Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros: All 13 POVs and Why It's Not Book Four

Update, September 29, 2026: Threshing Day is out today, and we finally have all thirteen perspectives. The full lineup is below, and one very famous name is missing from it.

Originally published July 15, 2026: On Conscription Day, Rebecca Yarros revealed the title and cover of her next Empyrean book, the one everyone had been calling "Not Book Four." It's called Threshing Day, it's a collection of thirteen stories about your favorite characters and their dragons, and it went on sale September 29, 2026.

For months this was the biggest question mark in romantasy: Yarros had a surprise Empyrean release planned before Book 4, and it climbed the Amazon charts with no title, no cover, and no description. Now the veil is off. Meet Threshing Day.

The quick version

• Title: Threshing Day
• Full title: Threshing Day (Wing and Claw Collection)
• Series: Empyrean, cataloged as The Empyrean #3.5 (this is the "not book four" surprise, not the mainline Book 4)
• What it is: A collection of thirteen stories about beloved characters and their dragons
• Tagline: "Thirteen unforgettable stories. One legendary day. The bond that changes everything." And, of course: "Don't die."
• Deluxe first edition: Includes sixteen full-color original art pieces by Joe Requeza (@joerequeza.art)
• Bonus: Xaden's story is in the collection, and as usual it also goes up free on Yarros's website
• Dragon POVs? No. All thirteen stories are from riders
• Required before Book 4? Officially no. It's a companion, not homework
• Release date: September 29, 2026. Out now.
• Length: 224 pages
• Price (US): $24.99 hardcover, $11.99 ebook, $25.99 audiobook
• Cover art: Joe Requeza
• Does it delay Book 4? No. Yarros is writing Book 4 now and called this "a fun trip back to Basgiath" while she works on it.

What is Threshing Day?

If you've read Fourth Wing, you already know why this title hits. Threshing is the day dragons choose their riders, the terrifying, everything-or-nothing ceremony where cadets walk into the valley and either bond a dragon or don't walk out. It's the day the entire series turns on. "The bond that changes everything" isn't marketing fluff. It's the literal hinge of the Empyrean world.

So instead of one novella, Yarros has given fans something bigger and more playful: thirteen threshing stories about the characters and dragons we already love. In her words, it is "a fun trip back to Basgiath" while she writes Book 4. Think of it as thirteen doors back into the world, each one opening on a character and the dragon who chose them.

The publisher's official description keeps it simple: "The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing Day contains thirteen stories starring your favorite characters and their dragons." Like the rest of the Empyrean series, it deals with war, loss and its aftermath, and it has the language and the open-door scenes you would expect from Yarros.

The Xaden of it all

Here's the detail that broke the internet: Xaden's story is in it. Yarros confirmed his story is part of the collection and, as she's done before, it also goes up on her own website. So if you only want the Xaden story, you can read that one without buying the book. If you've been starving for his point of view, this is the one.

All thirteen perspectives in Threshing Day

Here's the full lineup, and the fandom called most of it.

• Xaden Riorson
• Brennan Sorrengail
• Dain Aetos
• Sawyer Henrick
• Sloane Mairi
• Imogen Cardulo
• Ridoc Gamlyn
• Aaric Graycastle
• Mira Sorrengail
• Liam Mairi
• Bodhi Durran
• Rhiannon Matthias
• Garrick Tavis

Now the part everyone noticed first. Violet isn't in it. The narrator of the entire series doesn't get a Threshing story, and once you sit with it, that's the right call. We watched Violet's Threshing in real time in Fourth Wing. Everyone else's happened offscreen. This book is for the twelve doors we never got to open.

Both Mairi siblings are here. Liam and Sloane, back to back. Readers spent months hoping for a Liam story and bracing for what it would cost them, and Yarros gave them Sloane too.

Both older Sorrengails made it in as well, Brennan and Mira, so you get all three of Violet's siblings-in-arms without Violet herself.

The surprises are Dain Aetos and Aaric Graycastle. Nobody had those on a bingo card. Dain is the most divisive character in the series and Aaric spent two books pretending to be someone else, so putting both of them in a collection about the day you find out who chose you is a choice, and I mean that in the best way.

Everything else the fandom guessed came true: Rhiannon, Ridoc, Sawyer, Imogen, Bodhi, Mira and Garrick all have stories.

One more thing, and it's the question I keep seeing: there are no dragon points of view. Thirteen stories, thirteen riders. The publisher copy says "your favorite characters and their dragons," and a lot of people read that as Tairn or Andarna getting a chapter. That isn't what this is. You're in the riders' heads, watching the dragons choose them.

The complete table of contents

There are fourteen entries in the book, not thirteen. The collection opens with a short framing piece called Trial by Fire, written as Threshing advice for Dragonkind professors, and then runs through the thirteen rider stories.

The stories don't have individual titles. Each one is headed with the rider's name in capitals, which is why you won't find a chapter list in the usual sense. Here's the printed order, with the dragon who does the choosing in each one.

