Queen of Winter: A Reverse Harem Romance

By Sadie Waters

Can the Queen of Winter find a way to keep the other three seasons in check?

Zamora, the Queen of Winter, has been summoned to the palace of Father Time. While she's eager to discuss the changing seasons with the other monarchs, what she finds most tantilizing are the other seasons themselves.

Osen--the Lord of Autumn, knows just how to make her feel cozy

Regen--the Herald of Spring, brings her to life with a touch

Brand--the King of Summer, is as hot and sultry as his season implies, yet so far, Zamora has been forbidden from having him so that his sun doesn't melt her ice

But with the onset of a heatwave that's slowly dooming all mankind, will Zamora find a way to keep all three men's raging cravings balanced?

Queen of Winter is a reverse harem romance with explicit scenes meant for mature audiences. It is a short novella and not a full-length novel, but does contain a complete storyline.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ID Johnson
• Release date: Jan 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393400004

Book preview

QUEEN OF WINTER

The palace lights shone brightly in the distance, dancing across the ice, twinkling on the frozen branches and leaves that decorated her own lands. Zamora could envision herself there, walking up the wide marble stairs and through the front entryway, the train of her white, diamond-encrusted gown spread out behind her and trailing across the red carpet in all its splendor. Her fingers worked the delicate material of the satin curtains as she imagined what the evening might hold for her and tried to calm the pounding of her heart. Had it been a year already since she was summoned to the Palace of Ages by Van der Enon? It seemed as if she’d just begun her reign as Queen of Winter months ago, but five years had passed quickly, this year perhaps even more rapidly than those previous. Now, she stood with excitement in her veins and an ache in her abdomen that wasn’t caused by the anxiety of going off to the palace for seven days.

One week—that’s all the time she’d spend as Van der Enon’s guest. In some ways, it wasn’t enough. Zamora smoothed her gown, her fingers catching on the diamonds and absently reached for her white-blonde hair, forgetting it was all pinned up. With nothing to twirl between her fingers, she dropped her hands and tried not to think about what would happen behind closed doors in the palace across the way. She also tried to clear her head of what wouldn’t happen—what couldn’t happen.

Your Majesty, Mina’s voice sounded behind her, the carriage awaits out front. It is time.

Thank you. Zamora didn’t turn away, not yet. The glow from the palace beckoned her, and she wanted to leave, but the emotions twisting around inside of her like one of Osen’s breezes kept her feet in place and her eyes fixed on the beacon. Seeing Osen, Lord of Autumn, and Regen, the Herald of Spring, would make her trip well worth it. Both men were intoxicating, with their broad shoulders and chests chiseled to perfection. Thoughts of the time she’d spent with each of them last year had her breath catching and her hand flying to her chest. But it wasn’t the lure of the men whose seasons bookended her own that made her cautious.

Brand raised a fire within her that had nothing to do with the kingdom he oversaw. The flames that seemed to lick their way across the space between them at every turn drew her to the Adonis in ways she couldn’t even understand. Perhaps the fact that he was forbidden also had something to do with the way she ached for him even now. But even with the knowledge that she’d soon find herself in the arms of two other strong, capable lovers, it was the golden eyes of Brand, King of Summer, who had her melting inside.

Which is precisely why she would never have him. The damage they would cause, should they ever let their passion become unbridled, was unthinkable. Zamora knew, as tempting as the sun god was, she would have to find a way to keep herself distracted by the other two. Stories of the past, of what had transpired when others in their current positions had not been so restrained, haunted her mind as she turned to collect her cloak and follow Mina out of her bedchambers. She simply wouldn’t be the queen who came undone and let the world unravel beneath her.

The sound of their shoes echoed off white marble, polished so that it shone with the luster of ice. Her cloak tossed over her arm, Zamora kept her head high and her shoulders back, marching past residents of Lumi Castle with a confidence she did not feel inside. She descended the staircase, her hand trailing down the glass railing, still feeling troubled, until she saw familiar blue eyes waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Neve, she said, a true smile parting her lips. I’m so glad you’ve come to see me off.

Her older cousin smiled, her beautiful face similar to Zamora’s, though her cheeks were slightly rounder and her eyes not quite as iridescent. How could I miss telling you goodbye?

Neve reached for Zamora’s cloak, and she handed it over, standing still at the foot of the stairs so that her cousin could wrap her up, not that the sharp winds that always blew around Lumi Castle would bother Zamora in the least. Neve slipped the fastener, a shimmering snowflake, through a loop of soft, velvety blue fabric, and tightened the cloak around Zamora’s shoulders, smoothing it as she finished. There. You are the picture of beauty, as always. Her hand pushed back Zamora’s hair, and a smile lit her face.

Thank you. Neve was her closest friend. They’d grown up in the castle together, and both of them had been certain that the older cousin would be chosen to ascend the throne when their grandmother, Queen Chir, passed away five years ago. But it had been Zamora’s name read out at the proclamation ceremony a week after Chir was laid to rest in the Cavern of Queens, and while both women were surprised, Zamora remembered how excited and grateful she had been when she realized she would be queen. Neve