Threshing Day takes us back to Basgiath for thirteen stories about the moments dragons and riders choose one another. Rebecca Yarros’s collection gives familiar characters their own time on the field, but the real question for readers is what these stories add to the Empyrean world we thought we knew.
This guide recaps all thirteen stories and highlights their most important revelations, from family connections to the reasons each dragon chooses its rider. For a refresher on the ritual itself, read our guide to Threshing and dragon bonding.
Major spoilers for Threshing Day below. This article may also discuss events from the first three Empyrean novels when they are needed to explain a reveal.
Contents
Threshing Day at a Glance
Threshing Day is a collection of thirteen stories set in the Empyrean series, rather than Fourth Wing Book 4. The collection returns to the day dragons choose their riders and was released on September 29, 2026. For the latest on the next main-series novel, see our Fourth Wing Book 4 updates.
The collection adds new details about the riders’ families, relationships and dragon bonds. Among the biggest revelations are Sgaeyl’s connection to Maxrim Riorson, Glane’s history with Imogen’s grandmother, and Thoirt’s relationship to Deigh.
Every Threshing Day Story Explained
1. Brennan and Marbh
Brennan enters Threshing determined to prove himself beyond the Sorrengail name. Before he heads into the forest, his father visits, reassures him that he is proud of his choices and gives him his good-luck bracelet.
Going alone, Brennan climbs a tree and encounters Marbh, an orange daggertail—exactly the kind of unpredictable dragon he hoped to avoid. Marbh challenges him to reach his back without touching the ground. Brennan jumps from a branch onto the dragon’s head, then scrambles into position as Marbh takes flight.
Their encounter combines a dangerous first flight with Marbh’s sarcastic commentary, giving us a glimpse of how Brennan’s courage and quick thinking earn him his bond.
2. Mira and Teine
Mira enters Threshing determined to find Teine, the green clubtail she felt drawn to during Presentation. After separating from her squadmate Cowan, she follows her instincts straight to him.
Teine tests her composure by felling a tree beside her, then piercing her thigh with a talon. Despite the pain, Mira stands her ground. When he questions where her loyalties lie within the Sorrengail family, she insists that she belongs to herself and intends to use her power to protect those she loves.
Teine chooses Mira as his first rider. She completes their first flight despite her injury, but her happiness is tinged with disappointment when she discovers her mother has not come to watch. Teine promptly makes it clear that his approval is the only validation she should seek now.
3. Xaden and Sgaeyl
Xaden enters Threshing determined to keep all ten marked cadets alive. But when Prince Alic Tauri and two other cadets take Garrick hostage, Xaden is forced into a deadly confrontation. Under Sgaeyl’s watchful gaze, he kills Alic to protect his friend. Sgaeyl then incinerates the bodies, removing the evidence.
Once they are alone, Sgaeyl demands complete honesty. Xaden admits that he refuses to remain helpless after witnessing his father’s execution and intends to give the marked ones the power to survive.
Sgaeyl drops a surprising family revelation: she identifies her former rider, Maxrim Riorson, as Xaden’s grandfather. Xaden, however, knows him as his great-uncle. He lets it slide for now, leaving us with a new question about the Riorson family tree. She has already seen his memories, flaws and potential, and chooses him with full knowledge of his secrets—and Xaden immediately tests their new partnership by admitting that he would like to burn Basgiath to the ground.
4. Garrick and Chradh
Garrick leaves Xaden with Sgaeyl reluctantly—protecting his best friend is practically second nature. His father once served beside Fen Riorson, and Garrick carries that loyalty into the next generation. We also learn that he has loved Imogen since she punched him in the face when they were nine, and that seeing her again is one of the things keeping him going.
The dragon calling him is Chradh, a brown scorpiontail who has never bonded before. But something doesn’t quite add up: he is only twenty-seven, yet his voice sounds much older, and he speaks with a confidence Garrick wasn’t expecting. Chradh chooses him for his history of acting for others—and hints that he knows exactly what power Garrick needs.
5. Dain and Cath
Dain enters Threshing desperate to make his father proud, but their conversation beforehand reveals just how much pressure he is under. His father tells him the marked ones were never supposed to survive and asks him to watch for opportunities to report them. He even uses Dain’s fear for Violet’s safety to persuade him.
