Oh and guess what? I’m almost ready to publish Silver Hollow! I haven’t built a lot of hype for this one, but it’s very close to being finished. Just want it to make sure it’s as perfect as I can possibly make it lol. (Much of that will be attributed to my editor RJ) So thanks to everyone who has helped me through this process/journey.
For you, here’s a snippet:
Emrys sat down on the other side of the lavender flora, drew his knees up to rest his long arms on them and tore a blade of grass between his fingertips. “I should say it went better than expected,” he mused and spontaneously stretched out, crossed his arms behind his head and with a satisfied grin watched the last traces of power fizzle to cloudy skies above them.
Bitterly, tucking her wonder and fear aside, she asked, “What did you do to me?” It couldn’t have been her. One thing she knew for certain, whatever Emrys had made her do wasn’t happening ever again.
“I only taught ye how to open the door, Jessamiene. You’ll be able to tap into it whenever you want now.” He chuckled. “And sometimes when you least desire.”
Amie rounded on him. “Just stop! This is insane! None of this makes sense! There is no way on earth I should be able to do any of what I just did!” She wrung her hands furiously the moment she caught the aim of his amused orbs. Freshly sprouted vines broke from their earthy ties and clung to her hands until she shook them free.
Emrys seemed unperturbed with the fact vines were also curling amid her flowers and tearing at his clothes with prickly thorns. Capturing her attention with the potency of a snake charmer’s he said, matter-of-factly, “Unless you belong here,” supplanting what she was too afraid to admit. Emrys laughed while she denied it. “Amie, sooner or later you’re going to have to start accepting you believe more than you’re allowing yourself to see.”
“Right, next thing you’ll be telling me I have a real talent for catching flobbergidits!” She rubbed her hands together to contain the last waves of power pushing through her unconscious defenses.
“Would you be open to suggestion? Periwinkle could make use of as much help in the garden as he can get.”
Amie stared amazed at his unflinching gaze, mouth parting then snapping shut as she flung her fists at him and shouted, “I’m being serious!”
“So am I.” Emrys laughed, teetered back, and the clouds above parted to allow slivers of light to peek and illuminate his dark features into something foreign. His smile was blinding beneath the full weight of the sun. No set of features made Emrys devastating to look at, she then realized. Rather it was the set of his coal-black eyes, the sensitive twist of his mouth and all its hidden hints of expression. Deeper still ran the danger of his person, echoing of an affinity for his dark past. What disturbed her was the sense that the tightly bound danger in him might choose to unleash at any second.
Just like those bad boys Mamma used to warn you about…
“Never mind,” he said, waving aside the thought with a smirk, “you’d hate the business. Flobbergidits and their prickling needle coats and syrupy sweat. Can’t have our little princess looking like a bag of slip kippers, can we?” Easing back onto his arm pillow, he sighed and stared unabashedly at the afternoon sunlight.
Amie tried to rub away the prickling sensation beneath her skin, when her gaze fell to his neck and the scars crisscrossed over it. Gasping, she said, “Where did you get those scars?”
Emrys tensed after a pained pause, twisted onto his stomach and stood with his back to her. Tucking his chin into his shoulder, he offered, “You’re free to go now, Jessamiene. We shall continue this lesson after supper.” He slipped away with little more than a farewell and left her wanting much more.
Jennifer Silverwood 