MeliSwenk Editing

@lousytshirt

Reader. Writer. Loves art, music, film, photography, & expression. INFJ. She/Her. #copyeditor #betareader #proofreader

1.524 Folgt1.355 Follower557 Posts

Bluesky

amateur

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir lousytshirt.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· 24d

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "divined" -- Faldor loves insulting Evlin & Thyberius; he believes he's so far above them, not just as their king. Evlin can handle the slurs, but she won't let him insult her mother in the same manner. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“All is well, Father, that word damages nothing of the effort and sacrifice I give my kingdom, my home.” She glared at Faldor now. “I am not the only of my kind. You do well to remember my mother was a beloved advisor to your beloved father and died in that same crusade. Decrying the power I have is decrying hers. I will not have you befoul her efforts no matter which crown you put on your head, Your Highness.” She did her best not to spit the honorific at him.
King Faldor sent his hand through the space between them as if she were an opponent to be staked through the heart. The fingers of his left hand wound in what locks of hair he could grab and pulled her face toward his. “If your change was not divined by the Seers, I would take you right now.”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· 26d

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "acquired" -- At the end of an argument between Evlin and Faldor, she reminds him of who she is and how his threats don't frighten her. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“I have no fear for the security of my position. My lineage transcends time, Your Royal Highness, and most especially your puritan authority. This is my land, all of me, Your Royal Highness, and no matter how far I go, or for how long, this will always be my land.”
Faldor growled into the enchanted glass and swiped his hand over it to return its reflective nature.
Evlin turned toward the center of the office and let loose a frustrated, feral screech. Normally, she could turn inward and find some kind of peace, some kind of warmth. But the liberties her king was taking in discouraging her lineage was just enough to make her feel manic, nearly out of her head. As much as she wanted to, Evlin would do nothing more than organize her desk before she went home. It was her king’s directive, after all. In about an hour, she had her edicts and scrolls organized with the most recent messages staring her right in the face. She only had to write six scrolls in response to the stack she’d acquired. And she’d pull Sonja up on the mirror and postpone collecting the day’s reports to tomorrow night. Not that she had expected many updates beyond recruitment numbers and military statistics.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· 27d

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "rushed" -- A few close moments from the very first time Evlin and Monah met face to face. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“Your skills lean much in another direction. You, Highness, are a natural-born leader.” Evlin reached her hand out slowly to rest it against my forearm.
Where she’d hesitated before, she thoughtfully touched me now; and in just a few seconds, the hairs on my arm stood straight up. Heat rushed through me, made me feel as if I were on fire, but not burning. Merely glowing. At that exact moment, Joni came back through the kitchen’s threshold and grunted to see us sitting so close together. Evlin’s voice had gotten much softer when Joni vacated the room, and I’d inadvertently gotten closer to hear her. Joni sat next to me, and I nearly pulled back from Evlin’s touch except that, much like a barbed electric fence, I couldn’t; I was stuck in the loop of her power.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· 28d

Just for my BlueSky followers! 🔥 Summer Sizzle 🔥 Deal: 50% off! Proofreading & Beta Reading services for books over 10k words Available from July 15 to September 30 DM w/ word count & genre - Let's connect! #writesky #writingcommunity #authors

Open-faced book lays in the middle of bright green grass with a loose leaf laying on top of it. The caption says: Beta Reading, Copy Editing, Proofreading - MeliSwenk Editing

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· 29d

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Evlin is discussing the orientation of a new recruit with Faldor during a meeting where the king is trying get different information from her and her father. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“The start of the process,” Evlin nodded, “as the final phase approached, Arliss of the Farms took control. Sending this newest recruit to the Farms Realm was most appropriate as construction and stone work are his greatest talents.” Speaking from her wheelhouse, Evlin stood taller, spoke more quickly and clearly, and acted as if a new barrier had been erected between her king and her deeper, more conflicted thoughts.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jul 12

#WIPSnips from Survival Instinct -- Just after lunch on Day 1 of Rae's (aka Paulina) capitivity, Jim is looking for a microphone he can put in her room to make communication a little easier. She isn't at all like the others. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

Needing no time for the dishes, Jim moved into the informal living room—decked out with comfy furniture and a large-screen TV—and approached the large shelves he’d designed specifically for this room. Built directly into the wall, the space behind a disguised, hinged door was deep and big enough to be a hallway coat closet. Lined with white utility shelves, it was nothing short of organized chaos. Various electronics and long-distance communication devices were stored on the top shelves. Bedding, air mattresses, and camping gear were out of the way, on the bottom shelves and off to the left. Decorative pillows and living room miscellany were stored in the middle shelves off to the right, and extra pillows and woolen blankets were stored on the second shelf to the left. Moving into the center of the room, Jim pulled the metal chain to click on the single, dangling light bulb above him. He was looking for a specific microphone that would connect to one of the cameras in Paulina’s room. Getting into the room while she slept would be easy; it was just a matter of waiting.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jul 11

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- I'm pretty sure I've shared this confrontation between Thyberius and Faldor before, but it's one of my favorite Thyberius moments, and it was the first scene I thought of when I saw this word. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

Thyberius’s grim smile stretched his sharp features. “It is precious, indeed.” Once more, Thyberius brought his height to loom over his king’s son. “If any harm comes to Wilem of the Ancients, I will personally see to it that you pay for it.” His finger once more filled the space between them, and Faldor merely glared at it. “Strip my title, rob me of my home, and then you will have to explain your paranoia to the court—for I have done no overt wrong except to remind you of your rightful place.” Thyberius stepped back from the thrones of his fellows, and just before leaving the throne room, he turned back to attack Faldor once more. “Disrespect my daughter in front of me or from the inside of your mind once more,” Faldor’s eyes shot up to meet his in wild wonder, “and I will take your head off myself—Aleksander’s son or not.”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jul 9

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 2 -- using "keeping" -- Brief snip from Ankara's POV as she watches vendors set up for the annual festivities in Piatra. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

Idly, she watched those same three men set up a stand for axe throwing. Thoughts of history clouded her mind, keeping her from smelling the humans milling around her, and keeping her from hunting anyone else while she was here. She had to be extra good, stay off the radar. There was already too much talk about the people she had killed, and the man she helped Monah kill three months ago. She had to stay off Monah’s radar.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jul 7

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 2 -- using "quarters" (as in living space) -- Monah is coming back through the castle looking to rest for a bit, but ends up having an unexpected visitor. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

When I reached the main hall of the castle, my original intent was to go to my quarters, my mother’s quarters, and maybe take a nap. Try to process subconsciously all that I had learned since seeing Evlin, Thyberius, and Ankara earlier. The energy in the hallway was off, though, dark, dragging at me, and I wished Drake or Andrew were standing outside the doors. There was nothing to prepare me for the creature waiting when I walked through the doors.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jul 5

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 2 -- Khoda & Criseyde are in a Turkish bazaar hoping to run into Basalt. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

Criseyde and Khoda walked, trying to blend in among the people moving around them. Some sat on wide stone benches, while others milled around at the windows of shops along the stone lane sending them through the bazaar.
“Did we have to come inside?”
“I’m sensitive to the sun. Did you forget that?” Criseyde cast a sidelong glance at him.
“Why did you insist on coming to the bazaar now, then?”
“Basalt is not sensitive to anything, Khoda, so we need to meet him on his plane.”
Khoda shook his head as he admired antique weapons laid out at the front of an old shop. “These need cleaning,” he said, using the local dialect humming around them.
Criseyde grinned as the old shop owner sent his thumb up in the air without even looking at Khoda. “Maybe keep your opinions to yourself.”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jul 3