In the forest, Dain saves fellow cadet Joelle from a fall before finding himself caught between a green dragon—the choice his father has arranged—and Cath, a red swordtail. For once, Dain follows what feels right rather than what his father wants, jumping onto Cath’s back.
Cath demands that their bond come before the Codex, orders and even Dain’s father. Dain agrees, ending the chapter with something he has never felt before: a connection to someone who already knows everything about him, without the constant fear of disappointing them.
6. Bodhi and Cuir
Bodhi enters Threshing tired of being seen as Xaden’s cousin—or his replacement. He loves him like a brother, but wants to be chosen for himself. Their conversation also reveals what Bodhi’s mother asked of him before her death: stay close to Xaden, let him protect him, and keep him in balance.
Xaden tells him that Cuir is waiting, but Bodhi resents having another decision made for him. When he spots a blue clubtail instead, he runs straight toward it—even as Xaden shouts for him to stop. Cuir, a green swordtail, snatches him out of the path of its fire, then makes it clear that Bodhi can still refuse their bond. He understands how much choice has been taken from him, though he won’t tolerate another reckless attempt to get himself killed.
Cuir chooses Bodhi because he wants power to stop people being hurt, rather than simply to win. He has waited until this year specifically for him. For someone used to watching Xaden be everyone’s first choice, that matters—and Bodhi promises to choose Cuir over everyone else.
7. Imogen and Glane
Imogen enters Threshing furious at Navarre and grieving her mother and sister, Katrina. Garrick catches up with her, and their teasing turns into jealousy and very obvious attraction. She pushes him away because everyone she loves dies, but he refuses to leave her to face the day alone.
Her friendship with Quinn also gets its moment. Despite Imogen’s attempts to keep people at a distance, Quinn has become her best friend. When Glane threatens Quinn, Imogen immediately steps in to protect her.
The biggest reveal is that Glane previously bonded Imogen’s grandmother and remembers meeting Imogen as a child. Official records, however, list the orange daggertail as only nineteen with no previous riders. They agree to keep each other’s secrets, and Imogen leaves Threshing with her grandmother’s dragon.
8. Rhiannon and Feirge
Rhiannon is thrilled about Threshing, even as her friends struggle with nerves. But when she finds Visia badly burned by an orange dragon, bonding takes second place. She refuses to leave another cadet defenseless—even when the second-years observing tell her to move on.
Feirge, a green daggertail, steps in and drives the orange away. She has been calling Rhiannon since Presentation, where her confidence already caught the dragon’s attention. Feirge sees a future leader in her, and Rhiannon gives us a glimpse of why: before leaving, she makes sure Visia will have a place in their squad if she survives.
Getting onto Feirge’s back takes some improvisation. Rhiannon borrows an idea from Violet’s approach to the Gauntlet, using gaps between the scales to pull herself up. Once they are airborne, she wishes her twin sister, Raegan, could experience it with her.
9. Sawyer and Sliseag
Sawyer enters his second Threshing determined that he will leave as a rider or die trying. Repeating the year has left him ashamed and furious: he followed every rule, performed well and still watched other cadets bond while he ended up in the infirmary. He has tried to keep his new friends at a distance, but admits that Ridoc might be his favorite person in their year.
When Sliseag, a red swordtail, chooses him, Sawyer assumes the dragon has made a mistake. Their first conversation quickly becomes an argument—and Sliseag likes it. Sawyer’s carefully hidden anger matches his own, and he values his stubbornness and determination to keep going. He demands honesty within their bond, including the feelings Sawyer has spent a year trying to hide.
The reassurance Sawyer needs finally comes: he was never unworthy; Sliseag simply wasn’t ready yet. By the time Sawyer climbs onto his back, he admits he would have repeated another year if he had known this dragon would be waiting.
10. Ridoc and Aotrom
Ridoc starts Threshing terrified, nauseous and trying to convince himself that any dragon would be lucky to have him. Then Aotrom, a twenty-one-year-old brown swordtail, splashes him with water. Ridoc immediately objects: he needs a responsible dragon to keep him in check, not someone just as impulsive as he is.
Aotrom has heard that argument from his own elders. He wants a rider who matches his energy and mischief, and recognizes that Ridoc also knows what it means to be underestimated. We learn that Ridoc grew up using humor to ease the tension between his arguing parents. With Aotrom, though, he quickly discovers what it’s like to be on the receiving end.
