An unhappy shape shifter can be a dangerous companion....
It's Frisky Friday, and for A Writer's Naughty Thoughts, Fridays are also anything can happen days.
My excerpt for this week is from my 2nd book, Deadly Enchantment. A shapeshifting wizard romance set in Victorian England published by New Concepts Publishing,
In this snippet, which occurs at the beginning of the third chapter, Dominic Westcroft has reason to suspect Serena Blanford, one of the guests his sister has invited for him to consider as a potential bride, possesses magical abilities she's trying to keep hidden. Believing she may actually be a plant placed in his home by his treacherous brother, he decides to give her a purity validation test.
Serena has no idea what this "test" actually entails, but given the reaction of the other women who went through it, she knew it wasn't anything she wanted to experience. Up until this point, she has successfully managed to keep both her and her cousin safe from having to undergo the ordeal, but now Westcroft is adamant they both submit. When Serena declines, he advises his servant she will be leaving first thing in the morning. Knowing if she's sent away that she'll never be able to solve the mystery surrounding her sister's death, Serena agrees to have her purity "validated". However, when they approach the room where the testing is taking place, Serena hears her cousin crying. She rushes in to comfort Allison only to learn they forced her cousin to drink a potion, which was in effect a truth serum for the spirit intended to expose those who intend harm through deceit.
Serena has no idea what this "test" actually entails, but given the reaction of the other women who went through it, she knew it wasn't anything she wanted to experience. Up until this point, she has successfully managed to keep both her and her cousin safe from having to undergo the ordeal, but now Westcroft is adamant they both submit. When Serena declines, he advises his servant she will be leaving first thing in the morning. Knowing if she's sent away that she'll never be able to solve the mystery surrounding her sister's death, Serena agrees to have her purity "validated". However, when they approach the room where the testing is taking place, Serena hears her cousin crying. She rushes in to comfort Allison only to learn they forced her cousin to drink a potion, which was in effect a truth serum for the spirit intended to expose those who intend harm through deceit.
Serena
wasn’t sure she wanted an answer to her next question, but she had to ask it
anyway. “And what happens if a person’s essence does not meet the necessary
requirements for this unicorn herb’s validation process?”
“Failure
would mean the individual possessed a nature seeped in evil or deceit. And if
that were true, after drinking the potion, the person would get violently ill,”
he replied evenly.
Serena
looked back at her cousin with concern. “How do you feel?” she inquired
carefully.
“Sore,”
Allison replied with a sniffle.
Afraid, but
unwilling to show her fear, Serena glared at him with a look of pure
disdain. “So, do you always have your
brother-in-law do your dirty work for you?”
Dominic
Westcroft regarded her with an arched brow. “Only when a physician is
required,” he answered civilly, but coolly.
Dominic Westcroft is determined to uncover his young guest's secrets even if it means "testing" Serena himself. He views her cousin merely as a means to his end.
M/F, Shape shifting wizards in Victorian England.
Read the first three chapters at: Deadly Enchantment
Available at NCP, Amazon, Barnes & Noble or ARe
Thanks for visiting. I hope you enjoyed this brief excerpt and wish you and yours a very Frisky Friday.
Intriguing snippet Kathryn, I enjoyed this.
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Roz