In this second book, Kie is grieving for the losses her nation suffered during the chimerae war of the previous book. She has terrible nightmares of the people she saw killed in the war, and her greatest fear is that she will again be placed in a position to relay more orders that send skysteeds and their riders to their deaths in battle. When she is asked to accompany the prince on a diplomatic mission to the wild skysteeds, Kie is hopeful that they will be able to convince the king of the wild skysteeds to help them defend their land against the chimerae. However, Kie's skysteed N'Rah disagrees with her. For the first time, they have a serious disagreement and they have to learn to navigate their delicate relationship in a new way.

I really loved that there are lasting consequences from the battles of the previous book. The characters don't just skip off into the sunset and go on more adventures. They are grieving. They are afraid. And because we see them dealing with these difficult emotions, the plot is really meaningful. We get to explore these deep themes along with the characters, and the writing has weight because the risks they take have real consequences for them. But there is also a message of hope and healing in the midst of their grief. I found it really inspiring!

I also loved the deeper exploration of the relationships between humans and skysteeds. Kie learns that N'Rah had a whole past life before they met. She never knew where he grew up or who his family was, and she begins to realize that she ought to be trusting N'Rah more and treating him as an equal. When they meet the Sky King who commands all the wild skysteeds, Kie and N'Rah have to work together to convince the wild skysteeds that they can trust humans again.

The magic and the legends get even more enchanting and beautiful in this second book! We learn more about how humans and skysteeds first bonded through magic that allowed them to hear each other's thoughts. Kie discovers that the original magic from the legends of hundreds of years ago is still lingering in some parts of the world, and still working to protect them from chimarae.

Kie has more wonderful character development as she learns to trust her friends with her inner fears. She has bottled up her grief, but the Sky King encourages her to express those feelings with her friends. Together they find comfort and healing by crying together and telling stories about their friends who have been killed in the wars. They strengthen each other through those difficult times and become closer as a team.

The best part of this book is discovering more about the wild skysteeds and the ancient legends! The world building is delightful, the writing is full of zest and mystery, and I loved all the new pegasi characters we meet!


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.