Winds of Darkness

Lady of Darkness #6

by Melissa K. Roehrich

A Storm of Death and Desire
Two spellbinding novellas in the Lady of Darkness THE REAPER and UNRELENTING WINDS



Unrelenting Winds



For centuries, the Great War that divided the realm has been over. The Fae Courts and mortal lands alike have been rebuilding, trying to move forward in a world they no longer recognize. When the Wind Princess requests a meeting with Prince Briar Drayce, ruler of the Water Court, he naturally accepts. He’s always kept the peace, but the aloof princess makes a request of him that may be too much. Now he must decide if it’s worth the risk of angering the Fae Courts, the realm, the gods, and more.



The Reaper



Before he was the Fire Court Third, he was the Reaper.


And before he was the Reaper, he was her Ash Rider. Moranna. The Baroness of a colony hidden away on the Southern Islands.


Rayner has always believed that she works tirelessly to keep some the Fae safe.


When he learns the Baroness's darkest secrets he vows to put an end to her and everything she has created on the islands. But he finds himself the center of a curse as punishment for his rebellion.


The path back to vengeance is wrought with violence, grief, and unexpected allies, and Rayner knows better than Some nightmares never end.



Readers LOVE Lady of Darkness series



'Did this book just become my new obsession? The answer is yes' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review


'A romantasy masterpiece' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review


'If you combined A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass and From Blood and Ash you’d get this series' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Fae, Fantasy Romance, Vampires, Dark Romance, Dark

272 pages, Paperback

Published November 6, 2025

About the author

Melissa is a dark fantasy romance author who loves coffee, dragons, and constantly rearranging her bookshelves. She spends her time writing, reading, and homeschooling her three boys in the Middle-of-Nowhere, North Dakota, where she lives with her boys, husband, dogs, multiple barn cats, and chickens on a small farmstead. She is constantly trying to convince her husband they need to add goats and ducks to the mix, and one day, she'll succeed.

She's not here much, so if you're looking to connect, check out the following:

*Facebook Reader Group: Melissa's Dragon Cave
*Discord: https://discord.gg/GTY757MCXF
*Instagram: @melissa_k_roehrich
*TikTok: @authormelissakroehrich

Reviews

[Teo_1864]

hello? why isn't anyone talking about this? what is this!?!?!?

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love our characters from LOD and want answers to some of the breadcrumbs left in the main series, then I recommend you read these novellas as they provide insight into their back stories and show how some of our group first got together 👍🏻

[Tay King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Heartbreaking. Beautiful.

[Laurie (lauriereadz) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need more!!

[Mac Graf · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Worrying about something that may not even come to pass steals joy from the present.”
Reading this novella AFTER the series is both hurtful & healing. I’m going to miss these characters so much.

[Anna Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply beautiful and heart wrenching. Great way to wrap everything up.

[Samantha Scobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and yet beautiful. This is a must have read if you enjoyed the Lady of Darkness series, and it definitely needs to be talked about more 🥰

[kimreadsromantics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars

Oh how much I love this world. Regarding this specific novella I already read The Reaper and voiced my opinion in another review. The Unrelenting Winds story of this novella was totally new for me, though, and I absolutely loved it. I loved the way Briar and Ashtine fell in love with each other and how Briar took the time to understand and get to know Ashtine on a deeper level. It was literally perfect and I wished we got to see this part of their story earlier during the Lady of Darkness series. You really get an insight into their relationship and life before Scarlett came along and it really adds to the whole found family storyline of the whole series. This novella really needs more hype and praise because it's a great addition to the world.

[Teagan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Reaper - 4 stars
Rayner's story was just as heartbreaking as i anticipated. I loved getting to know his past despite how awful it was and seeing how he slotted into the fire court. He deserved better ):

Unrelenting Winds - 5 stars
This one took me by surprise - i did not expect to love this as much as i did! I giggled so many times. The friendship and love that blossoms between Briar and Ashtine was incredible. The way she talks and the the way he takes the time to listen and learn. The dry humor. This was the perfect novella and i love them even more now.

