Threshing Day Reading Order (Empyrean, 2026)

The Empyrean Series in Order

The Empyrean series runs Fourth Wing → Iron Flame → Onyx Storm → Threshing Day → Book 4, with Threshing Day slotted at #3.5 as a companion collection rather than a numbered novel. If you are binging the series in 2026, here is the complete order:

For what the title event actually is — the dragon-bonding trial at Basgiath War College where the dragon picks you, not the other way around — see our explainer on what Threshing Day is.

Do You Need to Read Threshing Day Before Book 4?

No — and this comes straight from the author. When Rebecca Yarros announced the collection, she described it as “my next book (not book four!)”, and it has been marketed as a companion ever since. Book 4 will continue the main plotline on its own, so nothing in the thirteen shorts is required homework.

That said, if you are deep in the fandom waiting for the next novel, the collection is the only new Empyrean material between Onyx Storm and Book 4. It expands thirteen riders’ backstories on the single most important day of their lives — exactly the kind of lore that makes rereads richer.

Can You Start With Threshing Day?

You can, but you should not. The collection is thirteen short stories, each told from a different point of view, all unfolding on the same Threshing day. There is no Violet POV — her Threshing was already written in Fourth Wing — and no dragon POVs either. The stories lean hard on your existing attachment to characters like Xaden, Liam, and Ridoc; without the first three novels, the emotional payoff of watching each of them face the valley mostly evaporates, and you would be walking into First Wing-level spoilers cold.

New readers should start with Fourth Wing and read the novels in publication order. If you want a taste of the world before committing to a whole novel, the free Dragonkind browser game lets you live your own Threshing day in a few minutes — no reading required.

What Is Threshing Day About?

The official tagline sums it up: “Thirteen unforgettable stories. One legendary day. The bond that changes everything.” Each story follows a different cadet (or soon-to-be rider) through the trial at Basgiath — the day dragons choose their riders, and the day not everyone survives. The announced thirteen POVs are:

Many of these riders’ dragons are canon fixtures — see the dragons section for who bonds whom, and which den each dragon belongs to. Reading thirteen versions of the same day side by side is what makes the collection tick: you finally see how the marked ones, the Sorrengail siblings, and Violet’s squad all experienced the moment that defined them.