safety in Aretia, an abandoned city. After three days, Violet wakes up, and Xaden vows to earn her trust, though she remains cautious. Brennan surprises her by revealing he is alive and invites her to join the revolution. The story ends on a cliffhanger, for the continuation in the sequel, Iron Flame.
Fourth Wing became a viral phenomenon on BookTok, where the hashtags "#FourthWing" and "#RebeccaYarros" have more than a billion views combined. Its popularity led it to reach No. 1 on Amazon's bestseller list as well as the No. 1 spot on The New York Times Bestseller list, where it stayed for 18 weeks. It has been credited as helping to popularize the "Romantic fantasy" genre, which blends elements of romance and fantasy genres.
Kimberly Terasaki of The Mary Sue wrote about a phenomenon within the fandom of portraying Xaden, a primary love interest of the protagonist, as white in fan art despite the fact that he is described as dark-skinned in the book. Yarros also commented on the phenomenon and asserted that the character is not intended to be white.
There is a review available by Tamara Saarinen from the School Library Journal, who approached Fourth Wing from the perspective of a school library. She noted that the use of modern profanity and sexual scenes make this book more appropriate for older teen audiences. That said, she did give an overall positive verdict for school libraries, claiming it would attract “romantasy” fans.
The sequel, Iron Flame, was released on November 7, 2023. The third book, Onyx Storm, was released on January 21, 2025.
In March of 2025, Yarros announced graphic-novel adaptations are in the works for all three of books of The Empyrean series ( Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm). Yarros has stated she will be adapting the text herself along with a team of comic creators. A total of six graphic-novels are planned to span all three books. This project is in partnership with Ten Speed Graphic, Piatkus, and Entangled Publishing. Release dates have not been announced.
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