When Petals Wake | Book Two in the Khrebtova Saga

Esther 21 stories

Story Notes

Summary

Roza, the eldest daughter of the Khrebtova royal family, was sent away to live with her aunt and uncle when the plague swept the land. Tucked safely in the countryside, she spent her childhood in the garden with her cousin Mayk, finding joy in quiet days and blooming petals. But everything begins to change the year Roza turns sixteen. Summoned back to the palace, Roza is uneasy about leaving the only home she’s truly known. As she walks alone, singing to calm her anxious heart, a passing stranger stops to listen—drawn not just by her voice, but by something far deeper. Filipp, a young prince from another Rus province, is traveling to the Khrebtova court to fulfill his duty—to meet the princess he is expected to marry. He never imagined he would first encounter her hidden away in a garden, her voice echoing like a dream. Roza and Filipp form a tender bond in secret, but duty calls, and they are forced to part. When they meet again at the palace, jealousy brews in Mayk’s heart. As truths are revealed, Roza must navigate royal expectations, hidden feelings, and the quiet stirrings of her own. In the end, Roza begins to understand that God moves in ways she never expected—guiding her heart, her future, and even her love, with a grace that awakens like petals in bloom.