It goes without saying that THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven’t read this chapter of Onyx Storm, please go read it first.

We start the chapter with an epigraph that feels particularly significant.

“Tyrrendor was the last province to cut contact with the isles. It has a reputation for cunning leadership, but in this case, I’d add: astute.”

I want to draw attention to the word cunning here. Who else is cunning? Black dragons. Tairn. And before the Unification, black dragons had their hatching grounds in Tyrrendor—just behind Riorson House.

I also paid close attention to Andarna’s remark about not liking the snow. She finds the weather in Cordyn superior. You might think this isn’t particularly relevant, but I think it is. A clue, perhaps, to where each dragon originates and their connection to the lands—or even the Gods. Andarna prefers warm climates. Sgaeyl too, if you recall. Tairn seems indifferent, likely because Tyrrendor is temperate. We also learned about Thoirt, a red, who dislikes the cold. Meanwhile, the brown and orange dragons seem unaffected by temperature. Oranges are from the Esben mountains, after all.

“Pick your tail up off the ground right now. Where do you think we are? The Vale?” Can we take a moment to appreciate just how cute Andarna is? She’s like an overgrown puppy (with teeth…and fire).

Xaden being gloriously jealous is fun, but at the same time, we all just want to punch Halden, right? And now we learn that Dain never liked Halden either.

I can’t help but wonder if the detailed descriptions of Tecarus’ palace are an Easter egg—or if they exist purely to let us visualize something beautiful. The phrasing from Iron Flame comes to mind:

“See that sorry excuse for a fortress on the eastern side of the farthest peak?”[…]“It’s just the sun reflecting off the white marble,” he grumbles. “The entire thing is ridiculous and indefensible.”

And then in Onyx Storm:

“It’s built for the movement of air. For beauty, and art, and light. Even the white marble floors shimmer, reflecting the dawn just like the winding pools that flow through the space beyond the wide, central staircase. The palace won’t stand a chance should the venin venture this far south. Whoever built it had to have known that.”

Do you see? The more you read these passages, the more it seems like there’s deliberate emphasis on its defenselessness. It was built by someone who has known this information. Was it a venin king? Or was it built before venin were a thing?

“Will you still keep me if I have to crawl up the stairs?” I ask Tairn.
“You’re not crawling,” Xaden answers.
Wrong pathway. Gods, I really am in trouble.

But, as we quickly learn, it isn’t the wrong pathway. Xaden is slowly becoming more powerful. While we know signets develop over time, we also know that certain abilities increase significantly as a result of becoming venin.

“It feels so right to be in his arms.”
“Because it is,” he says, holding me tighter.
I blink and pull back to look at him. “I didn’t say that out loud.”
His brow furrows. “Then you must have thought it down the bond, because I wasn’t pushing into your intentions.”
My heart races for a different reason. No. But…maybe.
“Or your signet is growing.”
His eyes flare.

A new layer to family dynamics is also revealed here: Alic was a bully (as confirmed by Xaden in Iron Flame and Violet in Onyx Storm), Halden is—well, an aggressive ass, and Aaric tries to avoid them both. But the lingering question remains—how does Aaric know that Alic was killed by Xaden? Was it Molvic that told him?

The next part baffles me.

Tecarus offers to help Violet and Xaden. He offers to take Halden on his fastest ship. He even gives them valuable intelligence on Deverelli to set them up for success. T

He also warns them that King Courtlyn has a history of seizing powerful artifacts, unique objects, and even people (signet-bearers, dragons) for his own gain. Tecarus values rare items and exchanges—I cannot believe he’s doing this out of the kindness of his heart.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this chapter is the revelation that leaving the continent severs a rider’s magic.

“Startled. We draw on magic for strength,” Tairn explains. “I hadn’t realized how dependent we truly are—”

Yet another fascinating moment about how dragons constantly channel magic. Or, as Tairn puts it, “draw on magic.” But my biggest question remains: Draw from where exactly?

Andarna is suspiciously quiet.”Tairn?” I prompt, my stomach souring with unease.
“I can’t speak with Sgaeyl,” he clips out. “Or any of the others. Our communications have been severed.” I reach for the glittering onyx bond, and while I can still feel Tairn, Xaden is gone. They’re already cut off.

So why is Andarna so quiet?

At first, I thought Violet could still access magic from the sky directly—after all, she felt magic beyond the wards. But then she loses connection to Xaden, meaning she isn’t what keeps the communication and magic going. It’s Andarna.

Violet could sense magic in the sky because she was still connected to Andarna. But now, Andarna is nearby. And she is the one maintaining their magic and communication. The three of them—Violet, Xaden, and Andarna—are the only ones who can still talk to one another.

So here’s my final question:

Why isn’t Andarna speaking to the others? Is she keeping this a secret on purpose? Andarna knows a lot more than she lets others know. And given that she is the eldest of her own den on the continent, she has every right to keep secrets.

Onyx Storm Read Along

• Onyx Storm Read Along: Prologue
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 1
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 2
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 3
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 4
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 5
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 6
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 7
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 8
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 9
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 10
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 11
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 12
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 13
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 14
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 15
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 16
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 17
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 18
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 19
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 20
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 21
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 22
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 23
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 24
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 25
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 26
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 27
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 28
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 29
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 30
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 31
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 32
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 33
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 34
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 35
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 36
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 37
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 38
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 39
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 40
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 41
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 42
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 43
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 44
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 45
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 46
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 47
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 48
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 49
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 50
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 51
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 52
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 53
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 54
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 55
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 56
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 57
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 58
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 59
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 60
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 61
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 62
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 63
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 64
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 65
• Onyx Storm Read Along – Chapter 66