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 2 -- Monah, Evlin, and Sonja taking stock of the kingdom (and each other) after the events of the first book. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“There has been no communication from the Grey.”
“Three months,” I almost moaned, then I reined in the emotion that came with it. I didn’t want to whine or bemoan my position. This was the position I knew I would eventually be in, but I had not wanted it to happen the way it did. “Every day for three months I have sat in that meadow, asked for guidance. Even Doliu…” I started, then stood back from the women in front of me.
“When did you go there?” Sonja approached, reaching out a hand for me and resting it on my forearm.
Warm guilt and nostalgia, memory, flooded my nerve endings. I leveled my gaze with hers and tried to send out comfort and calm. She had no reason to still feel badly for Ankara’s move that day. “Last month,” I tossed my own guilty glance between them, “I thought Doliu might have something…anything to offer in the way of guidance.”
“What did she advise?” Evlin crossed her arms and looked at me as if I were a wayward child.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jul 2

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "knocking" -- Monah wakes up on the porch after the nightmare about her mom and Evlin the night before made it hard to get back to sleep. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

Sunlight made the inside of my eyelids glow red, and I heard Joni knocking around in the kitchen. I stayed on the couch, listening to the familiar noises on the other side of the wall behind me. She was getting ready for her shift at the gym, protein shakes and snack packs of almonds, grapes, and small squares of cheese. Being a personal trainer was Joni’s life, and she loved helping people get into shape, get healthy. She took care of herself, and it was something I had always loved about her. Discipline. I knew I could rely on her, and early on, she’d been quick to step up and be there for me. The last couple months proved it, but who she was in the last week seemed to be a whole 180-degree turn from that.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jul 1

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Just after her mother's passing, Monah is going through an old box Bette kept in the attic. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

I reached into the box and pulled out what looked like a black apron of a heavy fabric embroidered with flowers in rich shades of blue, yellow, and red. Beneath that, a white gown with blue designs down the arms seemed to flutter between my hands. It was so light yet appeared durable. Under the white gown, a long scarf in a red and white pattern was folded into a thick triangle. As each piece of clothing passed through my fingers, flashes of Mom, a younger, smiling version, came up to meet my vision. I hadn’t even realized my eyes were closed until the images started moving across the back of my lids like a movie.
More tears flooded my eyes as I selected the next piece of clothing without even looking at it. A small, lacy bonnet filled my palms, and only just barely. The rich, green satin ribbon that would have held the bonnet to my head was tied in a neat bow. And I knew, instantly, that I’d worn it, more than once, and that I’d been wearing it when Mom and I arrived.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 29

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Joni isn't pleased that Monah is taking the time to consider leaving Washington Square with Evlin, and she isn't hiding it. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

I knew she was avoiding real eye contact. I knew we needed to talk, and I also knew that her first instinct would be to avoid. But, we didn’t have time for that, not now. I had to call the ghost, stake the heart, and do it like handling Band-Aids. “We need to talk about this, Jo. Derek or not. You know that.”
“No,” she said, looking up at me from the contents of her rich blue gym bag, “I know you could-a told that witchy bitch to vacate. But you asked for a forty-eight-hour deadline instead. My decision, flat and final, is you stay.” She scrubbed her hands in the air, then tossed them away from herself as if tiny water droplets would spray from them. “There, not even an hour. Poof that bitch back and tell her.”
All I could do was look at her. My heart lurched up into the back of my throat, and I wanted to scream and sob. There was no one else to talk to about this. I literally had no one, unless I tried to channel Mom on the magic mirror in the other room. If I could poof anyone back here, it would be her. “I’ll try,” I gave her and stepped up to give her a kiss, which she rebuffed. This would be the first time in five years that I haven’t kissed her goodbye.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 28

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "lovely" -- Thyberius is explaining a little of Piatra's history to Monah. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“This is the land Aleksander and I discovered when we separated from Turkey all those years ago.” Thyberius stepped up alongside Evlin and me. Vivek and Josef hovered closely behind us. “Gökhan held great skepticism. Worried that they would overpower us. Never felt any of the warmth or welcome the Greys actually offered us.”
“But that’s…” I started.
“I took the name of Celeste’s people. Just as Aleksander dropped his Turkish surname to honor the union he would make with Ursah.”
“That’s lovely.”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 26

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "beauty" -- Liena Abrams, Muse, can definitely be described as a fox. (She is so Sherilyn Fenn coded, oof.) #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

But, this woman had cropped and curly brown hair that framed the soft curve of her cheekbones. Her full, pouty lips wore a matte red perfectly, and her teeth were slightly yellowed from smoking or wine. Thick black lenses in stylish frames covered her eyes, and a cigarette skirt in a similar shade hugged her frame. She wore it high on her waist and tucked a tight, white button-down into it. She cinched the ensemble with a wide black belt and a rolled cigarette behind her ear. The timbre of her voice reminded me of Julie London, and when she spoke directly to me, I thought my heart might explode.
“Lady Grey been to see you, yet?” She lifted the sunglasses from her cheeks and turned bright blue eyes toward me. Fixing the cigarette before it fell from behind her ear.
“Yes, just yesterday.” Even though her beauty heavily distracted me, the need to be firm did not escape me. “But, who are you, and what are you doing here?”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 24

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- going for vibes with "bring...to an end" -- Monah was restless and made up her mind about going to Invelis with Evlin while Joni was asleep. The decision immediately brought Evlin back to Monah's doorstep. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“I wasn’t sleeping, couldn’t,” I admitted, looking from my fiancée to Evlin, informing them both. “I was thinking about tomorrow, about Evlin, about Faldor. Trying to make up my mind.”
“And so you did, Highness,” Evlin praised. In a moment of uncharacteristic sentiment, she was grinning broadly and nearly approached me with her arms wide open. Joni’s wrath brought any of that feeling to an end.
“How did you make up your mind while you were sleeping?” Joni’s hands went into the air now, holding up her anger and confusion for all to see. “Weren’t you just sleeping?”
Evlin and I both looked at her as if she had just appeared beside us in some strange exchange of magic. As if, in a contrary motion, she had poofed herself into our conversation.
“Did you not just hear?” Evlin studied her face and approached the woman as if I’d completely disappeared from the room. “Monah just said she was lying awake in worry, troubled and sleepless. I suppose you slept soundly, though, yes?”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 22

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "drawing" -- At Fazekas Bistro, Evlin runs damage control to prevent Monah's return from spreading too early, or even at all. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“While those feelings may be accurate, even protect you in the future,” Evlin started, resting a hand on the large man’s forearm, “that does not precisely answer my question.”
Vivek once more tilted his head toward the table and hesitated in answering.
Sonja visibly responded when she saw a fresh, silver goblet carried out to her by Megh’s oldest daughter, Sola. “Thank you, little miss,” she intoned.
“Sola,” Evlin moved quickly, drawing her attention from a still-hesitating Vivek, “have you spoken to anyone about who you saw me with the other day?”
Politely, she shook her head ‘no’ and leaned forward. “But, Lily Kokinos has been. Told me it was actually the princess. Not sure if she told anyone else, though.” Looking over at Vivek briefly, Sola shrugged her shoulders once more to confirm that she had no knowledge of who Lily had been speaking to.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 21

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Ankara takes Monah to the castle and Ursah's suites to recover after helping Mon with her first feeding. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“Queen Ursah’s wing,” Ankara confirmed.
My mind settled and determined that for itself as she spoke the words. “Why here?”
“Why not?” She lingered in our proximity, keeping my hands in hers.
I looked around, trying to feel something other than the anger I recalled from the last time I was here. Tried not to look at the mirror, where I longed to see my mother’s face. Where I longed to hear her voice once more.
“You produced some very real power here.”
“You felt that?” I asked, taking her hands tighter in my grip.
“Every burst of energy,” she spoke, stepping closer to me and tapping the right side of my chest with her finger, “I knew each one.”
Connected. The word flashed, as if the grey matter shouted it. My hands found her upper arms, bringing her even closer. “Do you think…”
Ankara grinned. “There is no need to even ask. Of course, you know the answer.”
I stepped away from her, trying to wrap my mind around the broad reaching repercussions. Instead, she pulled me back into her bubble.
“Stay here. I cannot, but stay. Change these clothes,” she tugged at the sleeve of Evlin’s jacket specifically, “wear something lovely from your mother’s collection. The bath,” she continued, pointing over my shoulder. “There is actually running water, hot and cold, right here in the castle.”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 20