[Lisa C22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was absolutely lovely seeing more of the stories from some of the main characters in the Lady Of Darkness series, Rayner's story was heartbreaking as I expected it would be but it helps to understand how he became the beautiful soul he doesn't think he is, honestly I would love a novella or him to be included in a future story where he a Tula find his mate as I think I'd absolutely melt! Out of the two stories in this book I didn't think I'd enjoy Briar and Ashtin's so much (only because I adore Rayner) but it was beautiful 💗I love them both but Briar was so so sweet,

[Shenay · Rating 4 out of 5]

🩷 Book Review✨️

Thank you SO much, @harlequinaus, for gifting me this awesome novella by @melissa_k_roehrich! ✨️🩷

Anything Melissa writes, I will read and I will love and devour it! ✨️🩷

Winds of Darkness is two novellas in one book. So much heartbreak and feelings. This was wonderful. I enjoyed both stories so much. It was just beautiful to read more. This series is a top series of mine and it was a romantasy that I adore! So good!

[Sally Beale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this author...the way she writes has such depth for the characters. I love the flow of the internal world of the male and female protagonists...the description in the world building is brilliant.

In this volume I'm with the reaper and holding my breath. I m feeling the wards as thier crossed and got my hands clenched in hope of death to the enemy...

I can't read Melissa's books quick enough.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars

The Reaper
I knew this novella was going to break my heart. I absolutely loved Rayner in Lady of Darkness. His backstory is soo sad. But makes total sense as to why he is the way he is.

Unrelenting Winds
This was soo good I loved watching Briar and Ashtine become friends and then more. There is great banter between the two.
I enjoyed their characters before but now I feel more connected to them knowing what they have been through to get to where they are.

[Joanna Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book. I loved rayners back story. but I did struggle a little bit with Ashtine and briars back story. I dont know if its because I read the whole lady of darkness series first but if I could re read the whole series I think I would read briar and ashtines story first then the lady of darkness series, then rayners story after lady of embers

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winds of Darkness is another fab addition to the Lady of Darkness series. Featuring two novellas, THE REAPER and UNRELENTING WINDS, along with a Q & A with the author, it was great to look into the past of some favourite characters from the series.

🌬️ Unrelenting Winds 🌊
It was so good to find out how Briar and Ashtine’s first got close. But what I really enjoyed more was seeing how Ashtine’s relationship with the winds worked. It gives you a better understanding of why she speaks and acts the way she does.

💀 The Reaper 💀
Not going to lie, I have always wanted to know Rayner’s backstory and The Reaper absolutely delivered. My heart broke for him in this story, but I also loved seeing how he met Sorin and ended up as his Third. This was my favourite of the two stories and it has me wishing it was the longer of the two!

Thank you to @harlequinaus and @melissa_k_roehrich for a #gifted copy to read.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Make sure you check her reading order on her website before you read the series! Two extremely good novellas in our Darkness series <3 first one is very dark and heavy, second one is light and beautiful. Ashtine became one of my favorite characters throughout the series and the Unrelenting Winds novella really solidified her up there as a solid #2 (after Scarlett of course).

[Margot Templeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! It was so lovely to go back into this world, have the POV of these characters and learn more about their background. Heartbreaking, funny, not enough - I need more😆. Just love those universe

[Chelsie Cella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rayners backstory was as heart breaking as I was expecting and I’d pay a lot of money for a book all about his happy ending! Having a novella for both seems unfair because I enjoyed Briar and Ashtine’s story more than I was expecting too!

[Samantha Rouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read it was nice to have a little insight into Rayner and his past truly heartbreaking.
Briar and Ashtine are such a sweet couple so reading how they got together was a nice way to round up their story.
I’m glad it read this.

[Steph Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always love everything Melissa put to paper!

I love the extra stories about other main characters. Seeing there character arcs come to life. And how they became what they are in the Lady of Darkness series!
Definitely recommend reading this!!

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Neiwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this 🥹 missed being in the world sm

[Zoe Brankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I havent stopped thinking about this series since it finished and this was just what I needed 😭🩷

[Dagmara&#x1f525;&#x1f525; · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Claire Macgregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two lovely Novellas that give some backstory to three wonderful characters. I would happily read an entire book of Briar and Ashtine

[Kayla Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5💧
I love this world and these characters so much.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute novellas. Added some more stories for the characters we loved. Worth reading.

[Rosina Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved having these back stories, they are so sad 😞

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️

Honestly these novellas are better than the books imo🤭

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 - The reaper
Only read the reaper so far. sticking to reading order. The ash-riders story is interesting and a great background but I do not exactly trust or like him.

4.0 - Unrelenting Winds
Getting Briar and Ashines story was a nice bonus. I prefer them in their own POV