Story Snippets: Guardian Prince by Lauricia Matuska (Lauricia)

Greetings, all and happy fall. Only THE best season of the year. I adore the way the light takes on a richer tone and the air takes on a mysterious smell, and the mist... having grown up in a land-locked, semi-arid desert, I can't tell you enough how I adore misty mornings. I hope that you're finding this time of year just as enchanting.

Here's a snippet of my most recent release, Guardian Prince (book two in the Ceryn Roh series), for you to enjoy during these magical autumn days. When you've finished, I'd love to know what your favorite season is and why. Tell me in the comments below! 

        Sabine expected to walk into complete blackness. Instead, she found the cave faintly illuminated by a multitude of green luminescent specks draped like a canopy across the cave ceiling. At first, she compared them to stars—although she knew she was now inside the cliff and could not see the sky, she could think of no better way to describe them. Upon closer inspection, however, she noticed the lights were moving, squirming over one another, like—
         “Glow worms,” Koen stated, his head craned back to study the ceiling. “Gaoth will be beside himself when he learns of this.”
         “He eats them?” Sabine guessed.
         Koen chuckled dryly. “He can’t resist them though they make him very ill. His droppings glow for days.”
         Sabine grinned. Ahead of her, Gaelan snorted.
         A thought of Bree twinged Sabine’s heart. She wondered how the dog was doing without her, then reminded herself that Bree had Gaoth for company. Besides, Sabine would only be gone for a few sennites. The dog would be fine.
         For some reason she couldn’t explain, Sabine had expected the labyrinth to be constructed of carved stone, so the ruggedness of the path they now stood on surprised her. The glow worms were so numerous that they provided enough light to see by, but only just. Even so, everyone agreed it would be best to not use additional light, yet, in case it alerted the Rüddan to their presence. Because of this, Sabine stumbled several times as her toes got caught in shadow-concealed holes.
         Sabine checked the cuff often, worried that she would misjudge the distance between the twists and turns of the path. Fortunately, the glow on the armband seemed to fade behind them as they followed the trail, indicating where they were as they moved. Sabine was grateful for this, because the strain of peering through the gloom was making her head throb and her eyes ache so that when they came upon the first turn, she almost walked right past it.
         “Turn here,” she called, directing the others off the main path.
         “Are you sure?” Gaelan furrowed his brow. “We’ve already passed two branches just like this.”
         Sabine nodded. Displaying the armband, she explained how the path was fading as they followed it.
         “We’re here,” she pointed a fingernail to the spot where the black path behind them met with the red glow before them and turned right. “And we go there.”
         Gaelan nodded but said nothing before stepping into the new tunnel.
         Sabine led them like this for a while, constantly checking the armband and indicating turns as they came upon them. The others followed without much comment.
         Then the path ended.
         “What now?” Gaelan asked as they faced a wall that blocked any forward movement on the path.
         “The cuff says to turn right again,” Sabine said, looking from the cuff to the wall and back again.
         “I’d love to,” Gaelan remarked. “Would you like to tell me how?”
         “Look around,” Koen said. “Labyrinths are full of concealed paths. You just have to find them.”
Sabine’s face burned, the heat of embarrassment scalding her cheeks. What would she do if she had led them to a dead end? Could she have misread the armband, maybe misunderstood how it worked? She scanned the wall in front of her desperately, so focused that she almost missed the clue that revealed the hidden path Koen had suggested they find.
         It was the breath of cold air that caught her attention. She had stumbled yet again as she moved to inspect a new section of the wall and had paused to massage her ankle when the wisp of cold passed her face.
         “Did you feel that?” she called softly to the others.
         “Feel what?” Koen said as he drew near.
         “A small wind, as if from outside.”
         “Wind?” Gaelan’s voice carried across the path. “In a cave?”
         “Maybe a cross tunnel,” Aodhan countered.
         Sabine surveyed the wall doubtfully.
         “Don’t expect it to be obvious,” Koen cautioned. “The easy paths are often the deadly ones.”
Sabine nodded, not really sure what she was looking for until she felt another puff of cold air. Following the direction it came from, she examined the shadowy crannies and nooks until she found an opening that turned out to be much wider than it had initially appeared.
         “Over here,” she called to the others. “This crack is wider than it looks. If we go single-file, we can fit through it easily.”
         “The glow worms stop here, so we’ll need a light,” Aodhan said as he peered over her shoulder. “A dim one, though. The Rüddan will discover our presence soon enough without our announcing it.”
A moment later an orb of light blossomed in the darkness. Hovering near Koen’s shoulder, it was just bright enough to illuminate the path clearly. Sabine was glad for this since the new tunnel was just as rugged as the one they were leaving.
         The air grew colder as they walked. At first, Sabine welcomed it. The chill refreshed her as it cut through the still, dank cave air. Soon, however, it grew chilly. Not long after that, it became uncomfortable enough for Sabine to draw her cloak around her. Unfortunately, everything she wore was still damp, so the chill soon sank into her core.
         “Human, does that map of yours indicate any new turns?” Gaelan asked, apparently unfazed by the drop in temperature.
         Sabine checked the armband. “Not for a while yet.”
         “Then that gate is going to be a problem.”
         Squinting into the gloom ahead, Sabine envied her companions’ superior eyesight. She continued forward, reluctant to admit she saw nothing. “There’s no mark on the cuff to indicate any sort of barrier, but that’s not necessarily significant. It could be the map only marks distance and direction.”
        “Let’s hope so.”
         Just then, Sabine spied the gate, as tall and as wide as her former home in Khapor. Small black mounds dotted the ground before it, splayed randomly in a half-circle array. Yes, she agreed silently, wrinkling her nose as she caught a whiff of a charred, acrid smell. Let’s hope so, indeed.

