Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3)

by Rebecca Yarros

Xaden flies out two hours later.

O fuck off, now I'm crying

“Have you seen you?”

Using the same words you did when you first met Tairn, Vi XD

“You were in Maren’s dream.”

Omg does this have something to do with her second signet??

“I did not choose it any more than Tairn chose lightning,” she says defensively. “But you have been known to wander while dreaming. It’s harmless. You’re mostly drawn to him.” The blanket falls from my fingers. “And you said nothing?” Tairn growls. “You did not inform her the first time she wielded lightning!” Andarna argues. “She needed to discover it herself.”

I guess that answers my question

I leave without waiting for his response and join my year-mates filing through the doorway.

I have a feeling that you should have waited for his reason...

I will never understand what goes on in an adolescent brain.

Same girl, same

“I love you and I want you to feel complete,”

Vi😭

“I want you happy and safe and thriving. I want you to live.” My voice breaks. “Even if it’s not with me.”

Oh no, Vi😭😭

A shrieking whistle sounds in my head, and then only silence remains. I reach for the bond and find only a wall…then nothing.

Omg nooooo😭 I’m SOBBING

But it’s gone. A breath later, so is she.

No...

“If she’s awake, then let me in,” Brennan argues from the hallway behind Xaden. “They’re my sisters!” “I can kill him if you prefer,” Xaden offers, raising his scarred brow. “And give him another opportunity to fake his own death?” Mira scoffs.

Lol

“I think I know why riders die when their dragons do.” His fingers pause before he continues. “Why?” “It’s not just the deficit of power,” I muse, cupping the bathwater with my hand, then letting it flow out between my fingers. “In that moment, I didn’t know who I was, where I belonged, or why I should bother breathing. If Tairn hadn’t grounded me, I think I would have willingly floated away. I still can’t comprehend the enormity of her absence. I don’t know if I ever will. I can’t see past it.”

😭💔

“Harder. Rougher. I can do that.” I nod, then reach into my Archives and yank a strand of Tairn’s power loose. “I’m sure you can, considering who you’re sleeping with,” Ridoc teases.

Omg Ridoc😂

“Oh, and I’d love to know why the King of Deverelli referred to my sister as your consort in his last offer.” “I’d say it’s a long story, but it’s really not.”

Oops🤭

“Cadets belong in formation, not battle planning,” Trissa snaps at me.

Fuck off

“She stands at my side.” Xaden’s voice drops into that lethally calm wingleader tone, and he places his warm hand over mine. “Remember that.” The compliment and the pressure of it aren’t lost on me. “Starting to understand the consort missive,” Brennan mutters under his breath,

lol😂

“That wasn’t the deal.” Theophanie tsks. “I said we’d let Draithus stand, not that your sister would live.” Her mouth curves in a sadistic smile. “First thing to learn about us is that we’re careful with our words. And the second? We also lie.” She draws the blade across Mira’s neck and slits her throat.

OMG NO!

I slip Aaric’s package into my flight jacket pocket and watch as Brennan walks away. Weird. There’s no mark at the back of his neck like he carries on his palm. There hadn’t been one on Dain’s wrist, either.

Hmmm… sus

“Now that the Duke of Angst is gone,” Bodhi says, his voice rising, “we have a problem.”

Duke of angst😂

“You’re the only one strong enough to get him out of here. You can carry him if you use the chains.” “I will not leave you on this field—” he growls. “If I leave, everything falls apart. Dragonkind protects its own, even above a bonded rider,” I remind him. His eyes narrow, and steam billows from his nostrils. “Do not lecture me on the laws of my kind or you will learn how comfortable I am breaking them.” Cuir quickly removes himself. “Please,” I beg Tairn. “If not for Teine’s own sake, then for Mira’s. I’ve already lost Andarna. I can’t lose my sister, too. Do not ask me to find that strength or I will fail you. I will fail us both.”

Stop making me cry, Yarros, I’m gonna be dehydrated✋🏼😤

“I was wrong. She’s not a lightning wielder.” It had struck in both battles, and I’d conflated its presence with hers when it was simply a byproduct of her true signet. She hadn’t controlled the lightning during their assault on Suniva. She’d controlled the very thing causing it. “Of course I’m not.” Theophanie flicks a finger, and the clouds above us begin to rotate. “There is only one exception to the rule, Violet Sorrengail. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be you. If it was going to be one of her daughters, I’d have bet on your sister.”

Omg??

“Getting close to the ground!” I warn her. “Your situational awareness never fails to leave me awestruck.”

Hahaha😂

“Sgaeyl?” “You are an inconvenience for which there is no adequate measurement,”

Very heartwarming Sgaeyl😂

“Your death would annoy me.”

Nice😂

Aetos jumps behind me as power rushes into my fingers so quickly I clench my teeth to keep from screaming. Heat surrounds us and the leather hardens in my grip as the shield turns to stone.

Second signet!!

squeezes the hope from my chest, then outright shatters my heart. The pain hits like a physical blow to the center of my chest. He’s terrifyingly powerful with Sgaeyl, but not like this. This is the kind of force that ends worlds. And it’s almost here. “I love you,” I whisper down the bond,

Nooo😭

A wall that snarls. Scales shimmer to the same silver-blue as my strike, and a small dragon stalks toward Theophanie, her head low, teeth bared. And just like that, my stammering heartbeat stabilizes. Andarna.

OMG YES😭😭

“This is not what we agreed to!” Panchek shouts, stumbling backward toward his own shrieking, netted dragon.

You effing traitor

“I will not let them burn you,” Andarna vows. “What?” My head whips her way. “Why would my brother burn me?”

What?

“And so far, the tally is at six missing eggs from the hatching ground, but they’re double-checking.”

What in the??

My left arm is splinted, and a beautiful gold ring with an emerald the size of my thumbnail sits on my hand.

gawking at the ring. It’s not just any ring on any finger. It’s the finger.

They did WHAT??

“What did you do?” My head snaps toward Imogen, and a deep sense of foreboding takes root in my chest. She slowly lifts her gaze to mine. “What you asked me to.”

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK?? YARROS YOU COME BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF