Weekend Writing Warriors: Snippet 65- Teodora
It’s time for Weekend Writing Warriors! Every Sunday, a bunch of writers post 8-10-sentence snippets from their WIPs on their blogs. There’s a lot of reading, commenting and great writing. Click on the link to see the full list.
Valley of the Shadow goes on pre-order on the 15th! You can read the blurb after the snippet. One of the fun parts of writing this book was Teodora’s POV. She is so evil and deliciously bad-tempered; a real joy. Not such a joy for poor Kendryk, who is still wounded and her captive. Teodora pays him a visit as soon as he regains consciousness to tell him what he can expect. Gwynneth still holds his castle, but if she surrenders, Teodora might spare Kendryk’s life.
“You will be my guest,” she said. “You won’t be comfortable, but I won’t give you the worst cell in my dungeon either. If your wife behaves, you might not spend the rest of your miserable life there. I’d like to make an example of you, but my advisers tell me I might cause more rebellion if I have you beheaded. It would give me immense satisfaction, but I must be practical.”
Kendryk’s eyes glazed over and he nodded pleasantly, appearing far too unconcerned at the prospect of beheading.
That would change soon enough.. “Now I’m ordering you, as your sovereign, to stay alive. You are no good to me dead. Is that understood?”
Previous snippets are here.
Here’s the blurb for Valley of the Shadow:
A captive prince. A desperate princess. An alliance that will shake the foundations ofan empire.
In the wake of battle, Kendryk finds himself the prisoner of Empress Teodora. As war ravages Terragand, Kendryk’s guilt is matched only by his fear that he will never see his family again. Gwynneth, in possession of a valuable captive but sworn to keep him close, faces Teodora’s wrath as she waits in anguish for relief.
But when Gwynneth’s rescue comes, the empire will never be the same again.
A tide of religious upheaval sweeps across the land, bearing men and women toward their fates. The delicate joy shared by Janna and Braeden will be shattered; the king of a neighboring kingdom will walk the edge of madness; and an oath of vengeance will bind three unlikely allies together in a desperate attempt to curb Teodora’s ambitions once and for all.
Click on the pic so I can let you know when it goes on preorder:
by
“Now I’m ordering you, as your sovereign, to stay alive. You are no good to me dead. Is that understood?”
I love it Christina!
Exciting stuff! The bad ones can be more fun to write (or read) than the good guys, sometimes! I’m wondering why Kendryk is so submissive here, does he know something Teodora doesn’t? Please do pick up from here next week!
~Marcia
Well, Kendryk is somewhat stoned on pain meds, but he does have a trick or two up his sleeve!
Oh! Even after just a taste I can understand why this was so much fun to write. Exciting snippet!
I vote for the evil one, She’s a kick. He’s either drugged or confident he’ll be rescued. Write on, my friend.
Yes, evil is terribly enjoyable to write. And the poor kid is both drugged AND confident. 🙂
Well, I guess getting “not the worst” cell is some consolation.
Tweeted.
Yes, count your blessings! Thanks, Victoria.
Oh, what torture is she planning for him?
All sorts of fun things!
Teodora is wonderfully wicked. Can’t wait to get Book 2 in my hands!
I’m glad Teodora listens to her advisors! At least sometimes….interesting plot development and I too loved her order to him, to survive.
She only pays attention to a few of them, but at least they’re level-headed.
An amusing request, coming from such a deliciously evil character! Love the snippet 😀
I love her command at the end. She’s so casual about wanting to execute him, and then demanding he live. Quite a character, that one!
Yes, she would really hate it if he died of natural causes! No fun in that at all.
Your dialogue is so much fun! If only we could all appear so casual about the thought of being beheaded. lol. Great job, Christina! 🙂
It helps to be on drugs. 🙂
Fabulous dialogue, as ever…the first and last lines just killed me. =D
Ordering him to stay alive. I love it!
Grr… I’d almost forgotten how nasty she is. The snippet is awesome, as always. Also, I read the blurb for Valley of the Shadow, and now my fangirl heart is going crazy!