Rainbow Snippet for 1-19-2019

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

Still posting from one of the books of the Academy of the Accord series, showcasing two of my favorite characters. (Okay, yes, they’re all my favorites, but Yhon and Bry – especially Bry – hold a special place all their own.) I was going to skip ahead and show you an older Brythel, so you could see the changes in him, but decided to finish this bit instead, so I’ll get to that next month.

For those joining late:

Yhonshel is a Tuanae, both wizard and warder. He is a captain, one of the three seconds in command at the garrison of the academy, and he is also a Master wizard and one of the three deputy headmasters at the academy. He’s quiet and gentle and soft-spoken but I don’t recommend ever making him truly angry.

Brythel is one of the cadets. He is timid and nervous and very unsure of himself. (One of the reasons I love Bry is that he probably grew and changed more than any other character I’ve ever written.)

The students were introduced to Yhonshel on their tour of the castle and he invited any of them who were interested in music to come find him during free time. Bry has taken him up on his offer.

Picking up from last week’s snippet:

 

Gradually he became aware of another instrument playing with him and he opened his eyes:  Yhonshel’s fingers were floating effortlessly over the strings of his own lute and Brythel smiled, relaxed and at ease for the first time that he could remember.

“You taught yourself?” Yhonshel asked as the song ended.

“Yes, sir.” Brythel felt tense again, a sick feeling gnawing at his stomach as he waited for the words that he feared – and that he expected – words telling him that he was not good enough, that he should never have wasted the Tuanae’s time.

“You have a good ear,” Yhonshel said softly, and Brythel looked up at him, startled. “What were you thinking, before I said that?” Yhonshel asked.

Brythel looked down. “That you were going to send me away, tell me that I wasn’t good enough and…” He stopped at the feel of a warm hand on his shoulder and hesitantly raised his eyes.