Book 11 in the Twelve Quickies Of Christmas series. Though he is in great demand at the court, Branagh, the Nutcracker Prince, has sought no mate and found no one to fill his needs. Melflouise Fairnight, once an archer in the elf militia, now a kitchen maid in the palace of the Sugar Plum Fairy wanted only to catch a glimpse of the secretive Nutcracker Prince. She never dreamed he'd desire her, or that his loving could free the elf song she'd kept caged since her husband's death. Their unexpected passion forces Branagh to make a terrible choice, between his kingdom and his woman.

This story is a sequel to Elf Song, but can be read independently In the land of Hivernia, the whispers of war have grown louder. At the request of his king and in order to save his people, Llewellyn, a forest elf, goes to the far north seeking Frostbone, the ice-demon king. But on the way he finds a wounded d'ark t'uath, one of the women warriors of the hidden valley. Proud and untamed, these women have no use for men…but Tamara finds herself falling in love with the tall, one-eyed elf who rescues her. Tamara and Llewellyn have to learn acceptance of each other's beliefs in order to join forces and warn Hivernia of impending war.