Happy Saturday, everyone. It’s 2018 and, here in Tennessee, it’s freezing! I’m wearing a toboggan (a stocking cap/watch cap for those of you who don’t speak Southern U.S. English) even in the house and not because our heat doesn’t work well. It’s simply that cold outside… 4°F (negative fifteen Celsius) as I write this. Brrr! That rarely happens here. The TVA (The Tennessee Valley Authority) stated last night that they’d generated enough electricity in the last twenty-four hours to run a single home for 40K years. Yes, that’s forty-thousand. I find that factoid to be mind-blowing and am already cringing when I think about the next electric bill. Our heat is running continuously.
This week’s #Rainbowsnippet comes again from Surrogate: Hunted, which will be released by Supposed Crimes in March 2018. The ebook version will be released on February 18, 2018, so why not head over to Amazon and pre-order your copy while you can?
The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook is “for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction– a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation. (no spoilers, please!)”
The Setup: Etain and Brigit have found safety among the Znyrs so their months of struggle have finally caught up with them. Sleep, as they say, heals all, and their Cycalk companions have given them herbal tea to help them find the rest they need.
Etain speaks first in this snippet.
“What’s in this?” Dreads, I’m slurring my words.
“Sleep. Rest.” Trn assured her.
Brigit slumped over the table then slid toward the floor. Ytr caught her and held her against him. “Rynalt,” he said to Trn or something similar. Etain swore she floated above the floor when Trn helped her to the little room.
“Atz made tea Cycalk strong. Too much for Alywards and Humans.”
Ytr deposited Brigit next to Etain, and they snuggled into the bedding. She appreciated her pain-free body, but she still tried to stay alert. Their hosts could have eaten them for dinner, but none of that mattered, she realized, as sleep came with force— neither of them would have ever known.
How could one not be suspicious of even a simple kindness after enduring so much?
You can read more #RainbowSnippets from Surrogate: Hunted HERE.
*Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!
I think I’d like sleep like that, minus the fear of being eaten. I love the little detail about making the tea Cycalk strong.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Etain is super exhausted from being hypervigilant so she’s hit the point of whatever, just not so I know about it. Been there, done that and it is indeed exhausting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love the little differences between the species via the strength of tea!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoy such little details. They make all the difference, IMO.
LikeLike
Aww, this is so sweet, yet I completely understand how hard it is for Etain to drop her guard.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. She and Brigit have been through so much that they deserve a respite.
LikeLike
Ah, it was accidental, then? I guess that’s something to be thankful for!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, accidental. This family (okay, most of them) want to help, but they’ve never really been around Humans or Alywards so they’re realizing there’s a learning curve.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think that’s the most horrible part of being hurt and mistreated. It poisons your future and ever after you see everyone through the prism of what you’ve gone through. It’s hard to come back from that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I wholeheartedly agree. And those results are going to follow Etain throughout the rest of the series.
LikeLike
Mmm, there are nights I could do with some of that herbal tea! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You and me both!
LikeLike
This is very intriguing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks.
LikeLike
I’m jealous of them, sleeping so well. Of course, I’d rather not pay for a few zzzzzzs like that, so… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Etain’s hit the point of not caring as long as it doesn’t wake her up.
LikeLike
That last paragraph! I hope they get the rest they need without the dire consequences.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think they will.
LikeLike