Violet and Xaden
Both survive. Violet knows Xaden is venin; he seeks a cure from Jack.
Ending explained · The Empyrean, book 2
Iron Flame Ending Explained
Basgiath survives because Brennan repairs the wardstone, Lilith and Aimsir supply the power to charge it, and Andarna provides the missing seventh dragonfire. During the same battle, Xaden draws power from the earth and becomes venin.
Full spoilers for Iron Flame and Fourth Wing. This explanation stops at Iron Flame's final chapter. For the rest of the book, use the full recap.
Why the battle happens at Basgiath
Navarre's leadership expects the major attack at Samara. Violet realizes that the enemy's real objective is Basgiath, its wardstone, and the power in the dragons' hatching grounds. Melgren's predictions are limited around groups of riders carrying rebellion relics, so his vision does not give the commanders the complete picture.
Violet and her allies return from Aretia. They find Jack Barlowe in the wardstone chamber. Jack kills his own dragon, Baide, and destroys the stone, bringing down the wards before the attacking forces arrive.
Jack survives Baide's death because he is already venin and draws power independently of their bond. Dain reads his memories and discovers that he planted lures to bring the enemy to Basgiath. Jack is captured, but the defenders must now fight without functioning wards.
Why mending the wardstone is not enough
Brennan uses his mending signet to repair the broken stone. That fixes its physical damage. It does not supply the magic or dragonfire required to activate it.
Violet's earlier work in Aretia relied on Warrick's incomplete account. Jesinia's translation of Lyra's journal identifies the missing requirement: seven dragon dens must contribute their fire. The known breeds account for only six.
The process therefore has separate requirements: repair the stone, imbue it with enough power, and ignite it with the correct dragonfire. Brennan, Lilith, Sloane, and Andarna have different jobs in that sequence.
What Andarna reveals, and why Violet chooses Basgiath
Andarna is the seventh breed. Her dark appearance has allowed Violet to assume that she belongs to the black dragons, but her scales can change color. She is not another member of Tairn's den.
She tells Violet that she waited 650 years to hatch. Hearing about Lilith's youngest daughter, who was being educated as a scribe, convinced her to emerge. Violet's understanding of the journals allows her to recognize what Andarna's identity means for the wards.
A dragon can contribute to this activation only once. Using Andarna's fire at Basgiath means she cannot also complete Aretia's wards. Violet discusses that cost with Xaden, and he supports restoring Basgiath's protection. Violet also secures Codagh's cooperation for the ritual.
How Lilith and Aimsir die
Violet pours her power into the repaired wardstone. She is approaching burnout and is willing to die if that is what charging it requires.
Lilith stops her. She orders Sloane, whose signet allows her to siphon power, to channel the power of Lilith and her dragon Aimsir into the stone. The transfer drains them completely. Lilith and Aimsir both die.
Once the stone has enough power, Andarna's fire completes the activation with the other required breeds. The wards rise, and the attacking wyvern inside their protection fall. Lilith's sacrifice supplies the charge; Andarna supplies the missing fire.
Why Xaden becomes venin
While Violet works on the stone, Xaden fights the powerful venin who has appeared in his nightmares. The enemy identifies himself as a general and threatens Violet. Xaden is running out of the power he can safely channel through Sgaeyl and can feel Violet nearing death.
He draws directly from the earth despite Sgaeyl's warning. That act makes him venin. His transformation happens during the fight; it is not caused by the restored wards or by Violet touching him afterward.
Violet finds him after the battle. He warns her that she should be afraid of him, and she sees a red ring around his eyes. She therefore knows about the transformation before the book ends.
What the final conversation with Jack confirms
The last chapter switches to Xaden's viewpoint. After waking beside Violet, he goes to Jack's cell and asks how to reverse what has happened. Jack says there is no cure and treats Xaden as another venin.
Jack's answer is a character's claim. The book ends without demonstrating a successful cure or establishing a reliable way to reverse the transformation. Xaden remains alive, with Violet, and looking for an answer. His decision to channel from the earth does not establish that he has voluntarily joined the invading army.
Violet's second signet is also unresolved at this point. Andarna's breed is confirmed; the identity of that signet is not.
Where the characters end up
Lilith and Aimsir
Dead after Sloane channels their power into the wardstone.
Andarna
Alive, revealed as the seventh breed, and essential to restoring the wards.
Brennan, Mira, and Sloane
Survive. Brennan repairs the stone; Sloane performs the transfer that kills Lilith.
Sawyer
Survives after losing a leg during the battle.
Jack Barlowe
Alive and imprisoned, with his venin identity and sabotage exposed.
Continue The Empyrean
Iron Flame full recap · Next: Onyx Storm recap · Reading order · All ending explanations
Plot references: SparkNotes, chapters 62–66; Book Series Recaps; and the Fabled Romance full recap. Revised November 3, 2026.