Saturday, May 19, 2012

The First Official Snippet From Book Two

Okay, everyone: here is the first official snippet from Book Two!! This one contains an interesting interaction between Elysia and Roman—one that will certainly not endear Roman to Elysia in the future ;) Enjoy, and let me know any thoughts you have about this snippet! :)

A brief, confused moment passed, and then I suddenly found myself pinioned against Jakob, my back against his chest, and a dagger at my throat. Hardly daring to breathe, I stayed as still as I could, not eager to give him any reason to hurt me.
     “Don’t move.” Jakob echoed my thoughts almost immediately after I thought them, and I could not help but let out a soft whimper of fear. What was he going to do now? Kill me? Use me as bait the way Roman had used Efroy?
     “Call out to Efroy,” he instructed me then. “Let him see that I have you.”
     I swallowed and found I could not speak, but when Jakob pressed the knife closer against my throat, I forced myself to cry hoarsely, “Efroy!”
    He glanced briefly in my direction, took another look, and seemed to realise what had happened. I heard him curse as he drove his sword into a human soldier and then free the bloody weapon. He moved towards Jakob and me, sword at the ready and a fierce, angry light in his eyes. Terrified that he would get himself killed, I tried to struggled away from Jakob, but the human held me fast.
     “Lliam told me not to hurt you, but if you keep wiggling, I may forget he said that,” he threatened me. I dutifully stilled and waited for Efroy to help me, heart pounding violently.
    “Let her go,” Efroy advised in a low, dangerous voice, and Jakob merely pressed the knife closer to my neck, his message clear. Efroy grimaced and looked as though he wanted to say something else but did not; his blue eyes flickered to something behind me frantically, and I frantically wondered if Roman had joined the battle.
    Jakob watched Efroy closely for a few moments more, and then he began backing us up towards the opposite end of the vale, using me as a living shield, and though Efroy followed, looking exceedingly frustrated and helpless, we both knew he could do nothing to help me. I stumbled a few times, and Jakob lightly slapped the blade of the knife against my neck each time, warning me not to try anything—as if I would have been capable of escaping him.
    The human men came in front of us as Jakob brought me backwards, their crossbows and spears pointed threateningly at Efroy’s men. I could hear Efroy cursing from where he stood thirty feet away from me, an anguished look on his face, and I ached to get back to him, where I would be safe.
    “I’ll take her now, Jakob.”
    I froze, completely losing any semblance of bravery I had shown in our brief battle. Roman was here. Roman, not Lliam; I could tell by that victorious gloating in his voice. He was just a few feet away from me … Was he going to kill me now that he had found me?
    I felt Jakob tense behind me, and then he slowly, reluctantly released me. Eager to be away from his knife but panicked at the fact that Zoser’s assassin was there, I stumbled forward—and Roman caught me. I tried to struggle away blindly, but he held me fast, laughing at my efforts.
    “What, didn’t miss me?” he taunted, gripping my wrists tighter until I cried out with pain. Roman smirked and shoved me down to the ground, so hard that I lost my breath for a moment. Panting, I held my ribs, wincing as I dragged air into my lungs. “You’re pathetic,” he said softly, seeming disgusted. “I don’t know why, but I expected something more, Elysia.” Heart racing, I grimaced up at him. What on earth was he talking about? I was a seventeen-year-old girl who had never been out of her tiny hometown; why would he expect anything more than this? Of course I was terrified of him; he had threatened to kill me a few days ago and likely would do so again!
    Roman scoffed and hauled me up roughly, only to then shove me at the nearby horses. “Tie her up; let’s go,” he instructed.

And because I haven't gotten overly far on editing (about pg. 87), it may be a while before I have any more snippets to post, but never fear—there will be more! And remember: IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE, YOU HAVE TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT YOUNG FALCON SO I CAN GET BOOK TWO PUBLISHED!! :)

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