Winter's Mask

Empire of Ash and Song #3.5

by D.E. Carlson

He’s a pirate. She’s a monster.

Both are irredeemable…till fate brings them together.

Sephone lost everything; her home, her sanity, the boy she loved. But she found a new family. A family she is desperate to keep at all costs-but the freedom she sought for them turns to a nightmare.

Captain Winter can’t quite give up the mask that shields him from who he truly is and the things he’s done. But when he stumbles across a slaver ship, his identity clashes with his beliefs.

Will he choose to face himself?

Or will the monster devour them both?

Winter's Mask is an Empire of Ash and Song novella, YA Fantasy with the pirate adventures of Daughter of the Pirate King and the faith themes of Chronicles of Narnia!

113 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 9, 2025

Reviews

[Maria ♡ (writing reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!!

[Maggie McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorothy has a way of getting me to feel deeply even if I don’t want to feel 😅 Do I like Tabin now? No, I don’t think I ever really will like him. Do I forgive him and recognize that he’s changed/matured? Yes. This book was healing in ways I expected and in ways I didn’t expect. This book was so well written, like all of Dorothy’s books. Sephone is so fascinating, and honestly I just want to know more about her after this. Sephone reminds me of what the Christian experience is like - we’re all sinners who are ugly on the inside but we try to look beautiful on the outside, but with Christ there is redemption like Sephone casts off the monster at the end. It was so good and there are so many layers (like everything you write :) )

Thank you for sharing your stories with us, Dorothy; they’ve impacted me and so many others in so many different ways, and it’s such a blessing to experience these stories ☺️

[Deneé Arledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAHHH!!! This was the conclusion I never knew I needed! The mystery and suspense, pirates, and potential love was all beautifully done. I read the book in a single evening and could not put it down!
If you have not read the first three books of the “Empire of Ash and Song” series, DO NOT READ FURTHER!
Learning what happened to Sephone and Tabin after all that went down gave me closure. This story had twists and turns that I did not see coming. It definitely could be read as a standalone, but it has so much more impact after reading the other books! Absolutely loved this book! Love the author! *chef’s kiss*

[Christal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute. I enjoyed it, and I felt it. It gave me a little Pirates of the Caribbean vibe. It was nice! Initially, I wasn't sure if I'd like it; but it pulled me in. I like the way I started to get emotionally invested in the characters, and I could see the imagery in my mind. As per usual with D.E. Carlson's books, it is a clean fantasy with faith based elements. I think the spiritual themes in this one are kind of open to interpretation, like an abstract painting. You see what you wanna see. If you wanna see darkness you will see darkness. If you wanna see light you'll see light. I saw deep pain, loneliness, self-hatred, .......and then I saw love, comfort, warmth, hope, forgiveness, and redemption. I guess I saw both; the darkness and the light doing a little dance til the darkness died. I wasn't blown away by it; but there was a unique, almost musical quality to the writing that grew on me, and really pulled on my heartstrings by the end.

[Leora · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have read The Empire of Ash and Song trilogy, you already know who Captain Winter is, and you probably still have a lot of questions about how he got to where he was when we met him in To Bind the Stars.
Now, it's going to be incredibly difficult not to give anything away, so I'll be short:
The novella had me from the first sentence till the last one. Never a dull moment with this author, I'm telling you. There were a lot of gasps, exclamations and jaws dropped, all while the lore of the world just expands.
We meet again another character from Book 1 whom we hadn't seen or heard from in a while, and she has some things to say.
The more I read about this world, the more I want to find out. It expands all the time and I love how everything ties together.

[booknerd907 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y’all, I wasn’t ready!! Oh my heart!!! And I don’t honestly think I can give a review without spoilers, but, if you are just now reading this series, DO NOT START WITH THIS BOOK!! There is a reading order that I HIGHLY suggest following. Now, on to the ratings:
Made me cry?
😭😭😭😭😭
Wanna hug the characters?
🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂
Awesomeness?
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[Mandi Yurinko · Rating 5 out of 5]

D.E. Carlson gives us the backstory and closure we all craved! 👏🏼If you have read all of the other books in the Empire of Ash and Song series, then this novella is a MUST!