Teaser Tuesday, May 2020 ~ THE DRAGON'S SKIN

From "Books, Movies, Coffee, Etc"

I'm hoping that this snippet from The Dragon's Skin can maybe be a part of such a moment for you. Personally, rainy nights are my favorite time to edit a WIP. Something about the rhythm of raindrops just finds its way into my words. (It's a weird writer thing, I guess.)

Today, according to my new schedule, is a #TeaserTuesday. So let's look at a teaser!! A little context: This is narrated from Ciara's point of view, and she just learned some... interesting informaton.

From "The Dragon Books"

What had happened? How had everything gone wrong so quickly? Aleksander was back. It was supposed to be wonderful.

It wasn’t. I sucked air in, and my chest heaved. I couldn’t breathe. I’d lost him. I’d lost Aleksander. My hands covered my eyes, my cheeks, my mouth. What had happened? Aleksander, who were you? I didn’t know anymore, and it shook everything.

My heart tightened, too small for this. Tears fell from my face, but I barely noticed. I blinked them away, trying to clear everything. But I couldn’t change what I’d seen.

“Aleksander loved Selene,” I whispered. “Not me. Selene.”

I screamed. To the sky and walls and wind, I screamed like thunder. I screamed and screamed until the harshness of it eased my pain. My throat ached, my breath a wisp.

“Aleksander….”

The tower echoed with my scream’s death. Silence came after it, and I listened to it. Slowly, I became it. It spread through me, leaving a coldness behind. If I was to be alone, then I would be alone but strong. There was a kingdom whose people needed me. I could rule them - lead them as best I could. Slumping even farther down, I rested my head against the door and closed my eyes. I shut it all out, letting the darkness take me.

The door shook behind me, and my eyes flew open. I wiped my face quickly. Standing up, I cracked the door. Captain O’Nell stood outside it. When he saw my expression, his gaze dropped to the floor.

“Your highness, I apologize for the timing, but we have… a situation,” he said, his tone quiet.

I swallowed. “What is it, Captain?”

“The people… The people are rebelling. They’re at the castle walls, demanding the king.”

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Thoughts on that? Where do you think it's heading? Any ideas on how Ciara will handle it?

Thanks for reading. I'll be back Monday-ish.

From "The Craziness of Moriah Snell"