Story Snippets: Guardian Prince (Lauricia)

Greetings once again, all!

I hope you are well and well-read. We are getting A LOT of rain where I live, but my house is high and dry, so I'm not too worried. Plus, it's great reading weather, and school's almost out for the summer, which means A LOT of reading time for me!

Today I'm sharing a snippet from my recent release, Guardian Prince (book two in the Ceryn Roh Saga). As you know, I'm a huge fan of fantasy, but it always vexed me that a deity-based magic system could be ultimately controlled by mortals. I always that thought that if mortals received magical ability from a deity, that deity should have the authority to decide when and if the mortals get to use it, or else why was he/she the deity? In Guardian Prince, I chose to explore what a deity-based magic system would look like if the deity whose power is being used not only could but did say, "No." This excerpt is one of Sabine's introductions to that kind of magic system. I hope you enjoy!

    Sabine followed a dry stream bed until she came upon a large stone jutting out into the path. Water marks stained the lower half, revealing the gradual recession of the river that had once flowed around the rock. The top was relatively smooth and flat, so Sabine sat upon it, settling into the safe, familiar comfort of being alone in the woods.

    She had not been there very long when she heard the snap of a twig. Sabine tensed, suddenly alert, but the noises of the animals around her continued unchanged, so whatever had moved nearby was not unfamiliar to the surrounding animals. Since this meant it was not an Aethel, she relaxed.

    “You have good instincts,” Koen said as he emerged from behind a nearby tree, “but you dropped your guard too soon. Although the forest knows me, that doesn't mean I'm safe for you.”

    “Koen,” Sabine greeted the Dryht tersely. Frustration flared within her, stirred to new life by his intrusion. “What are you doing here?”

    One corner of the Dryht's mouth curved wryly. “Communing with the forest. It's what Dryht do. Mind if I join you?”

    Before Sabine could say no, he sat beside her on the rock.

    “How soon do you expect to hear from Gaoth,” Sabine asked, her tone more terse than she intended. 

    “The bird is fast, but he gets distracted. A juicy berry here or a lovely she-raven there, and business is a lost priority. I don't expect him until morning.”

Sabine nodded, but grimaced inwardly. So much for that topic. “So...you knew my friend Mariel?” 

    Koen nodded. “She did much to fight for the freedom of your people. She was not strong in her use of magic, but she was diligent. She worked hard to master her ability.”

    Sabine shook her head. “I never would have thought it.”

    “That was rather the point,” the Dryht countered. “What about you? Your mentor believed you held even more potential than your friend. Shall we find out?”

    “What, now?”

    Koen glanced around, exaggerating the action as if to make a point. “You have pressing business elsewhere?”

