Thursday, November 14, 2019

Thursday Searches Affinities Book 3 Excerpt #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Fantasy #Young adult


Sydli

Who?
     The question rang in Sydli’s thoughts and brought a gush of fear. Sydli. She answered before she decided whether the voice belonged to a friend or enemy. To muffle her mind, she quickly slammed the barrier her mother had taught her to erect.
     She sank on a chair and covered her face with her hands. Though she had given her name to a stranger, she had kept her location secret. Cautiously, she opened the bond to her twin. Emli. Be careful at dinner tonight. We don’t want Lodar to know which of us can hear his thoughts.
     Emli grinned. He is fun to confuse but I don’t like or trust him. He makes me feel itchy.
You’re right to feel that way. I have listened to him when he sits at Father’s side. Mandir constantly speaks of Wesren and how wealthy that princedom has become. He hints the reason is because no female or halfling can be the ruler. He also argues that as Father’s oldest child, though his mother was never a spouse, he should be named as heir.
     Emli frowned. Father was pleased when Lodar returned. What will we do if he is named heir?
     Sydli grasped her twin’s hands. We will pray spouses are found for us in other princedoms.
If Father does that, we will be separated.
     Sydli caught a hint of eagerness in her twin’s thoughts. Did Emli want to have a life apart? The possibility troubled Sydli. Before their mother’s death, she had asked Sydli to protect her twin. The promise had been sworn. We could have twin spouses.
     Emli laughed. How many high-ranking sets of twins are there? I know of no others. She rose. “Let me be the friendly one tonight. Do you think Lodar knows which of us is the true heir?”
     Sydli shook her head. “Doubtful. Prepare to be charming. I will be nasty.” She finished braiding her hair. They had inherited their pale hair and green eyes from their mother. Their copper-hued skin was like their father’s. Being halflings had held them apart from the people of Nortren.
     The summoning bell chimed. Emli walked to the door. “We should hurry.”
     They sped along the corridor toward the throne room. Sydli paused at the door to catch her breath and to read who was inside. Emli reached for the handle. Sydli’s forehead wrinkled. “Lodar is here. Father’s thoughts show he is pleased. What has Lodar told him?”
     Emli made a face. “Who knows?”
     “I could learn.” Sydli felt a brush across her thoughts. Beware. Shield. There’s a stranger in there who can read thoughts.
     My blocks are tight. Could this stranger be one of our half-brother’s friends or one of our relatives?
     I don’t know.
     Emli opened the door. “Father, we are here.”
     When Sydli saw the tall man whose fair hair hung in a braid down his back, her skin prickled. She pulled her barriers too tight she could barely hear spoken words.
     The stranger rose. His black leather clothes made his skin appear as pale as newly fallen snow. His coloring and manner meant he was from the highlands. Who was he? A miasma of evil surrounded him. Sydli knew he was no friend.
     The man turned to her father. “Pedron, your daughters are as lovely as any I’ve seen.”
     His intense glare made Sydli’s shoulder muscles tense. She clasped Emli’s hand. They crossed the room and curtseyed to their father.

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