“Please stand for the Daughter of Winter, the Slayer of Demons, the Heir to the Throne, her Royal Highness, the Lady Wynter.”

Wyn thought everything would be unicorns and rainbows once she reached her mother’s palace.

The last things she expected were assassination attempts, the Summer King readying for war and, worst of all, frilly dresses.

But all of that is pushed to the side when one of her Guardians needs her help. They’re hers. And she’ll protect them while keeping her vow to protect the Realm. No matter the cost.

Note:
***This is the second novel in the Daughter of Winter series. While the bestselling first book, Winter Princess, was released as a serial, this is a full-length novel.***

I’m not sure whether I got a bigger kick out of the dresses or Wyn’s guardians attempts to change them.

We meet a very interesting character in this one, his name is Blaze and he’s a unicorn and his ‘sparkles’ have an interesting effect on Wyn.

This is a favorite scene as they visit with Blaze and have a picnic.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been around much lately,” he begins and I nod. Yup, he’s right about that. He’s been absent a lot. “I talked to your mother about it.”

“You did what?” I gape at him. Why would he talk to Beira about our private life?

“She’s allowed me to reduce my working hours so I can spend more time with you. Same for the others. But I want to make some rules. We each get to spend some alone time with you. We can be all together in the evenings or for excursions like this one, but I want more of you. I need more of you.”

His gaze grows heated as he looks me straight into my eyes. Wow. Did he just say he needs me?

“I’ve missed you too,” I say softly, not quite sure how to respond. I’m not very experienced with this kind of relationship talk. Usually I’d try and laugh about it and then change the topic. But it’s clear Storm is very serious.

“When you say you need alone time… are you still okay with me being with, you know, all of you?”

I’m a bit scared of his reply. If he says no, I’d have no idea what to do.

“Yes, I am,” he says and I breathe a sigh of relief. “But I do feel jealous sometimes when I know that you’re with the others while I have to work. I don’t want to be the one you’re with the least. I want to be the one you spend the most amount of time with.”

He grins sheepishly.

“Wouldn’t that be unfair towards the others?” I ask and return his smile.

“Yeah, probably. But I’m the leader, so who cares.” With that, he gets up and walks around the picnic basket before kneeling down in front of me.

“We’ve not known each other for very long, but the bond makes it feel as if we have. I get… I don’t know how to say it… strange when I’m not around you.”

“Anxious?” I try but he shakes his head. I think of how I’ve felt recently. “Like something is missing from inside you?”

He looks at me strangely. “Yes. Exactly that. It’s like I’m drawn towards you, no matter where I am. It’s very strange, like I’ve got a compass inside me pointing towards you. It’s very distracting.”

“Tell me about it,” I murmur. “I’ve got four of those compasses.” Now that he’s used that image, I realise how well it fits.

Whenever I’ve been alone, I’ve felt not quite right. And that’s been often recently. We’ve all been busy…

“As cute as you two are, I’m getting hungry,” Blaze suddenly interrupts us from behind. I blush. How much did he hear? I’m not quite sure if I like this flamboyant unicorn. He’s a bit too much.

“Guys, you can come in now!” Storm shouts and the other three Guardians enter the rainbow cave a moment later. Now that everybody is in here, it’s getting a little crammed. Blaze isn’t exactly a small unicorn.

“Strawberries!” Crispin exclaims and pops one into his mouth immediately. I can already see that I need to be fast with eating them. Strawberries are my favourite. And discovering that they exist in the Realm is a welcome surprise. I wonder if they have greenhouses somewhere? Or do they import them from Earth? There’s so much I still need to learn about the workings of this place. So far, I’ve never even thought about where the food we’re served in the Palace is coming from. But there are no fields to grow anything on; the perpetual snow prevents the people here from farming.

Arc sits down next to me and pulls me close until I lean against his shoulder. He’s nice and warm, and despite his hard muscles he’s really quite comfy.

“Do ye like this place?” he asks, grinning as some rainbow light reflects on the glass he’s filling with wine.

“It’s unusual,” I say diplomatically. “It reminds me of my heart cave, where my magic lives.”

“Aye, yer strange magic. Is she getting easier ta deal with?”

I shake my head, not wanting to lie to him. “Not really.”

“I think we need some training lessons,” he says with a smile and a wink. I’m not sure his lessons will be all about my magic. “But first, let’s see what else is in the basket.”

“Let me,” Storm grins and uses his wind magic to float the contents of the basket onto the blanket. I admire his precise control. I would likely have destroyed all the food or crashed it against the crystal ceiling. Yup, training is in my future.
MacKinnon, Skye. Winter Heiress (Daughter of Winter Book 2) (pp. 21-24). Peryton Press. Kindle Edition.

Assassination attempts, an interesting visit to a ‘library’ and a war on the horizon will keep you turning the pages.

We also see Chesca in this one as well as many other characters as they try to figure out who is behind everything.

I am already starting Winter Queen, the next book in the series.

5 Contented Purrs for Skye!

Skye MacKinnon

Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today & International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don’t have to choose.

She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she’s writing about Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh.

When she’s not typing away at her favourite cafe, Skye loves dried mango, as much exotic tea as she can squeeze into her cupboards, and being covered in pet hair by her two bunnies, Emma and Darwin.