A Daughter of Winter
A Daughter of Winter
Couldn't load pickup availability
âď¸ Winter has fallen on Solana. And with it, the court begins to crack.
The Midwinter Festival is overâbut peace has not returned. The Calyx are on strike. Their bonded familiars, quarantined. And the once-golden Scented Court? Fraying at the seams.
Jessamine is drowning in red tape and righteous fury. Her dearest friends face trial and exile, and the crown offers only silence. But if the law wonât protect them, sheâll find another wayâeven if it means defying it.
Laec watches helplessly as Ăifta, the princess heâd give anything to save, lies frozen in a pillar of enchanted ice. No one else dares to try. But inside that glacial prison, Ăifta must confront the truth of her bloodlineâand survive a test no heir has ever passed unscathed.
As Solanaâs distractions mount and loyalties fracture, danger creeps in from the east⌠and strikes from the north. A forgotten enemy rises, and not even the throne is safe.
đŤ A Daughter of Winter is book 3 of The Scented Court and an epic fae fantasy of icy trials, forbidden love, and the fire that refuses to be extinguished.
For readers who love:
⢠Multiple POV romantasy with high emotional stakes
⢠Frozen princesses and magical life-or-death trials
⢠Protective love interests and second chances
⢠Dangerous politics and fae betrayal
⢠Found-family bonds in the face of chaos
Step back into the Scented Courtâwhere love wonât wait, but neither will war.
Bespoke Paperback Features:
- âď¸ High gloss finish
- âď¸ Gorgeous color character art
- âď¸ A printed edge with Rialta color illustration
- âď¸ Custom interior formatting
Regular Paperback Features:
- âď¸ High gloss finish
- âď¸ Custom interior formatting
Read an Excerpt
Read an Excerpt
Laec and Grex were a blur of thundering black flesh, flashing hooves, and flying red hair far ahead of Jessamine. Her mountâwhich sheâd never ridden before, but borrowed from the stables because he looked more awake than the othersâa painted gelding named Kitabee, sturdy and stalwart though he was, could not keep up with the Stavarjakian stallion. Tears streamed from Jessâs eyes as she pressed low over Kitabeeâs neck, urging him on. Her breath was hot in her throat, her thighs screaming their own burning pain as she crouched above the saddle the way Laec had shown her.
The race had been Laecâs idea. So had the ride. At another time, when things in Jessâs life were humming along the tracks of routine, she would have declined his invitation. But routine had been derailed, along with Jessâs peace-of-mind, not to mention good nightsâ sleep. Jess had not been able to see Sashaâ or Rialtaâin the four days since he had fainted in the lionâs den and been carried away, hidden by a crowd of soldiers, Fahyli and big familiars.
So when Laec knocked on her doorâbefore the palace corridors began to bustle with life, before the stable hands had rubbed the sleep from their eyesâdressed in boots and riding leathers, Jess had agreed. Beazle complained that even the bugs werenât awake before tucking his wings more tightly around himself and going back to sleep.Â
As Solana City came into view, Laec slowed Grex to a canter, then a walk, giving Jess and Kitabee time to catch up. They caught their breath as rays of silvery sunlight kissed the highest towers, lighting the terra-cotta tiles and reflecting off stained-glass windows. Flags fastened to the tallest towers whipped and snapped. They could be heard even from where Jess and Laec stood upon a distant hill. Solanaâs lionâs head sigil blinked in and out of sight.
A pang of loss tugged at Jessâs heart as she thought of Marion, and of Greta. Marion had lived long enough to know of Jessâs ascensionâif it could be called thatâto the ranks of the Calyx, but not the many strange turns Jessâs life and talents had taken. Jess was no longer a child. This she felt withinâlike the hardening of candle wax once the flame was blown outâas she was forced to respond to difficult circumstances, make difficult choices. No, Jess was no longer the naĂŻve and innocent village girl she had once been, no longer the novice Calyx who didnât know up from down.Â
She scanned the city walls, the towers, the incredible beauty of the wealthiest kingdom on the continent of Ivryndi. Despite the incredible power and loveliness all her mind could muster was: Where are you?
