The Valentine of the Cailleach

A Heart Warming Valentine Story (The Seasons of Endurance Series)

By: Becca Storm

Narrated by: Becca Storm

Every winter demands a reckoning.

In the remote Highland glen of Glenarraidh, love is not celebrated—it is tested. Each Valentine’s Eve, the Cailleach, ancient goddess of winter, rises to judge whether mortal devotion is strong enough to deserve the return of spring.

Ailsa, a healer’s daughter shaped by quiet endurance, and Ruaridh, a shepherd burdened by a violent past, have loved one another without promises or spectacle. But when the Cailleach turns her cold gaze upon their bond, they are forced into trials of hunger, silence, and truth—tests that strip love down to its barest form.

As winter tightens its grip, secrets surface, sacrifices are offered, and the goddess herself must confront the grief that made her eternal. For in a world where spring is forbidden to interfere, and love cannot beg for mercy, endurance alone may not be enough.

The Valentine of the Cailleach is a dark, lyrical reimagining of Scottish folklore—a story of love that does not conquer winter, but teaches it when to step aside.

The Valentine of the Cailleach is the follow-up to the cosy Christmas romantasy, Frost and Flame. The Cailleach returns to test the love of mortals in this reimagined tale from Scottish folklore.

©2025 B. Storm (P)2025 Becca Storm

Valentine

I loved the story of how one couple had to stay separate to test their love for winter to turn to spring. Then the next year the whole town is this and started to tell their significant other one thing about themselves the other didn’t know.
I’ve never heard the original folklore behind this story but I love it!