If you’ve been on Instagram this morning, chances are you’ve seen this snippet making the rounds from Rebecca Yarros’s official account:

“I’m with you to the end, Brother. But someone has to say it,” Garrick’s face tightens. “This plan risks everything our parents worked for,” he warns, already reaching for his flight jacket. “Everything they died for.”

“They died for us, for a world where we have the knowledge to make our own choices.” The shadows at my feet sharpen as I sheath the second sword across my back. “Violet’s my choice. I’m more than willing to die for her.”

“Let’s go hunt some wyvern.”

Are you excited? I definitely am. Now let’s talk about some of the big questions popping up. So many of you emailed me this morning (thank you, by the way) to ask if Garrick is the new brother.

Maybe? But I don’t think that’s the main point here. Traditionally, the bonus chapters have been reflective, looking back at key moments. If you remember, all the previous bonus chapters have been from Fourth Wing. We got chapters 9, 16, and 27 as extras.

But we haven’t gotten anything from Iron Flame yet. So I’m pretty confident this new bonus content is from Iron Flame.

What bonus chapter is Rebecca Yarros writing right now? I really think it’s chapter thirty-five from Iron Flame. It makes a lot of sense. That’s when Violet is being tortured for information, and Xaden is off hunting wyvern to drop them near the border and expose Navarre’s secret.

Read the snippet again with that in mind, and it fits perfectly. Garrick is trying to talk Xaden down, warning him that he’s risking everything their parents died for by going through with this plan. It’s a massive gamble. If they’re caught, it’s game over. They’ll be branded traitors for openly going against orders. If it works, of course, it means exposing the secret and saving Violet. Garrick is THE REAL brother Xaden never had as you can see. At the end of Fourth Wing, he is by his side when he decides to bring Violet to Aretia and have her mended by Brennan. He supports him in the biggest and most dangerous mission yet, in Iron Flame. Garrick is, in a sense, an extension of Xaden. And that makes it possible that yeah, Garrick is the one who turned at the end of Onyx Storm. But I really hope not…

I think this bonus chapter is going to be incredible. I love the idea of seeing just how far Xaden is willing to go for Violet when she’s in danger. That chapter was already intense, and now that Xaden is “gone” in Onyx Storm, we’re all clinging to any bit of love he showed her to help us understand what’s coming.

Rebecca Yarros, we’re so grateful for your imagination and for keeping us hooked during these dark and mysterious times as we wait to learn what happened to the Eggs, who the new brother is, and what’s next in Book 4.

And don’t forget to check out the latest Onyx Storm theories. If you’re in the mood, the read-along is there too!