This week in my current work-in-progress...

So, last week I mentioned Fin was about to find some trouble... He definitely did. Here's a snippet from our adventures this week. Trouble finds him, always. That's why he's so fun to write. :) Also, I love writing male POVs, and in this story, I ONLY write his POV. It's been really fun!

Here's a look....

The world came back to me in fragments—the taste of copper and stale ale, the throb in my skull that pulsed in time with my heartbeat, and the cold bite of metal against my wrists. I kept my breathing steady and my eyes closed, cataloging my surroundings through senses that felt . . . wrong. Muted.

Stone walls. The scent of unwashed bodies and despair. The distant echo of dripping water. And underneath it all, the sluggish, dampened feeling where my abilities should have been sharp and clear. Whatever toxin they’d shot me with in the tavern was still working its way through my system, leaving my powers accessible but unreliable. It was like trying to navigate through thick fog.

I tested my animal telepathy, reaching out for any creature nearby. The mental touch felt clumsy, unfocused. A rat somewhere in the walls responded with confused chittering before the connection fizzled out entirely.

Haze. I’d heard of the poison Eduart used on his collection of toys, but I’d never experienced it myself. The toxin dulled the mind without completely diluting abilities. It was all that kept Pyra sane during captivity. And by sane, she’d meant detached enough to survive her misery in muddled consciousness, while her calming ability was being used as a drug without even wielding it. How did a toxin like that benefit Eduart, though? And more urgently, why had they used Haze on me?

I cracked one eye open, then the other. Slick stone walls. Iron bars that stretched from floor to ceiling. I was in a cell as expected. My wrists were shackled to the wall behind me, the chains just long enough to let me sit upright.

“Shit.”

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I tried not to give too many spoilers away. But if you're a paid member at any level you have access to the entire early draft, so you can get a full peek behind the curtain there, if you desire. 😘