The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ.
This month, I decided to share some snippets from The Envoy's Honor because it came out three years ago this month. The Envoy's Honor is an adversaries to lovers dragon shifter romance in my Chronicles of Tournai series. Dragon shifter Kirill is an envoy sent with a delegation to Tournai to ensure that his people and their secret (about being dragon shifters) are safe, and Griffen is a diplomat trying to prove his worth and protect his family. From the beginning, they clash and have moments of connection, all with attraction simmering beneath. But there's a lot more going on that they're unaware of at first, and when someone is murdered, they decide to investigate together (because they know they didn't do it...because they were arguing and kissing in the garden at the time...). Today's snippet is an encounter between Griffen and Kirill after one of the disastrous meetings between Tournai's representatives and Ivria's, led by Ederic. (I know it's way too long—I'm sorry! I thought it was necessary for this one.)
“Ederic’s behavior is none of your concern.” The words were said through gritted teeth--Griffen had obviously hit a nerve.
“It rather is when his behavior is disrespectful to my crown prince and--it appears more and more—a waste of our time.” Griffen kept his tone sharp and cold, perhaps more than he really wanted, but he had to keep from snapping and something in Kirill’s expression was making the task difficult. “Your Master Ederic’s behavior is frankly shameful. No grown person would come before a prince and act as he’s done, even less so when he’s asking for something the prince has no obligation to provide.”
“I said—”
Griffen talked right over him. “Though asking isn’t really the word, is it? It’s more demanding. He’s making demands of a prince and doesn’t appear to realize how ridiculous that is.”
“The safety of Ivria and its people is paramount. We are here to ensure that and only that.” Kirill drew breath to continue, but Griffen beat him to it.
“So you say, but what it looks like is Master Ederic a moment from throwing a tantrum because Prince Philip and Prince Amory didn’t give him everything he demanded and then ask if he wanted anything more.” He was keeping his voice down, even if it had gotten sharp. They were in the garden, albeit a sheltered corner of it.
“I am here to ensure Ivria’s secrets are protected. For you to say—”
Kirill stopped talking abruptly, his eyes widening, as he stared at the hand he’d just slapped against Griffen’s chest. Griffen froze, looking down at the hand, too, feeling the searing warmth of it through his jacket and shirt. Then he forced his gaze away and up to Kirill’s green eyes, now spitting with barely held in check irritation and another kind of heat at the edges, one perhaps far more dangerous. How had they gotten so close? When had they gotten so close?