I have really enjoyed watching others share their theories and see what came true in OS, so this time I'm sharing my (potentially unhinged) theory. Painful as it was, I think we all expected to see Xaden leave Violet in some capacity by the end of this book, but can we talk about the dragons for a moment? Sgaeyl and Tairn struggle to be apart for more than a few days because of the mating bond. We know that if one dies the other dies, and that dragons generally mate for life. But what if the mating bond can be broken by choice? We know Xaden turned for love in IF. But in OS, his final channeling was not just for Violet - it was for Sgaeyl. As far as we know, Sgaeyl can live after the death of her bonded rider. That paired with the fact that she's known for her ruthlessness suggests she doesn't just stay with Xaden through his transformation because of her own emotional attachment and certainly not for Violet's. In OS we get the note from Kaori that dragons will always choose dragonkind, even over their chosen rider. Yet for now she's chosen to stay with Xaden because she still seems something worth staying for. In his POV chapter we see her choosing to help him try to convince Tairn of something, though we don't know exactly what. When Violet wakes up with her memory wiped, Andarna says he "needs a cycle of sleep to recover" - recover from what? What if he and Sgaeyl agreed - together, and perhaps with the help of Andarna whose kind has been shown to have a unique brand of magic even among the dragons - to break the mating bond, knowing that was the only way to keep Xaden and Violet apart if the dragons wanted to stay with their riders? Because maybe these dragons believe these two riders- both still alive and potentially working toward the same goal, even if they're not currently together - still hold the power to save whatever it is the Empyrean and dragon kind believes needs saving. Perhaps it's unhinged, but I think it would be interesting.