Wings of Starlight

Wings of Starlight (2025) is a young adult fantasy novel by Allison Saft set in the world of Pixie Hollow, the setting of the Disney Fairies franchise. The novel is a prequel and explores the origin story of Queen Clarion and Lord Milori. As Clarion grapples with self-doubt over her impending coronation, a mysterious threat emerges from the Winter Woods. Determined to protect her home, Clarion ventures into the realm, where she meets Milori, the Winter Woods’ stoic guardian. Their alliance to confront the looming danger evolves into a forbidden romance that challenges the ancient divisions between their worlds.

American author Allison Saft is known for her romantic fantasy novels, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, Sunday Times, and USA Today bestseller lists. Besides Wings of Starlight, she also wrote the novels Down Comes the Night (2021), A Far Wilder Magic (2022), A Fragile Enchantment (2024), and A Dark and Drowning Tide (2024).

This guide references the 2025 e-book edition of Wings of Starlight published by Disney Press.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

Wings of Starlight follows Clarion, heir to the Queendom of Pixie Hollow, who feels detached from the everyday lives of other fairies. She escapes into the Summer Glade for a rare moment of freedom, but the deference of the animal-talent fairy she meets there reminds her how separate she is from her people and deepens her loneliness. Upon returning to the Pixie Dust Tree, Queen Elvina attempts to further train Clarion on mastering her governing-talent magic, which the Queen says requires emotional restraint and clarity. Clarion has yet to fully develop these traits, so her magic continues to elude her.

Clarion’s first time leading a council meeting begins with promise as she resolves a minor conflict between the Seasonal Ministers. However, the meeting is upended when news breaks of a monster breaching the border from the forbidden Winter Woods. Elvina immediately declares a lockdown and dismisses Clarion’s plea to help. Restless and frustrated, Clarion disobeys orders and secretly ventures to the border between Spring Valley and the Winter Woods, where she meets the latter’s Warden, Milori. He confirms the threat of the monsters but adds that Elvina knows more than she admitted.

Clarion continues questioning Elvina’s authority and secrecy, particularly concerning the Winter fairies and the danger. When she’s assigned to shadow the Autumn Minister, Rowan, Clarion tells him about her conflicted emotions surrounding leadership, but their conversation is cut short when the monster attacks. Its venom puts fairies, including Rowan, into a magical sleep. Clarion’s desperation unlocks her powers, allowing her to summon starlight strong enough to repel the creature. However, her magic can’t awaken the fallen fairies, trapped in sleep.

Back at the palace, Elvina identifies the creature as a Nightmare. At a public assembly, Elvina announces her decision to destroy the bridges connecting Pixie Hollow to the Winter Woods, hoping to prevent further incursions. Clarion decides to defy Elvina and seek Milori’s help, convinced that collaboration with the Winter Woods is essential. At the bridge on the border, Milori says that a book in the Hall of Winter may contain the answer to defeating the Nightmares, but only governing-talent magic can unlock its secrets. Clarion enlists Petra’s help to make a coat that protects her wings and body from the cold.

With the coat’s protection, Clarion follows Milori into the snowy wilderness to the Hall of Winter, where she successfully activates the enchanted book using her magic, learning that the Nightmares were once sealed beneath a frozen lake by dream-talent fairies, whose magic is now lost. The Keeper of the Hall of Winter theorizes that Clarion, born from a fallen star, may have inherited this power. Though unsure of her control, Clarion agrees to test the theory. She visits the Nightmares’ prison at a frozen lake and briefly restores the decaying dream-magic barrier with her starlight, driving the creatures back. One creature breaches the seal and attacks, wounding Clarion and damaging her coat. Milori takes her to a Winter healing clinic, where she’s tended to and watches Milori care for his people. Before parting, Milori promises to wait for her, and Clarion, eager to maintain the connection, offers to return before her coat is mended.

Back in Spring, Clarion visits Petra to request coat repairs, but her friend is upset not just about the coat but also about Clarion’s secrecy and the risks she continues to take. When Clarion reveals her alliance with Milori and her intention to help the Winter Woods, Petra expresses resentment at being caught between her loyalty to help Clarion and keep her safe. Nevertheless, Petra agrees to repair the coat. Clarion meets with Milori at the border again, seeking clarity and comfort in the lead-up to her coronation. Clarion’s magic flares to life when they kiss, triggered not by detachment but by feeling.

Soon after, Elvina reveals her plan to have Clarion herself permanently sever the bridge at the border on the approaching Summer Solstice. When Clarion defends Winter and argues that unity, not fear, should guide their actions, Elvina claims that Clarion’s compassion is a liability. Distressed, Clarion confesses to Milori that they’re running out of time. Together, they return to the frozen lake, where Clarion successfully mends the barrier. Afterward, Milori invites her to attend a Winter coronation celebration in her honor, and Clarion accepts.

At her Coronation Ball in Pixie Hollow, Clarion tries to sneak away to Winter, but Petra stops her, confronting her over prioritizing Milori. Their argument leaves Clarion shaken, and she flees to Winter. There, the Winter fairies greet her with open arms, and she imagines a future in which connection defines leadership. At the bridge, she kisses Milori again and admits that she doesn’t want to leave, but Elvina interrupts them. The Queen reveals that Petra told her everything and accuses Clarion of betraying them. Clarion defends her actions, asserting that her choices were always for the good of Pixie Hollow. Before the argument can escalate, a scout arrives and tells them that the Nightmares attacked the Winter festival. Clarion, Milori, Petra, and Artemis rush to help. At the Hall of Winter, they fight off the Nightmares to protect the Winter fairies. However, the battle takes a toll: Artemis is injured, and the Nightmares’ venom puts Petra to sleep. Grief and fury awaken Clarion’s full power, and she unleashes a wave of starlight that not only destroys the Nightmares but also leads her to collapse. The Winter healer, Yarrow, says she’ll die if she isn’t taken to the warm seasons, and Milori carries her back himself despite knowing that crossing the border will lead to losing his wings.

Clarion wakes in a healing clinic in the Summer Fields, and Elvina finally admits that her fear-driven judgment of Winter was wrong, adding that she failed as a mentor. Clarion resolves to rule through compassion rather than distance. A few days later, her strength and magic restored, she leaves the clinic and flies back to the Winter Woods. There, she dives into the frozen lake to confront the Queen Nightmare. Inside the prison, Clarion faces a twisted illusion of Pixie Hollow where the land is dying and the people accuse her of failure. She breaks free and confronts the Queen Nightmare. Clarion unleashes her full power, ending the threat and breaking the Nightmares’ curse. When Milori pulls her from the lake, Clarion appoints him as Lord of Winter, solidifying their alliance. However, Clarion chooses to end their romantic relationship and close the border for the other fairies’ protection.

Clarion’s coronation is held on the bridge between Winter and Spring. Elvina crowns her as Queen, and Clarion delivers a speech pledging to rule with unity and care. As the realms celebrate in harmony for the first time, Clarion prepares for her final farewell with Milori. They exchange parting words and one last kiss. Milori vanishes into the Winter Woods, and Clarion, now queen, remains alone at the edge of Spring.