Rebecca Yarros' "Iron Flame" was released on November 7, continuing the author's romantasy series about Violet Sorrengail, a 21-year-old studying to be a Dragon Rider at Basgiath War College.
The sequel to "Fourth Wing" was full of romance, magic, and plot twists, and the story is set to continue in three additional installments in the series.
Yarros hasn't revealed what the plot of the next "Empyrean" book will be, though the author has clued in readers on one topic that will be explored in the third installment: Violet's signet power.
Heads up: the rest of this article contains spoilers for the "Empyrean" series.
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Rebecca Yarros confirmed that Violet Sorrengail has two signet powers
In the "Empyrean" universe, all Riders have what's called a signet power that manifests after they bond with a dragon. Every Rider can do lesser magic, such as opening doors without touching them, but a signet power is unique to each Rider and some are more powerful than others.
Violet's signet manifested as lightning wielding in "Fourth Wing," a particularly powerful signet. Her lightning comes through her bond with her dragon Tairneanach (Tairn), with Violet often describing his power as a flood that comes through their connection. Yarros clarifies in "Iron Flame" that Violet's power from Tairn only manifests as wielding because it's what she is "comfortable" with.
"You wield pure power that takes the form of lightning because that's what you're more comfortable shaping it as," Felix, a rebel fighter, tells Violet about her signet.
But Yarros also introduces the idea of Violet getting a second signet power through the other dragon she is bonded with, Andarna. As "Fourth Wing" fans will remember, it's unheard of for a Rider to bond with two dragons until Violet does during her first year at Basgiath.
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The idea comes up during a conversation Violet has with Visia and Sloane, two other Riders, though she doesn't explore the idea of her second signet any further in the book after she realizes her partner Xaden has a second power he hasn't told her about.
But Yarros confirmed Violet has a second signet in an interview with Variety after "Iron Flame" was published — and said it's manifested already.
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"Every single hint you would need to know what her second signet is in 'Iron Flame,'" she said to Variety's Jennifer Maas. "It's manifested."
Violet's second signet power could be many things, but fans have a few ideas
There are multiple popular theories on what Violet's signet may be, but the three most popular theories are distance wielding, communicating with the dead, and amplifying other people's powers.
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As Yarros writes in "Iron Flame," distance wielders can "cross hundreds of miles in a single step," and there hasn't been one among the Riders for multiple centuries when Violet enters Basgiath.
Andarna tells Violet at the end of the book that she waited 650 years before hatching so she could bond with her specifically, and some fans think it's possible the long stretch without any distance wielders is tied to that same timeline.
There are also multiple scenes where Violet moves faster than she should be able to in "Iron Flame," as well as an occasion when Violet and Tairn make it from the rebel stronghold in Aretia to Basgiath in less time than they should have, which could be clues that she is a distance wielder.
The idea that Violet can communicate with the dead comes from her interactions with what she believes is a hallucination of her friend Liam, who died at the end of "Fourth Wing."
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Liam appears to Violet when she is held hostage by General Varrish for several days as he tortures her in an attempt to find out information about the revolution.
Liam speaks to Violet throughout her imprisonment, even touching her shoulder at one point, though no one else can see him. When Violet calls him a hallucination, Liam makes an offhand comment about the possibility of Malek, the god of death, sending him to her.
Violet's interaction with Liam could have actually been her discovering her ability to communicate with the dead, but readers won't have clarity on the Liam sighting until the next "Empyrean" book.
Some readers also think Violet's second signet is an amplification of other people's signets, which would allow her to make the people around her more powerful. There are multiple moments in "Iron Flame" where Violet's friends find themselves tapping into more power than they could before in Violet's presence.
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For instance, Violet's best friend Rhiannon pulls a dagger through a wall with her summoning power to save Violet, which she has never been able to do before, and her sister Mira is able to create a shield when she is outside of Navarre's Wards to protect Violet.
Only the third book will reveal what Violet's second signet is, though fans may be waiting for a while. Yarros' publishing house Red Tower declined to comment on a release date for the next "Empyrean" book when contacted by Business Insider.
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