So, as you may know, I've been having a lot of trouble working on Book Two. Not because it's hard to write—just because I'd lost most of my passion for that particularly story and was enjoying working on a different one with a friend. But my best friend, PG13, asked me to edit her book (which I hope she publishes!) and I've been working on that my first day of Spring Break. Reading and editing it made me realize how much I missed my own books and how important my story is to me. So I started rereading Book Two and Book Three, and I have totally fallen in love with my story again, which is an amazing feeling. I am genuinely excited to keep working on it now! Praise God—and thanks to PG13 :)
Here is a snippet for you in conjunction with my happiness:
“Zoser will want me to keep him as a hostage, and I’m sure Roman will as well. My only problem with that is that Elysia will probably try to rescue him, and that could be disastrous if Roman finds her first. I don’t want her to get hurt—”
“Lliam, Zoser had waged war against this place!” Namarii interrupted, her eyes full of warning. “People are going to get hurt, especially when Zoser’s got anything to do with it. You can’t protect Elysia forever; don’t try.” She nudged Efroy with the toe of her boot, and he recoiled, reacting the way many others had upon first encountering the strange woman. “Take him as a hostage,” Namarii advised, paying no attention to Efroy’s response. “Maybe Elysia will listen to you and stay away from him. Zoser will be extremely displeased if you let him go now.” She took a step closer and lowered her voice so that the men would not hear: “And you and I both know Roman will suffer greatly for this failure if he can’t find Elysia … Don’t add to his suffering.”
He grimaced, well aware of what she meant. Zoser often punished Roman for Lliam’s failings, few though they were, because he well knew that it was more excruciating for Lliam to be forced to watch Roman being beaten than it was to suffer the beating himself.
Lliam started to reply, but Efroy broke the silence so abruptly that it startled him. “Elysia’s got the egg, and she’s safe. Why would she come after me?” he said in a low, discouraged voice.
He frowned, knowing the answer: “She probably considers you her friend, and she will think it was her fault you were captured. Elysia will come after you,” he assured Efroy, hating the fact that he knew that it was true.
“What if Roman finds her?” Efroy asked then, keeping his eyes down.
Lliam sighed shakily, not wanting to think about situation. Roman wanted so desperately to prove himself to Zoser and was willing to go to extraordinary lengths to demonstrate to his master that he could be as trusted a leader as Lliam. Lliam was unsure how extraordinary those lengths would be when it came to Elysia and the egg. Roman was the most competitive person he knew; he saw everything Lliam did as a challenge, whether Lliam intended it to be so or not. He did not know why Roman felt such a strong need to prove himself to Zoser, of all people, but Roman was stubborn in his beliefs. He would literally do anything to capture Elysia and thus prove his worth to Zoser.
“I’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t,” Lliam replied softly.