The order isn't the order the characters were announced in, and it isn't alphabetical. It runs roughly by when each rider bonded, so the book moves forward through Basgiath's recent history rather than jumping around. Brennan's Threshing is the earliest and Sloane's and Aaric's are the most recent.

That's worth knowing before you start. Reading it in order means you watch the cadet population change around each Threshing. If you'd rather go straight to one story, the headings make them easy to find. For how the colors and tail types work, see our guide to every dragon in Fourth Wing.

Can you read Threshing Day before Onyx Storm?

You can, but the publisher tells you not to. This is the one question I keep seeing with no straight answer anywhere, so here's the jacket copy, word for word:

Though Threshing Day can be enjoyed as an introduction to the series, due to contained spoilers, it is best read after Onyx Storm.

So it's readable as a starting point. The publisher just thinks you'll have a worse time. The reason is in the framing rather than the Threshing scenes themselves. The stories are set years before the main trilogy, but the material around them is written from a point after Onyx Storm, and it doesn't pretend you haven't read it.

The reading order on the official listings is the straightforward one: Fourth Wing, then Iron Flame, then Onyx Storm, then Threshing Day.

Three related questions worth separating, because they aren't the same question:

• Can you read it before Onyx Storm? Yes, and the publisher advises against it.
• Can you read it before Fourth Wing? Also yes, and even less advisable. Threshing means almost nothing until you've watched Violet walk into the Valley.
• Do you need it before Book 4? No. That one's official. It's a companion rather than a prerequisite.

If you want the whole series laid out, here's our complete Empyrean reading order.

The sixteen Joe Requeza illustrations

This is the part that's hardest to find a straight answer on, so here it is plainly. Every print edition has sixteen original illustrations by Joe Requeza. What changes between editions is whether they're in color.

• Deluxe first edition: sixteen illustrations in full color
• Standard hardcover: the same sixteen, in black and white
• Ebook: fifteen, in black and white

That last one isn't a typo in the listing. The ebook is one short, which usually means a piece that runs across two pages doesn't survive being reflowed onto a screen.

Requeza also did the cover. He's a Filipino artist, and he's been posting about the commission on Instagram at @joerequeza.art, which is the best place to actually see the work rather than read about it.

One thing isn't public yet: what each of the sixteen pieces shows. The publisher hasn't put out a plate list, and nobody has published a reliable rundown of which dragons or which scenes got illustrated. If you've got the deluxe edition in your hands and you want to list them, the comments are open.

If the art is the reason you're buying, the color is only in the deluxe first edition, and it's the first printing. Yarros first editions don't tend to sit on shelves.

Deluxe first edition vs standard edition

First, a thing that confuses everyone. Wing and Claw Collection isn't a special edition. It's the collection name inside the Empyrean series, and it's part of the official title on every printing. The standard edition is also a Wing and Claw Collection book. So if you're comparing a "Wing and Claw edition" against a "regular" one, those are the same thing and the difference you're looking for is deluxe against standard.

Here's what actually differs.

The short version. If you want the art in color, you want the deluxe first edition, and in the UK that one also has silver gilded edges. If you just want the stories, the standard hardcover has all sixteen pieces in black and white and it's the one that stays in print.

Both print editions run 224 pages. The hardcover is $24.99 in the US.

Two things worth checking before you order. The standard edition's release date is listed differently by different retailers, with October 13 on some and October 6 on others, so check the date on whichever page you're buying from. And there's no confirmation either way on whether the US deluxe has any edge treatment. The silver gilding is confirmed on the UK edition only, so don't buy the US one expecting it.

Release date and where to buy it

Threshing Day went on sale September 29, 2026, and it's available now in hardcover, ebook and audiobook across major retailers. If you're outside the US, watch your local publisher's social media for regional dates.

Buy Threshing Day on Amazon →

How it fits the fall 2026 Yarros lineup

Yarros is having a stacked fall, so here's the calendar, straight:

• Threshing Day (Empyrean collection): out now, September 29, 2026
• Peculiar Stars: November 17, 2026, a standalone contemporary romance she calls a "castaway" story ("What would you do if you were stranded for 543 days on a deserted island with your fiancé's cousin?"). Not Empyrean at all.
• Empyrean Book 4: in progress, no release date yet, realistically 2027.

Two books this fall, only one of them a dragon book, and the mainline Book 4 still ahead. For where Book 4 stands right now, see our Fourth Wing Book 4 guide.

My honest take

I'll admit it, I spent months assuming "Not Book Four" would be a somber little novella about the missing twelve hours, and I braced for heartbreak. Threshing Day is a lovelier surprise than that. Thirteen stories, sixteen pieces of full-color art, and Xaden's point of view handed to us like a gift. This is Yarros throwing a party in Basgiath while she writes the book that's going to wreck us all. It's a smart move too. It keeps the fandom fed and loud through the wait without touching Book 4's timeline. If you only buy one edition, make it the deluxe first edition for that Joe Requeza art, because Yarros first editions don't sit on shelves. I went from skeptical to genuinely excited in about the length of one Instagram post.