    “All right,” Sabine consented. She truly wanted to say no, but it was clear the Dryht was not going away. “How do we begin?”

    "Technique,” Koen stated simply. “The last time we spoke of this, we discussed how all magic comes from one of two sources: the will of Torian or of Nymhon, depending on whom you serve. So. Now you learn how to tap into that power.”

    “Let me guess,” Sabine said when she recognized the Dryht's silence as a prompt. “A prayer? A chant? An incantation?”

    “All of those are options,” the Dryht conceded, his tone reluctant, “but each of them is time consuming. It's really just a simple matter of the will. You focus on what you want to happen, will it to occur, and it happens.”

    “As long as Torian allows it,” Sabine amended, recalling the night of Aodhan’s rescue. She had certainly wanted the arrowhead out of his shoulder, but nothing had come of it.

    “Yes, there is that. Still, calling on your will is much faster than any other option and is preferable in any number of situations.”

    Sabine was about to ask for an example, but she remembered when she had first used magic to rescue Danelle's baby from being still-born and kept quiet. As she considered it further, she could imagine many instances in healing when time made all the difference. “I suppose this method is the easiest to learn as well?”

    “Actually, no. The benefit to prayers, chants, and the like is that they help you narrow your focus and pinpoint your will. It takes much discipline to focus your will without them, because you can be easily distracted by everything around you. You must be able to block everything else out.”

    That shouldn't be a problem, Sabine mused, since she had been blocking out distractions all her life: her mother's criticism and negativity, her sister's snide comments. Blocking things came easily to her. 

    “Sabine,” Koen prompted. “Are you still listening?”

    “Yes,” she replied, chagrined at the way she had let her thoughts wander. So much for focus.

    “Then watch.” The Dryht held out his hand. A moment later a butterfly rested in his palm, opening   and closing its wings a few times before fluttering away.

    "Did you make that?"

    Koen chuckled and pointed to the opposite bank of the dry riverbed. “No. Creation of something from nothing is reserved only for Torian and the Creator God. I simply moved it from that flower over there.”

Top Reads So Far of 2021 (Lizzie)

Can you believe it's late March already? I figured it was a good time to do a quarter-year favorite reads round up. I've been intentional about reading more this year, and I'm glad because I've loved to so many of the books I've read!

Here are my top reads of 2021 so far. 

1) The Healer's Rune and Guardian Prince by Laurica Matuska

It took me a bit to get into this story since it starts at a rough place with the heroine's friend being martyred by the cruel Rhuddan elves who've abused their treaty with the humans to enslave them, and who've just about killed off the other two races (one is extinct), but once in, there was plenty to keep me reading. (I actually read the series twice, which I seldom do). When Sabine's friend challenges her to seek the truth just before she dies, it sets her on a dangerous path. Sabine is a healer, and I loved her integrity and devotion to healing even though it put her in danger and caused her to help people who'd been horrible to her. With beloved or not-beloved but still well-developed secondary characters and a fascinating world with surprises and mysteries to solve, I highly recommend this series. I really connected with Sabine and am looking forward to book 3 (especially since the romance hinted at in book 2 will hopefully continue). 

2) A Castle Awakened by Sharon Rose

Another book that I absolutely loved was A Castle Awakened by Sharon Rose. It has such a classic knights, castle, and princess feel while being unique as well. I loved heroic Lord Tristan and cheered as the proud Princess Beth learned kindness from him. Tristan, who claimed a mysterious, abandoned castle in the woods, has to deal with an equal mysterious young lady rescued from attackers by his men. Unfortunately, the young lady, who unconvincely claims to be a peasant, refuses to reveal her identity. I also enjoyed the prequel A Castle Sealed and am looking forward to book 2, A Castle Contended.

3) Dawnsong by Brynn Shutt

One Guard, One City, Many Secrets. Unravel them all today. I adored this novelette by Brynn Shutt (and love the cover!). A city guards risks her job trying to help orphans in a city suffering from a plague and ends up meeting a kind new captain of the guard. The story feels like a prequel to a series, and I am looking forward to the next books! I loved the characters and am curious to find out the mysteries hinted at. 

