The Best ‘Fourth Wing’ Book 4 Fan Theories About Xaden and the Venin Curse
Clues, quotes and Reddit deep-dives: the best predictions (plus Yarros’ scariest hint)
Key Takeaways
- Fans believe love could be the cure for Xaden's Venin curse in 'Fourth Wing' book four.
- Some readers think Violet will turn Venin herself to stay with Xaden rather than cure him.
- Yarros confirmed book four will be longer and that a character readers love will not survive.
Now that Rebecca Yarros has officially confirmed that she’s working on Fourth Wing 4, romantasy lovers are speculating what it’s going to be about. More specifically, they want to know what will happen to Xaden Riorson now that he’s gone full Venin. Some think he’s going to miraculously find a cure, whereas others are convinced his now-wife Violet Sorrengail will become Venin as well to be with him. Below, we recap the best Fourth Wing fan theories surrounding the Venin and Xaden and share details on Yarros’ take.
‘Fourth Wing’ 4 fan theories
At the end of Onyx Storm—the third book in the Fourth Wing series—it was revealed that Xaden had left Violet to go live as a Venin, a group of corrupted people who channel power directly from the earth instead of bonding with creatures like dragons or gryphons. This came after Xaden became Venin in book 2, Iron Flame, but was trying his best to live with it.
“One of the things I love to play with is that absolute power corrupts absolutely and that when you want magic and you can’t have it because you haven’t been chosen by a dragon or a gryphons, what will you pay for it?” Yarros told Variety after the release of Iron Flame. “And people will pay with their souls. You see it in our society, all the time, people will sell their souls for power. So it’s a matter of, how much of his soul did he exchange? And once you start, how do you stop and is it an addiction?”
Currently, there is no cure for Venin, but fans think there will be one in book 4 or book 5.
Some Reddit users think “love is the cure. They kept making so many references!” Another agreed, saying, “This has felt obvious to me from the start. I think Violet will need to kill Xaden, and then somehow resurrect him to save his soul through love.”
Other readers think the gods within the Empyrean universe will play an important role in the hunt for a cure.
“I think the gods are the key to killing/curing venin, which is why Violet and Xaden went to the temple of Dunne to get married and develop whatever plan we get to figure out in the next book,” one Reddit user wrote.
Finally, others believe Violet will decide to become Venin alongside Xaden. This would make sense, based on comments Yarros has made in the past.
“I did want Violet to be the one who turned Venin, originally,” Yarros said at ApollyCon earlier this year. “I know, right? I shouldn’t have said that. That is what my head is like going down to an alternate universe… I think about that often, like what evil Violet would look like.”
None of these theories have been confirmed or denied and we won’t know what happens until book 4 or 5.
What we know so far about ‘Fourth Wing’ book 4
The fourth book in the Empyrean series remains a big mystery, but Yarros has warned, “someone you love won’t make it.”
“Everybody loves different characters,” the author explained to Variety, “So it could be someone you don’t love, but someone else does. But I think when you’re writing a book that examines war, it’s very important to make sure that people know that losses are real, right?”
When the book is released, readers will need to set aside plenty of time to dive in: “It’s going to be on the heavier side, because I had to plot points between 4 and 5 to make sure that I can end in a five-book series. So I want to make sure everything is working correctly there,” Yarros said at ApollyCon. “She’s gonna be on the curvier side.”
Could that length be because of someone’s death? And will that death be Xaden’s? Only time will tell!
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