FAQ

What is Threshing Day in Fourth Wing?
In the Empyrean world, Threshing is the day dragons choose their riders. Cadets walk into the valley and either bond a dragon or don't come out. It's the ceremony the whole series turns on, and it's what the book is named after.

Is Threshing Day Book 4?
No. It's a separate Empyrean collection that released before the mainline Book 4. Yarros is writing Book 4 now and this doesn't change its timeline.

What is in Threshing Day?
Thirteen stories about favorite Empyrean characters and their dragons, centered on Threshing, the day dragons bond their riders, plus a short opening framing piece called Trial by Fire. Every print edition includes sixteen original illustrations by Joe Requeza.

Is Threshing Day a novella?
Not exactly. It's a collection of thirteen short stories, cataloged as The Empyrean #3.5. Some outlets call it a novella, but it's a story collection rather than a single novella.

What is the “Wing and Claw Collection”?
It's the collection name inside the Empyrean series, and it's part of the official title on every printing: Threshing Day (Wing and Claw Collection). It isn't a special edition. The standard edition is a Wing and Claw Collection book too, so the comparison you probably want is deluxe against standard.

How much does Threshing Day cost?
US pricing is $24.99 for the hardcover, $11.99 for the ebook, and $25.99 for the audiobook.

What is the deluxe first edition?
It's the first printing, and the only edition with the sixteen Joe Requeza illustrations in full color. The standard hardcover has the same sixteen pieces in black and white. The deluxe is available in the US and Canada while supplies last.

Whose points of view are in Threshing Day?
All thirteen: Xaden Riorson, Brennan Sorrengail, Dain Aetos, Sawyer Henrick, Sloane Mairi, Imogen Cardulo, Ridoc Gamlyn, Aaric Graycastle, Mira Sorrengail, Liam Mairi, Bodhi Durran, Rhiannon Matthias and Garrick Tavis. Violet Sorrengail doesn't have a story in the collection.

Is Violet in Threshing Day?
Not with a story of her own. Violet is the one main character without a Threshing Day perspective, because her Threshing is the one we already watched, in Fourth Wing.

Are there dragon POVs in Threshing Day?
No. All thirteen stories are told from riders' points of view. The dragons are in them, but you're never inside a dragon's head.

How many pages is Threshing Day?
224 pages.

Why is Threshing Day so short?
Because it isn't a novel. It's thirteen short stories at 224 pages, which works out to roughly fifteen pages each. It was never meant to be Book 4 length.

Is there a Threshing Day audiobook?
Yes. The audiobook released the same day as the hardcover, September 29, 2026, at $25.99.

Is Xaden's story really in it?
Yes. Xaden's story is in the collection, and Yarros also posts it on her own website, so you can read that one story without buying the book.

When did Threshing Day come out?
The deluxe first edition released September 29, 2026. The standard edition is listed for October 2026, and retailers don't agree on the exact day.

Do I need to read Threshing Day before Book 4?
No, and that's official. Threshing Day isn't required reading for Book 4. It's a companion, not a prerequisite. If you love these characters you'll want it anyway.

Can you read Threshing Day before Onyx Storm?
You can, but the publisher advises against it. The jacket copy says that while Threshing Day can be enjoyed as an introduction to the series, it's best read after Onyx Storm because of spoilers it contains. The stories themselves are set years earlier, but the material framing them is written from a point after Onyx Storm.

How many stories are in Threshing Day?
Thirteen rider stories, one per character, plus a short opening framing piece called Trial by Fire. That's fourteen entries in the table of contents.

What order are the stories in Threshing Day?
After the Trial by Fire opener, the order is Brennan, Mira, Xaden, Garrick, Dain, Bodhi, Imogen, Rhiannon, Sawyer, Ridoc, Liam, Sloane, Aaric. It runs roughly by when each rider bonded rather than alphabetically or in the order the characters were announced.

Does Threshing Day have chapter titles?
No. Each story is headed with the rider's name in capitals rather than a title, which is why there's no conventional chapter list. The only named section is the Trial by Fire framing piece that opens the book.

Are the Threshing Day illustrations in color?
Only in the deluxe first edition. All sixteen Joe Requeza illustrations appear in every print edition, in full color in the deluxe and in black and white in the standard hardcover. The ebook has fifteen, in black and white.

Who illustrated Threshing Day?
Joe Requeza, a Filipino artist, who did both the cover and the sixteen interior illustrations. He posts about his work on Instagram at @joerequeza.art.

What's the difference between the deluxe first edition and the standard edition?
The illustrations. The deluxe first edition has the sixteen Joe Requeza pieces in full color, the standard hardcover has the same sixteen in black and white. Both run 224 pages. The UK deluxe also has silver gilded edges. The US deluxe is limited to the US and Canada while supplies last.

What order should I read the Empyrean series?
Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm, then Threshing Day, with Book 4 to follow. That's the order the official listings use, and the publisher recommends saving Threshing Day until after Onyx Storm. New to the world? Start with our complete guide to the Empyrean series, or go straight to the full reading order.