4) Lost in Averell by Tara Grayce

This was a fun portal fantasy where a teenage girl manages both being a high schooler in the US and a princes in a fairytale world. When a classmate accidentally travels through the portal into the fairytale world (which is really quite dangerous to those who don't know it, humans in particular), she and a friend set out to find him and end up involved in a larger plot against the humans, unicorns, and dragons of their world. This was a cute story, and I'd enjoy reading more set in this world.

5) Out of Time series, starting with A Time to Die, by Nadine Brandes

This is one of those series that made me cry so much but which I still absolutely loved. The main character, Parvin, grows a lot during the series, and the hero was so lovable. It was a bit traumatic in places, just to warn you, but definitely worth it. The story is set in a world ravaged by natural disaster and disease and now separated into halves by a wall. There are very high tech, wealthy cities, and very poor ones. Everyone is supposed to be born with a clock that tells how long they have to live. Those numbers determine how much schooling and medical care you get and much else. If you don't have a clock, you're a radical and can be thrown through the wall to the dangerous West. Parvin and her twin brother have been secretly sharing their clock for the last almost eighteen years, and one of them will die on their eighteenth birthday. Parvin's sure she'll die, and her attempts to finally start living well before she dies have unexpected and far-reaching consequences, including getting her thrown through the wall.

Have you read any of these? What are your favorite reads of 2021?

Story Snippets: Guardian Prince (Lauricia)

 Greetings, Friends!

Welcome back to Lands Uncharted. Today I'm sharing another snippet from my newest release, Guardian Prince, which is the second book in the Ceryn Roh Saga. This series is  a high fantasy epic set in a world where Humans are subjugated by the an elvin race known as the Rüddan. Ripped from her home and forced to collude with an ancient enemy, Sabine Rhyonselle is pursued across the world of Ceryn Roh as she races to find the Human godstone before the Rüddan annihilate her entire race. Guardian Prince is available from Amazon in paperback and ebook.

Below is an excerpt from chapter 13. I hope you enjoy!

Rounding the corner at the end of the hall, Sabine was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost didn’t see the two figures standing in a shadowed corner near the stairwell. Startled, she backtracked instantly, then chided herself for being so skittish. Even though she was a Human, she had as much right to be here as anyone else. Pushing her shoulders back and raising her chin, she began to proceed forward when another thought stopped her.

The two figures stood in the shadows, in an unused part of the castle, and she had not heard their voices or anything else to let her know they were there. What if they were meeting secretly, with no desire to be discovered? Pressing herself against the wall, she peeked around the corner.

The two figures were deep in conversation and didn’t appear to have noticed her. At first the shadows made it hard to discern their features, but after a few moments Sabine thought she could identify Amala’s golden hair. The Aethel woman stood with her back to Sabine, mostly obscuring the man she spoke with. However, based on the rich brown of his hair and the sky-blue-and-misty-white color scheme of his rather elegant clothes, Sabine surmised it was Maeron, the courtesan Sabine occasionally saw in the Great Hall.

Quietly, so as not to disturb them, Sabine pulled her head back. Although it surprised her to see Amala here, hadn’t Diera said that Lord Maeron sought Amala’s affections? Both Sabine and Amala were left to their own devices for the evening meal, so it was entirely possible for Lord Maeron to invite Amala to an unused part of the castle where he thought they wouldn’t be disturbed. Judging by the looks Amala frequently shot at Aodhan, Maeron didn’t stand a chance, but who was Sabine to interrupt his attempts to woo the Aethel woman?

No one, Sabine thought. Grinning smugly at the idea of leaving Amala to her eager suitor, Sabine retreated the way she had come, backtracking to the library in search of another route to the kitchen.

She was not halfway back to the double doors when she smelled the smoke. It was not a heavy scent—not like new wood burning in a clean fireplace. Rather, it smelled faintly like a campfire, redolent of charred wood and ashes.

Like the scent that is said to precede the Hannori. Sabine shuddered at the thought. According to her father’s stories, the actual physical manifestation of a servant of Nymhon looked like a shadow and smelled of something burning. If the Ayrhim were real, couldn’t the Hannori be real, too?

According to the stories, Sabine thought again, then groaned. The stories she was studying with Tayte must be winding up her imagination. What would a Hannori be doing here, in a deserted corridor? Besides, all the doors were locked—she had checked most of them herself—and all of the glowing orbs had been dark, except for the ones Amala and Maeron must have triggered. There was no one here to summon a Hannori.

