Daughter of Mystery

Margerit Sovitre never expected to inherit the fortune of her godfather, Baron Saveze, and she expected even less to inherit his bodyguard. Barbara is a feared duelist of unknown parentage, raised in the Baron's household and bound to it for reasons she has never been told. She had hoped to be free when the old Baron died. Instead she becomes the protector of a young woman whose new wealth has made her a target for the family that lost it.

Margerit moves to the capital, Rotenek, to study the Mysteries of the Saints, the religious lore tied to the visions she has had since childhood. As the Prince of Alpennia grows ill and a succession struggle begins, both women are drawn into court intrigue, a false accusation of treason and secrets from Barbara's past. Their growing closeness unfolds slowly alongside the danger.

Daughter of Mystery is the first novel of Heather Rose Jones's Alpennia series, set in an invented country that recalls eighteenth-century Europe, with a historical-fantasy feel and a sapphic romance at its centre. It was published by Bella Books in 2014.