Published July 2021.

Written by Niamh Schmid

There's not much left in the world of Baeno... With two Watchers dead and the third turned against the world she was supposed to protect, chaos reigns for near a decade as Skayla rules with the strange beasts called Drogans.

And then there's Baey. Rescued by the last act of The Watcher, Sven Mara, she now stays hidden in the mansion of Valdon, where the last Gifted of Baeno stand as a pitiful defense for the City of Kaedna. The last promise of The Creator says she—an Esmer (or one with wings)—will free Baeno from the grips of Skayla and the mysterious beasts that aid her. However, doubts haunt Baey, and even the others at Valdon seem to doubt her destiny. But one thing keeps her strong; the ring she was given by Sven Mara, a trinket no one but her can see.

But when a stranger appears on Valdon's doorsteps, everyone doubts his motives and the message he carries. Little do they know what he stole, and little do they know how close Valdon is to ruin....

This is the first of Niamh Schmid’s solo books and my first official copy edit (pre-publishing) of the Daughter’s Ransom series. Since I’m copy editing the series, the drafts already come to me in great shape. During my cold read, I get to enjoy the full breadth of the story and its variety of characters, while just making a few notes on the novel fantasy words I need to keep an eye out for (Drogans…I love you, but my brain kept trying to change you to “dragons” for the longest time). While it takes place on a different world from The Exiled: Of Shade and Shadow, there is no less depth of character and worldbuilding. With a more steampunk fantasy lean, the second book in the series is its own jumping off point.

Available in paperback and eBook at Amazon CA.