Here’s an exciting YA fantasy for anyone who likes horses or birds of prey. DAUGHTER OF THE WIND follows Zara, the First Daughter of a troubled land. Her people, the Children of the Earth, are being colonised by brutal invaders from a distant continent, and they’ve been fighting a losing battle for a century and a half. Sounds like time for a Romeo and Juliet scenario, doesn’t it? That’s what I thought too.
While Zara’s people use earth magic, they are nomadic horse riders, and the magic allows them to bond emotionally and telepathically with a special horse. Not every horse has a bond, but all are cherished. Zara’s bonded with Shazeera, a blood bay mare. They are being hunted down by enemy Eagle Riders which can cover vast distances with giant eagles. Zara’s magic manifests itself differently in a moment of terror, and she uses wind magic to beat her enemy. This confuses and frightens the invaders, so they offer a grudging peace treaty.
The emperor’s representative and cousin, Commander Talon, who is bonded with eagle Neo, asks for the wind mage to come and marry his liege. This will join their people. The Children of Earth will have to pay taxes, but the war will end. Zara is reluctant to leave her family, her horses and all her customs. But she is not given much choice by either side. To save her race, she agrees to be flown to the mountain fastness of the Zephyrian people ahead of a political marriage to the Emperor, Altair.
The contrast between the plains and the mountains could hardly be greater, but the troubles don’t end. A sinister figure called Ozul is using dark magic in the shadows, the emperor and his courtiers don’t have much use for a horse girl and her scanty clothing (well, it’s cold up here), and some even joke about feeding Shazeera to the hungry… let’s not go there.
I don’t know if it’s Stockholm syndrome, by which a kidnap victim comes to like their captors, or just natural young people's hormones, but Zara gets to like Talon a lot, and we can see how this might progress. The book gets very dark and scary, and ends at a point of tension to keep us reading the rest of the trilogy. I don’t like cliffhangers, but a certain amount is resolved… and a lot isn’t. Riders of Earth and Sky looks to be a series reminiscent of Patricia McKillip, which is a high compliment. Nora Carmody has brought her love of horses and open countryside to her spellbinding tale DAUGHTER OF THE WIND. I’ll be keen to read more of the adventure.
Darkness lurks in the shadows as a betrothed princess wrestles with a dangerous new magic that threatens her bond with her beloved horse—and a forbidden love for the enemy sworn to protect her.
Zara has never felt worthy of her title as First Daughter. Though next in line to lead her people, she hasn’t inherited what matters most—her mother’s sacred earth magic. While her people are tied to the land and their soul-bound horses, Zara has always felt a pull toward the wind.
As war rages against the enemy empire’s deadly Eagle Riders, her people edge closer to defeat. When a rider attacks Zara herself, she unleashes a wind magic strong enough to tear giant eagles from the sky. This power could turn the tide of the war—but at a terrible price: the slow unraveling of her psychic bond with her horse.
So when a marriage treaty is offered in exchange for peace, Zara agrees, sacrificing herself to protect her people. But the emperor’s palace is more treacherous than any battlefield. Hidden behind its gilded walls is a monstrous being long buried—and her power-hungry betrothed is determined to set it free.
Sworn to protect the future empress, Commander Talon soon realizes Zara is more than a political pawn—she’s the key to stopping the emperor’s dark ambitions. As their forbidden desire grows, they must face an ancient evil stirring beneath the throne. Even if it costs them everything.
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