I’m changing pace, leaving Ancient Egypt (temporarily) for science fiction romance. Here are six more (well maybe seven) from my current WIP PRINCESS OF SHADOWS (title subject to change!).
Shalira’s father, the dying emperor, has just revealed to her some new facts about the marriage he’s arranged for her, with Bandarlok, chief of the tribes threatening the borders of his empire. Shalira is speaking:
“I don’t understand, are you telling me he’s already married?”
“Surely you didn’t think a powerful man like him was going to take a blind woman past her prime as his chief wife? Not even with the lavish dowry I sent,” Kajastahn said with an acidic laugh that turned into a hacking cough.
It never entered my mind that I’d be one among many wives. He makes it sound as if Bandarlok had to be paid to take me off his hands. She’d been so proud to have the marriage arranged for her, to be serving a critical diplomatic purpose for her father – how little she’d understood. Forcing herself to remain seated, Shalira waited for the next blow to fall.
Here’s the book’s blurb:
Blind since childhood due to an attempted assassination plot, Princess Shalira is more or less resigned to an arranged marriage with a warrior chieftain… until she meets Sectors Special Forces Major Mike Varone, sent to the planet Majumdar to investigate a crashed spaceship, lost in the planet’s mountains. After Mike saves her from another assassination attempt, she persuades her father the Emperor to order the offworlder to join her caravan, going to meet her bridegroom.
Mike resists his growing attraction to her but the pair bond further as they work to retrieve sacred artifacts from her mother’s tomb, narrowly escaping another ambush. Mike offers Shalira the opportunity to escape with him, but she insists on carrying out her father’s wishes. Heartsore, Mike promises to deliver her safely to her bridegroom and walk away.
But when they reach the mountain camp, the chieftain is revealed to be a brutish thug, with no intention of honorably marrying Shalira (even as a secondary wife). Can Mike rescue her, will they win the race against time to accomplish his mission, escape the hostile warriors hunting them and make it off the planet?
I LOVE and appreciate your comments….only one more Sunday left of the official Six Sentence blog hop but I plan to keep posting excerpts anyway…
Please go to http://sixsunday.com/ to find all the other great excerpts today.
Poor Shalira. She’ll show them differently, I’m sure. Never under estimate a woman of quiet strength.
Poor girl! That’s terrible.
Oh! How humiliating! What an awful situation. I’m with Kylie – I hope they all come to realize the mistake they’ve made!
“an acidic laugh that turned into a hacking cough”
Great line!
Great six!
Poor thing. I can’t imagine being in an arranged marriage.
The Emperor *thinks* he’s protecting her from what will happen after his death (but he doesn’t care all that much)…next week, for the last official Six Sentence Sunday I’ll post a happy moment for Shalira, I promise. Probably featuring Major Mike…thanks for the comments and encouragement!
Poor Shalira! Oh, that’s terrible to say that to her. I hope this arrange marriage turns out better than he thinks it will.
What a situation you’ve placed this woman in! I can only respect her resolve and strength here. Nicely done.
Oh, no. That’s awful. Poor Shalira!
Dude, her family stinks.
What an unfortunate turn! And now she awaits the next blow to befall her? Tragic yet she seems resourceful. I hope she finds a way out. Great story and characters!
Oh, dear. But I have faith in her and her strength. (Not to mention the hero!)
Poor thing. I hope she shows him she doesn’t need pity 🙂
That’s got to be a crushing realization.
It’s wonderful the way you set up such complex plots and characters. Great six!
What a horrid realisation to have to come to 🙁 Such a bittersweet moment. I feel very sorry for Shalira in these lines. Great 6.
So uprooted. Poor her. You portrayed her feelings very well.
The next blow? Don’t tell me it gets worse! Very moving six.
Sad part is that this sort of thing was the norm for much of recorded history.
Wow… I feel so bad for her!
No, no more blows. Where’s Mike, somebody get Mike! You’re tugging on my heart Veronica. Well done. Fabulous 6.
Your six left me pulling for her, and then the blurb got me firmly on Mike’s side. What conflict! Way to go!
Oh no! That’s a horrible arrangement! I hope someone comes to her rescue. Wonderful six! 🙂
Love this premise! So romantic. Your six, however, is definitely on the prose side of reality. Poor Sharlira! What an awful arrangement! She needs to turn it down!
Lovely premise. Horrible position for your heroine. 🙂
You’ve set up a chilling scenario and I can only imagine how horrible it would be to be blind AND have an arranged marriage to a stranger. Gah! Great six.
You’ve got the start of a great story. In six sentences you’ve already entered so much possibility for conflict!
Oh no!! My heart is breaking for her. Cannot wait to read this story.
Oh that’s just horrible. Great piece. Really got to me. 🙂
Oh, the poor girl! How terrible for her.
Oh, how cruel! Come on Mike, she needs a hero!!
Poor thing! That’s terrible!
I hope her hero rescues her soon–I can’t wait for next week!
Great six! 🙂
Wow, well done, Veronica! You pulled me right in–emotionally! This book sounds great! I need to know when this one is published (you referred to it as your WIP). It’s my go-to genre for entertainment. We have to stay in touch when SSS ends!
Uh oh! Great conflict you put your character in.
Thanks again, everyone, for weighing in on the situation for my Princess Shalira. She’s got a lot of hardwon inner strength and the next set of sentences is where she asks her father to order Mike to accompany her on the journey…I do promise a happy excerpt next week to close out Six Sentence Sunday! And I’ll keep posting even after SSS ends. Best wishes to all!
Ouch! Her father is an asswipe. She sooooo deserves someone who loves her! Hip-hip hurrah for Mike. 🙂
Great excerpt which captured my attention and sympathy for Shalira. You have given us a fab insight into her character.
I just love the premise to this story. Something I would definitely pick up if I saw it on a shelf. Can you believe next week is the last SSS? I’m going to keep posting something on Sundays too. Maybe I’ll call it “Short N Simple Sunday” or something like that.
Urgh, gutting!
You did a really amazing job of setting this up. I felt her heartache. You rock, Veronica!