Convinced she had imagined the scent, Sabine continued down the hall…

… and almost slammed into Gaelan as he exited a nearby room, carrying an armful of thick candles.

Sabine nearly choked on a scream that stuck in her throat. Gaelan grunted and dropped a few candles, which Sabine helped him retrieve. They were still warm, as if they had been burned for a while and had just been extinguished. That explains the smoke smell.

“Human,” Gaelan grunted, accepting the candles from her. “What are you doing?”

“Exploring,” Sabine said before she could think of a better response. “I’m still learning my way around. What about you?”

Gaelan eyed Sabine, looking as if he weren’t going to answer, then grimaced and said, “Guard duty.”

Glancing at the candles, Sabine arched her eyebrows.

“It’s true.” Gaelan stood taller and positioned his feet in a battle stance. Speaking in a theatrical tone, he declared, “I, Gaelan, Lord of Eddonwe Keep and head of the Royal Guard, am embarked upon the most noble of all guard duties: rat patrol.”

“Rat patrol?” Sabine barely managed to contain her laughter. “With candles?”

“Ahh, you see, fair lady-in-waiting,” Gaelan retorted, his tone turning conspiratorial, “one must have light to see them by, and the rodents of this keep hate our glowing orbs. They hide from the harsh glare and will only venture out in complete dark or in the yellow glow of a candle.”

Sabine assessed the Aethel captain, certain he was mocking her. “Is that so?”

Gaelan nodded. When he spoke again, his tone was back to normal. “It’s usually a punishment detail, but I lost a bet. A commanding officer is nothing if he is not a man of his word, so here I am.”

“Hmmm,” Sabine put on her best expression of pity, but didn’t try to make it too convincing since she was still fairly sure Gaelan jested at her expense. Did the Aethel not have rat traps? “In that case, I should leave you to your campaign. Happy hunting.”

“My lady,” Gaelan said, saluting her by touching the edge of a candle to his forehead.

Flashing a bemused smile but still not expressing any belief in his tale, Sabine returned to the library at last and made her way quickly to the kitchen and her dinner.

Story Snippets: Guardian Prince (Lauricia)

Welcome back to Lands Uncharted and another installment of our Story Snippets posts. We hope you are enjoying this new addition to our blog as much as we are enjoying bringing them to you.

I am glad to present another excerpt from my upcoming release, Guardian Prince, and to announce exciting news:

 

Guardian Prince will be released on Amazon in only nine days, on September 24, 2020!

 If you’re an ebook reader, the digital version is already available for pre-order on Kindle, and the paperback will be available soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy this preview of the sequel to The Healer’s Rune.

 

Story Snippets: Guardian Prince (Lauricia)

Greetings all, and welcome back to Lands Uncharted. I hope you are all doing well, and that you’re mastering your new normal with pizazz in whatever way that looks like for you.

I’m super thrilled because I get to share another story snippet with you. Today, it’s an excerpt directly from my upcoming release, Guardian Prince, which is the sequel to The Healer’s Rune. I’m afraid I don’t have a release date yet, but as soon as I get one from my publisher, I’ll be sure to let you know. If the excerpt below interests you, the best way to learn about the release date is to join my email list via the signup form at Lauricia-Matuska.com.

That said, here’s the excerpt.  It’s a snippet from chapter one, where Sabine first rejoins the Aethel who rescued her at the end of book one. I hope you enjoy!

“Human,” a deep voice called from nearby.

Sabine glanced up to see Koen standing a few feet away, his bright, leaf-red hair contrasting sharply with the deep black feathers of the raven perched on his shoulder. She fixated on the sight of the raven's talons sinking into the shoulder of the Dryht’s leather jerkin. Recalling the weight of the bird when he had landed on her lap, and the sharpness of his talons against her leg when he had sprung off, Sabine reasoned the Dryht must be stronger than his remarkably tall, lean frame suggested.

The raven turned his head to one side, regarding Sabine and her dog with a large, bright blue eye. Then, turning his head to the other side as if for a better look, he studied them with his bright green eye. A fraction of a moment later he shrieked a raucous call and fluffed his feathers. Instinctively, Sabine clutched a fist-full of Bree's fur, to keep the dog from jumping at the bird, but Bree did not even tense. Amazed, Sabine watched the dog and the bird politely disregard each other, as if they were used to spending great amounts of time together.

