LGBT Fantasy Author Sophia Menesini shares an excerpt from book 2 of her The Veiled Duchess Series.
- “I’ll give you to the count of three,” Poseidon proposes.
Shea closes her eyes, searching for whatever power she supposedly holds inside. She thinks about Jo, Aster, Caen, and even Beck though her mind starts to wander slightly at how much she’s come to care for him. She inwardly yells at herself to focus.
“One.”
Shea starts to panic, it’s like she can see herself standing in a room in her mind. A door is in the center of the darkness, and she can feel the power radiating off of it. She takes a step towards the door; she instinctively knows that behind that door is everything she needs but screams fill her head. Aster’s cries the night Mariner cut his ears, Mariner’s taunts during the duel, Paetre’s gasping breaths as he died, Jo’s tears as she held Shea’s dying body. All of it fills her head, and she can feel the water encasing her physical hands falter.
“Two.”
She doesn’t have enough time. She’s going to lose, Perses is going to take it all. She’s not strong enough. She’s not. But suddenly the door rumbles, something from behind it is calling out to her louder then all the screams and pain filling the darkness. Light bursts from the cracks, and Shea can hear voices coming from the door. Jo telling her how much she loves her, Aster telling her he’s proud to be her son, Beck calling her brave, Caen reminding her he’ll always be there for her, and then she hears Paetre. A conversation from so long ago.
A small child’s voice filters from the door, “Why did you choose me? I’m just a girl, just an elf. I’m not anything.”
Paetre’s voice rings through clear as the day he replied, “You’re something to me. You saved me, Shea, I was lost until I found you, and you were lost until you found me. And together, I know you’re going to grow and do great things. You’re a leader, Shea. Like me, but you have to believe, even if you don’t. Fake it. Make them believe you’re better, and someday, you just might be.”
Shea strides towards the door confidently; she places her hand on the knob.
“Three.”
Shea opens the door. It feels like a blazing hot knife pierces her chest as the power from the door pours into her. She chokes, her lungs burning from the pain, but she can feel it, everything. The magic filling her feet, legs, arms, torso. There’s pressure behind her eyes. A strange sensation on the back of her neck. She knows right now that a water blast is racing towards her.
She lifts her left hand and then opens her eyes. Poseidon is stronger, for now, but with enough concentration, she freezes the blast in mid-air.
Her eyes meet Poseidon’s gaze, and he’s smiling at her with great triumph. Using his distraction, she summons water from over the starboard side and jumps out of the way.
She releases the blast, and before Poseidon can recognize what she’s done, she forces a substantial column of water in his direction, throwing him over the port side of the ship.
by Sophia Menesini
June 30th 2019
Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, New Adult, Romance
Captain Shea Lara is the current leader of The Veiled Duchess. The most feared pirate ship in all of Neried. And now, after completing her former mentor’s final score, she’s retiring. Everything seems to be coming to an end… Until a mysterious stranger drags her back into the fold with an offer for a score she can’t refuse. All she has to do is kidnap the crowned princess of the northern Queendom, Princess Joana of Arethusa. The prize is just within reach. But sparks fly as the two women collide. And an obscured threat that could upturn Shea’s entire world storms on the horizon. She’ll face it alone unless she can allow herself the support she needs from old and new allies alike. Something’s coming and Shea is at the center of it.
About the Author:
June 30th 2019
Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, New Adult, Romance
Captain Shea Lara is the current leader of The Veiled Duchess. The most feared pirate ship in all of Neried. And now, after completing her former mentor’s final score, she’s retiring. Everything seems to be coming to an end… Until a mysterious stranger drags her back into the fold with an offer for a score she can’t refuse. All she has to do is kidnap the crowned princess of the northern Queendom, Princess Joana of Arethusa. The prize is just within reach. But sparks fly as the two women collide. And an obscured threat that could upturn Shea’s entire world storms on the horizon. She’ll face it alone unless she can allow herself the support she needs from old and new allies alike. Something’s coming and Shea is at the center of it.
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Sophia Menesini lives in Martinez, CA with her husband, and their two small Chihuahuas, Ziggy and Zeppelin. The Veiled Threat is her first novel and the first book in The Veiled Duchess Series. Sophia is an avid tea connoisseur and lover of Scotland with an unconventional memory for obscure Disney and Broadway song lyrics.
You can find my blog, updates, and other entertainment at my website: www.sophiamenesini.com
Goodreads
Sophia Menesini lives in Martinez, CA with her husband, and their two small Chihuahuas, Ziggy and Zeppelin. The Veiled Threat is her first novel and the first book in The Veiled Duchess Series. Sophia is an avid tea connoisseur and lover of Scotland with an unconventional memory for obscure Disney and Broadway song lyrics.
You can find my blog, updates, and other entertainment at my website: www.sophiamenesini.com
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