A visit to the city gaolâa place Jess hoped never to visit againâconfirmed that Sasha and Rialta were not being kept there, which was a relief. But it had also become clear that no one was going to give her their exact whereaboutsâeither because they didnât know or because they were sticking to the rules. Permission had to be given by one of three people: the justiceâwho didnât live at the palace and whom Jess never learned the name of as everyone just called them âthe justiceââCaptain Bradburn, or Ian Peneçek. Presumably, the king and queenâs say-so would work as well.
Ilishec hadnât seemed to notice that Jessâs focus on her work was basically non-existent. He bustled about the palace in a state of constant fretting and frustration over the way the Calyx had reacted to the quarantining of their familiars. Of Solanaâs flora fae familiar population, only Ania and Beazle had escaped the week-long hell of being restricted to life in a small box. Some of the insects seemed to understand and accept their fate, like Sphex, Jalla, and Amarylisâs familiar, a carpenter bee named Xylo. But Bombini, Trea, and Heathâs familiar, Coco, buzzed about their tiny prison walls angrily, eating hardly at all. Others fell into a despondency that would have sent their fae into a panic had the Calyx not been mystically connected to their familiars. Familiars whoâd gone dormant had responded to none of the attempts to revive or comfort them: nectar, music, fragrant blooms tucked inside their boxes to be a comfort and a nourishment.
The good news though, was that four days had passed and none of the familiars were acting in the way Moony had before he died. Ilishec reminded the Calyx of this beam of light in an otherwise dark time, but the Calyx were too upset to work until the quarantine was overâand there were still three days to go.
Jess and Laec rode back to the stables and put their mounts in the capable hands of the grooms to be rubbed down, blanketed, fed and watered. They parted ways with hardly a word, and it wasnât until Jess was bathing away the smell of horse in her suite that she regretted not asking him how he was. How he really was. He cared deeply for Ăifta and not knowing if she would survive the ice must be torture.
She chided her reflection as she combed out her hair: âYouâre not the only one suffering, you know.â
She donned a long-sleeved woolen gown of deep burgundy, a typical winter dress for a Calyx. She pinned back half of her hair, revealing her ears, before wrapping a thick scarf around her neck and a soft fur cape around her upper body; she felt ready to go outside. Everyone was complaining that this winter was the coldest in a hundred years, but Jess was too distracted to care much about the weather. As she opened the door to leave her room, Beazle swooped from the ceiling and crawled under the hair at the nape of her neck. Jess smiled when she felt him drop off into a doze again almost immediately.
Jessamine spent most of her time in the west keep, hoping for some clue about Sashaâs whereabouts and avoiding the moping Calyx in the east keep.
âBut what if theyâre being mistreated, or not fed well, or Sasha needs to have a letter delivered?â Jess complained to Regalis as he carved a new handle for an old Kittrell blade that had belonged to his grandfather.
The Fahyli spared her a glance. âTheyâre fine, Jess. No one is presumed guilty or treated as such before a trial. Their needs are being met. Now leave it alone. Leave me alone,â he added with a cornerwise smile of affectionate annoyance.
Jessamine sat down on the bench beside him. The head of an eagle was taking shape under his deft fingers. It was already so like Ferrugin that Jess should have been impressed. She stared blankly at Regalisâs hands as they coaxed a new shape from the wood, registering nothing.
She sprang up again. âBut, where are they?â
âJess, youâre in my light.â Regalis pushed her sideways, then blasted dust and shavings away from his creation with a quick, well-aimed puff. Condensation misted the air and dissipated on the winter wind. âWhy is it important to you, anyway?â
âI told you.â Jess replied a little too quickly. âWeâre friends.â
âI see.â Regalisâs tone said he didnât care.
Beazle shifted sleepily, coming briefly out of his slumber with an exasperation that matched Regalisâs. Youâve interrogated pretty much everyone else. Why not him too?
Who? Jess looked around and caught a flash of sunshine on brown hair and tanned cheeks as Digit walked by the open gate before disappearing behind the stone wall. A moment later Ania hummed by in a straight line.
âBye Regalis,â murmured Jess, her sights and hope now set on Digit.
- Choose your format and make your purchase.
- Digital and audiobooks are delivered instantly via Bookfunnel. Check your email and follow the instructions to download.
- Bespoke books with special features take extra care to produce and can take 3-4 weeks to ship. Watch your inbox for your tracking link.