“The others are waiting for you,” Koen prompted politely, but with a slight air of command. “The Rüddan could be upon us at any moment. Follow me.”

Sabine nodded and did as the Dryht requested, but unease stirred within her. She had thought she would be safe after she fled from Khapor. “The portal is still under attack, then?  Or are they coming at us from another direction?”

Koen stopped and turned back to her, his eyebrows arched. “We are half a world away from your village, Human. The portal is the only way they can reach us now.”

Sabine frowned. Half a world away from Khapor?  She did not understand how that could be, but she did not want to appear foolish in front of this Dryht, either.

“Portals are not like normal doors,” Koen explained, as if reading her expression. “With any doorway, the distance from one side to the other is a mere step. For portals, however, the distance is much greater. When you passed through our gateway last night, you traveled from your tiny island village to the largest continental forest in Ceryn Roh.”

“But don't the Rüddan know where we are?”

Koen shook his head. “Before the War of New Dawn, all portals were originally created and maintained by the Dryht. Although the other races used them, only mine understood them. They were destroyed by the Rüddan in the War, but we have spent the past three hundred years restoring them. Even if the Rüddan knew how they work, they have no idea where any given portal leads. As far as they know, we could be anywhere in the world.”

Sabine nodded. “So the only way to get to us is to cross over from Khapor.”

“Exactly,” Koen said. Turning, he began once again to lead her to the others. “And while no portal has ever fallen when it was attacked, that doesn't mean it can't, so no more delays.”

Sabine fell into step beside the Dryht, following closely as he guided her through a forest that appeared equally maintained and unkempt. The trees seemed to grow in large clusters: a variety of cedar, pine, and oak gathered here, a knot of willow and elm over there. Creepers, ivies, and shrubs twined around and through each thicket. The spaces between them, while not completely empty of bushes or trees, had a sense of being designated walkways.

Koen led her to one of these stands a short distance away from where she had slept, a large copse of rowan, ash, birch, and willow. Pausing just outside the cluster, he pushed aside a thick curtain of vines to reveal a narrow entrance, which he gestured her to pass through.

She did, realizing too late that Bree had followed her in. She would have shooed the dog back outside, but Koen was right behind her, his tall frame filling the doorway. He did not seem to notice the dog, and the raven still sat on his shoulder, so Sabine let it go, hoping nothing would come of it.

Inside, the stand of trees looked like a large room. As with the other buildings she had been in since last night, the trees grew closely together, their varying shapes and sizes tiling among, against, and over each other and the surrounding foliage to form walls while their branches intertwined to weave a roof. Muted, dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, illuminating a long, narrow table that filled the center of the room where a group of men and women appeared to be conferencing over breakfast. Much to Sabine's surprise, she recognized most of them.

Aodhan, the Aethel prince she had rescued and nursed back to health, sat at the head of the table, flanked on his left by Gaelan and his right by an Aethel man she had never met before, but who appeared vaguely familiar. Aodhan’s sister, the Lady Diera, sat across from him at the other end of the long table. Amala, her lady-in-waiting, sat to Diera’s right, attending her blind mistress. Aodhan’s cousin Taylion, whom Sabine knew as Tayte, sat near the center of the table on one side. The chairs across from him and to his right were empty.

Koen directed Sabine to the spot beside Tayte, for which she was glad. Of everyone seated at the table, he was the person she had known the longest and the best. He was the reason she was no longer enslaved to the Rüddan.

The conversation stopped abruptly as she approached, giving her the impression that whatever they had been discussing somehow involved her. Their silent stares unnerved her, causing her stomach to clench. Squaring her shoulders, she kept her head up and met each gaze and glimpse as levelly as she could. They wanted her here, she told herself. They had attempted to rescue her not once but twice. Still, the reminder did nothing to ease the sense of being weighed and judged.

Tayte nodded to her, catching and holding her attention. The shape-shifter wore his Aethel form rather than his Human appearance, his smile warm and gracious. The knot in her stomach eased a bit.