To earn his seat, Ridoc has to catch a dragon who can climb trees—and keeps swinging his swordtail into his path. He finally uses his belt, nearby branches and sheer determination to reach Aotrom’s back. Their first flight begins with Ridoc pointing out the tree sap he has left across the dragon’s scales. Aotrom refuses to call them even, but does declare them equals.
11. Liam and Deigh
Liam spends Threshing carving a wooden dragon with his father’s penknife, certain that Deigh will find him. Xaden joins him, and their conversation feels like two brothers catching up: Liam teases him about Violet, while Xaden reminds him that he’ll need to help protect the marked ones after he graduates.
We also learn that Liam has been writing letters to Sloane and saving them for her arrival at Basgiath. They haven’t been able to communicate since he crossed the parapet, and he wants her to know she hasn’t been forgotten.
When Deigh appears, he reveals that dragons in his line have previously bonded riders in Liam’s family. He knows Liam’s mother’s name and title, Rune Master Colonel Mairi, and intends to fight the evil beyond Navarre’s borders with him. For Liam, the bond means he can finally do something beyond surviving and protecting Xaden. The chapter ends with him becoming Deigh’s rider—and describing it as the last chapter of his life.
12. Sloane and Thoirt
Sloane enters Threshing with no intention of bonding. Grieving Liam and furious at Basgiath, she wants nothing to do with becoming another weapon for Navarre. Imogen finds her first, bringing the wooden Deigh figurine Liam was carrying when he died. She also tells Sloane that a red daggertail named Thoirt is looking for her.
When Sloane deliberately walks toward an orange dragon, Dain breaks the rules to pull her out of its path. She lashes out at him for his part in Liam’s death, but finally admits how badly she is hurting. He stays until Thoirt arrives.
The dragon reveals that she is Deigh’s sister. Rather than demanding that Sloane fight, she offers her time to grieve and the choice she has been denied. Thoirt also confirms that Sloane inherited their mother’s gift, while Liam did not, and promises Sloane that she will never be alone again. Sloane chooses her—and asks to fly back to her friends.
13. Aaric and Molvic
Aaric spends Threshing looking for Molvic, the blue clubtail he already feels drawn to. He’s prepared to repeat the year rather than settle for another dragon. Raised largely by his mother, he learned to value restraint over the cruelty he saw in Alic—which helps explain why he wants a different path from the rest of his family.
Molvic knows exactly who he is—and has previously considered bonding someone in his bloodline, only to regret it. He challenges Aaric to prove that he is different from his family. Aaric insists he will earn his power and fight the war beyond the wards, even if it costs him his life.
Then he makes his intentions unmistakable: he will fly as Aaric Graycastle, not as a prince serving the monarchy. He condemns his family’s complicity and tells Molvic he intends to tear the kingdom apart. Molvic accepts his terms—and addresses him by his chosen name.
Does Threshing Day Change Anything in the Main Series?
Threshing Day revisits earlier events rather than continuing the story beyond Onyx Storm. Its biggest additions concern the people and dragons we already know: why they chose one another, what they were hiding, and which family connections go deeper than expected.
Some details also raise questions. Sgaeyl calls Maxrim Riorson Xaden’s grandfather, while Xaden knows him as his great-uncle. Glane’s account of her past does not match the official dragon records. The collection gives us these discrepancies without fully explaining them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many stories are in Threshing Day?
There are thirteen stories in the collection.
Is Threshing Day Fourth Wing Book 4?
No. Threshing Day is a separate collection of stories within the Empyrean series. The fourth main novel is a different book.
Which characters appear in Threshing Day?
The thirteen stories follow Brennan, Mira, Xaden, Garrick, Dain, Bodhi, Imogen, Rhiannon, Sawyer, Ridoc, Liam, Sloane and Aaric. Other familiar characters, including Violet and Quinn, appear within their stories.
When should you read Threshing Day?
We recommend reading Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm first. Although these stories take place earlier, they are best read with the context of the main novels—and include details you may prefer to discover there first.
Do you need to read Threshing Day before Fourth Wing Book 4?
No. Rebecca Yarros has confirmed that you do not need to read Threshing Day to understand Book 4. The collection adds background to familiar characters and their dragons, but it is optional reading.
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