An unhappy shape shifter can be a dangerous companion....
For Sunday's Six of the Best authors share six paragraphs from a published work or a WIP (work in progress). Though it appears I'm the only one sharing this week (everyone else is too full of turkey, I guess), I don't mind. I love sharing excerpts and will continue to do so until I decide my time would be better spent elsewhere.
That said, 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 in the middle of the second chapter, Dominic Westcroft has returned from London to discover his sister has invited several young women to his home, so he can select a new bride. What neither he nor his sister suspects, however, is that one of the women is actually his deceased bride's sister. Tormented by guilt over his wife's tragic and brutal death, Dominic has no intention of ever marrying again. However, when his show of temper accidentally reveals one of their guests possesses magical abilities she's trying to keep hidden, he invites the ladies join him for dinner, so he can rout her out.
Though Serena is routed out during dinner, she manages to keep her true identity a secret. After her close call with their host, however, she returns upstairs to speak with her cousin, while Dominic retreats to his study to send for his sister. As he waits, he recalls his former mentor's prophecy stating both Dominic and Terrence would need to mate with a woman pure of spirit and body prior to their thirtieth birthday. Failure to do so would mean slipping into a steady decline that would result in them not only losing their powers, but their minds as well. Since marriage wasn't a requirement, Terrence fulfilled his end of the prophecy many years, while Dominic waited until his wedding night when his bride was brutally slaughtered before they could consummate their marriage. All the same, when you considered his tenants paid only 75 GBP a year in rent, the fact that his sister was offering each of the women 100 GBP of his money, rankled. He wasn't that difficult to be around. Besides, Serena Blanford was clearly attempting to hide something from him and he intended to get to the bottom of it.
Though Serena is routed out during dinner, she manages to keep her true identity a secret. After her close call with their host, however, she returns upstairs to speak with her cousin, while Dominic retreats to his study to send for his sister. As he waits, he recalls his former mentor's prophecy stating both Dominic and Terrence would need to mate with a woman pure of spirit and body prior to their thirtieth birthday. Failure to do so would mean slipping into a steady decline that would result in them not only losing their powers, but their minds as well. Since marriage wasn't a requirement, Terrence fulfilled his end of the prophecy many years, while Dominic waited until his wedding night when his bride was brutally slaughtered before they could consummate their marriage. All the same, when you considered his tenants paid only 75 GBP a year in rent, the fact that his sister was offering each of the women 100 GBP of his money, rankled. He wasn't that difficult to be around. Besides, Serena Blanford was clearly attempting to hide something from him and he intended to get to the bottom of it.
Serena
awoke the next morning with a feeling of unspecified dread. The day was bright and clear, and she’d slept
well, yet she couldn’t seem to put aside her premonition that something very
bad was about to happen. Serena didn’t particularly
care for these unpleasant intuitions, since they were usually right.
Preferring
not to appear conspicuous, she selected a conservative navy blue silk skirt
with a pleated panel and its matching jacket complete with a high standing collar
and a stiff leather belt. After dressing
quickly, she crossed the hall and knocked at Allison’s door. Allison opened it with a bright smile that
complimented her sunny yellow day dress.
So, whatever bothered Serena clearly hadn’t affected Allison.
Not wanting
to upset her cousin, Serena said nothing about her premonition as they headed
down to breakfast. But at the top of the
stairs she could see Westcroft and his sister waiting for them at the bottom. She wanted to tug Allison back upstairs, but
feared it would appear both cowardly and suspicious. Rather than alert her hosts that she
suspected anything was amiss, she continued down the stairs without a pause.
When she
reached the foot, Westcroft extended a hand and caught her arm. “I need to talk to you,” he advised firmly.
“But my
cousin and I were just about to go to breakfast.”
“Your
cousin can go with my sister. You will
come with me.”
“But….”
Though Dominic Westcroft suspects Serena has secrets she's not willing to share, he is determined to uncover the truth behind his young guest's deception, even if it means keeping the other women around as a ruse.
M/F, Shape shifting wizards in Victorian England.
Thanks for visiting. I hope you enjoyed this brief excerpt and want more. Please click the link below to continue your hop Sunday's Six of the Best. Wishing you a wonderful journey.
Another intriguing snippet from this book Kathryn. Serena definitely knows something.
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Roz