“Good morning, Sabine,” he said expansively. His voice filled the silent room, reminding her of the tone her mother used when indirectly commanding her and her sister to be polite in front of the company. As he spoke, he rose to pull her chair out for her. “Welcome to our table. Please, join us.”

Sabine gasped softly, concerned that her friend should put so much weight on the leg he had broken during last night's escape. She glanced at his shin, then looked again, startled to see no cast. Tayte followed her gaze.

“It is healed, my friend,” he said gently as he motioned her to sit, then inclined his head toward the Aethel seated beside him and to Aodhan's right. “Kyar saw to it last night.”

Stunned, Sabine nodded in greeting, finally recognizing Kyar as the mysterious stranger who had tended Tayte's unconscious form the night before.

Kyar regarded her silently, his dark eyes so cold and piercing that she could not look at them for very long. Unsure what else to do, she adjusted her cloak slightly to allow herself to sit and accepted the chair Tayte had offered.

Koen joined the table, as well, his raven flying to a nearby tree limb. He took the seat across from Tayte and began filling his plate with food from the dishes laid out over the table. “Help yourself,” he said, gesturing in Sabine’s direction with his plate. “We do not have the time to tarry.”

Writing Snippets: A Deleted Scene (Lauricia)

Greetings and welcome back to Lands Uncharted. I am thrilled to be able to introduce you to one of our new topic categories: Writing Snippets. Here you will find odds and ends from the works of the authors who blog with Lands Uncharted.

For those who don’t know me, my debut novel is The Healer’s Rune. It is the first book in a trilogy and was published long enough ago that the second book is due soon! The Healer’s Rune is a story about Sabine Rhyonselle, a Human who is tired of her people living as slaves to the fey Rüddan in everything but name. But the ban on magic use keeps Humanity indebted to the Rüddan, whose superior strength is the only thing that once protected them from being annihilated by the Aethel. At least, that’s what Sabine has always believed. When she learns otherwise, she must overcome centuries of prejudice and lies, forge an alliance between two enemy races, and find the location of a powerful talisman in order to break the chains that bind Humanity to the Rüddan. Along the way she learns a dangerous secret about herself that could get her killed.

The Writing Snippet that I have for you today is a deleted scene from the second book in the series, titled Guardian Prince. There is so much about this scene that I love, but it just didn't work for the direction of the chapter I had it in. This is why I'm thrilled to share it here with you. And while I don’t  have a release date yet, I do have a cover! The excerpt begins after the cover pic. I hope you enjoy this taste of book two. I'd love to hear your comments below!

By the time Sabine woke the next morning, the sounds of busy activity filled the camp. Rubbing the sleep from her face, Sabine rose from her pallet, stretched, and stepped out of her tent...

...into the hustled activity of a camp being torn down at a rapid pace.

“Sabine,” Tayte said, his manner brusque as he handed her a hunk of cheese and a blush-pink apple, then began pulling up the stakes of her tent. “Eat quickly. It’s time to go.”

Glancing around for Bree, Sabine polished the apple against her cloak. “What's happened?”

“The Dryht's raven has brought a message.”  Tayte finished with the stakes and began winding the cables that had held the tent taut, meticulous about the details despite his obvious haste. “The portal gate has fallen.”

Sabine gaped, the apple half-raised to her mouth. “When?”

“During the eighth watch. They sent the bird back as soon as the portal was breached.”

Sabine bit into the firm apple, its juicy tartness registering dimly as she chewed and observed the activity of the camp. Sabine's tent, the last one standing, would be down soon.  To the left of the camp Gaelan and Kyarr were saddling and loading the horses while Koen brushed the ground with a fallen limb, stirring up the forest undergrowth with the branch's twiggy limb and obscuring the more obvious signs of the group's overnight stay. Unable to discern any way she could help, Sabine did as Tayte had suggested and ate her food.

They mounted and rode out a few moments after Sabine finished, Gaelan and Aodhan in the lead and Kyarr and Koen bringing up the rear. They rode as briskly as they could along the narrow path, and Sabine worried for Bree, but Gaoth stayed close to the dog, as if guarding her. Sabine wondered what the bird could actually do if Bree got lost, but figured that, since Gaoth always found Koen, the two animals would find a way to make do.

Half a watch after they broke camp, it began to rain. Light and patchy at first, it soon collected into an icy downpour. Sabine raised her hood, even though she expected the rain to soak through her cloak quickly, but noted that the cloth was not actually absorbing any of the water. Rather, the droplets beaded up and rolled off as they hit the soft red fabric, as if the cloak were magically water-repellant. Curious about how that worked, Sabine reasoned it must be something all the races except hers knew about, for everyone else seemed to be benefiting from the water-repellant cloaks, as well.

Still, Sabine's forearms and lower legs were uncovered and the water was cold. She draped her cloak as best she could but only succeeded in covering more of her mount than herself. Still, the horse didn't seem to mind. It even sighed subtly, as if grateful for the small amount of relief.

A short while later the rain intensified and changed directions, blowing directly into Sabine’s face. The horse seemed to have had enough, for it turned its head and pulled sharply against the reins. The movement startled Sabine, but she tugged instinctively against the animal, correcting its course.

The horse complied briefly but soon yanked against the reins again. Sabine was more alert this time, so her reaction was well timed, but as she resisted the horse's attempts to turn away from the rain, she noticed Tayte correcting his mount, as well. He looked in her direction and smiled grimly, glanced down at his horse, then shrugged.

Sabine wondered how Diera would manage if her mount responded to the rain in the same way. As if to answer her question, Diera's horse pulled to the left, away from Amala's. The princess's handmaiden grabbed for Diera's reins, but Diera motioned her away. Instead of pulling against the horse, she allowed it to turn into the direction it was already pulling toward. Rather than stopping halfway, however, Diera continued to turn the horse until it faced forward once again.

“We're not going to get very far this way,” Tayte yelled over the rain.

Sabine nodded her agreement, but Tayte could not have seen her, for he had urged his horse forward until he caught up with Aodhan and Gaelan. The three halted and huddled in a conference.

“We can't stop,” Gaelan said as she and the other two ladies caught up to them. “I don't like pushing the horses, and I certainly don't enjoy being out in a storm like this, but we don't have any choice. Now that the Rüddan Emissary has broken through the portal, she won't be that far behind. This storm is mild compared to the blizzards she grew up with in the north—it's not going to slow her down.”

Sabine shifted her leg, trying to avoid being mashed as her horse pressed into the huddle. Amala tugged her mount away but had nowhere else to go, since she was blocked on the other side by Diera.

Koen and Kyarr caught up to them. Kyarr joined Gaelan and Tayte in the discussion of possible options, but Koen only peered around the rim of his cloak's hood, examining the dense wood around them.

“Perhaps I can help,” he said to no one in particular  Dismounting, he walked to the largest tree beside the path, a towering maple that soared so high its crown was obscured among the branches of the other trees. Gently, almost as if asking permission, he place both hands flat on the rough trunk and bent his head, as if listening.

Sabine cold not tell what the Dryht was doing, but a short while later the tree's branches began to stir. The tree looked as if it were swaying in a stiff wind, but the direction and intensity of the rain did not change. The limbs of the maple brushed against those of the other trees to its left. Soon, those trees began to sway, as well. They, in turn, reached to the trees on their left, as well as those across the path from them.

As the third ripple of trees began to sway, Koen removed his hands from the maple and returned to his horse. The stately tree leaned after him, as if it would follow, until its limbs arched over Sabine and the rest of the group.

The relief from the rain was almost instant. Although a fine smattering of drops still found their way through the branches now arched over the path, the intensity of the downpour was greatly diminished. Sabine stared in wonder as the trees along the path cascaded in a slow, graceful wave, bending to form a leafy tunnel.

“They will cover us,” Koen said as he remounted, “but we should not tarry. Although they bend, it is a great effort.”

“Tarrying was not something I had in mind,” Gaelan said, staring at the limbs of a cedar that trembled subtly over his head. Backing his horse out of the huddle, he turned it around and resumed his position at the head of the group.

Sabine fell into place with the others, awed by the Dryht's magical display. Although the rest of the group seemed to take it for granted, Sabine felt as if she had just witnessed something sacred. She knew it was silly, but she wished she could thank the trees.

Once everyone had ridden a few steps farther along the trail, Sabine turned in her saddle to look again at the maple Koen had touched. She saw it rising gracefully back to its upright position, limbs quivering softly as it settled into place once more.

*     *     *