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "reclined" -- Sonja feels a bit restless keeping the secret of Monah's return and seeks out Evlin in her office, but finds Josef and a stack of correspondence instead. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“If anyone in this kingdom needs a secretary, it’s Evlin.” She started sorting through the leaves of paper for anything she might assist her colleague with. Her focus kept her from hearing her other colleague enter the office.
“Ah, Ms. Washington, so glad I found you.”
She looked up from the top of Evlin’s desk. “Didn’t know you were looking for me.”
Josef shrugged, leaning in the threshold. “Well, not quite like that, but I was hoping we could talk to Evlin together.”
She spread her arms out to her sides before tilting her head toward one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Not here. At least, not yet. My guess, though, she hasn’t even been to bed yet.”
The shorter man shook his head at Sonja’s intuition and reclined in the chair closest to the door. “Still can’t talk about it?”
Sonja shook her head. “If only because I haven’t seen Evlin since I last spoke to her at Fazekas Bistro.”
“Well,” Josef’s eyes scanned the top of the desk, “there anything we can do about that?”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 18

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "resumed" -- Evlin and Thyberius touch base after a nasty confrontation with Faldor in the throne room. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“Why did you mention the Seers’ prediction before telling me?” Thyberius reached his hand out to Evlin while she pulled herself up off of the floor.
“Do you ever get the feeling he knows the answers to questions before he presents them? Even beyond your line’s telepathy? It would do no one any good to lie.” As she did to him right now, why bother rehashing the fact that this prophecy was not new. She brushed the floor’s sand and silt from her leggings and resumed her place at her father’s side, making no comment at his lack of protection or lame attempt at assistance. She understood his place almost better than he did.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 16

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Monah making her way through the enchanted forest that surrounds Piatra Invelis. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

I had no idea where I was, except that I was walking in a dark, dense forest. The first pillars I recognized were from the birch family, reaching in toward oak and maple cousins who lingered far from the skirts of the pine and spruce trees. I followed no path, but merely walked from one space between two trees to another. Fragrant air pulled me from one low-hanging branch to the next, and I tried my best to avoid the raspberry and currant bushes reaching up from beneath the trees. As I looked over my shoulder, the distinctive marks burnt into the white of the birch bark looked back at me. Somehow, I knew if they caught me grasping at the red-purple berries below my knees, I’d never get back up again.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 14

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "projecting" -- Monah is meeting Doc James, the kingdom's alchemist, after crossing into Piatra Invelis triggers a very strange experience. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“Welcome home, Princess Monah. The Elders have been projecting your return for ages, but I totally never thought I’d see the day.” Doc smiled at me, and I returned the smile as an obligation of my social graces. The weight of the position, and its ripple effects, bore down on me, every single second the young woman and this alchemist kept looking at me. As much as I wanted to sit up and meet all of them eye-to-eye, my body had somehow become more than I could maneuver. Its weight, as if lead had been threaded through every fiber of my being, held me pinned to the alchemist’s exam table.
“She nearly chose to stay,” Evlin accused, slightly smiling at me over the alchemist’s shoulder. Her comfort level apparently soared, being back home and among her people. She had definitely not looked this at ease at my home or on the way back here.
“Most glad to be at your service, then, Highness.”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 12

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "blades" -- Monah is making her way through the enchanted wood to the Grey Meadow and her first interaction with the Elders. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“We can tell you all you need to know, or how to find it,” the maternal voice whispered in my ear. That soul-deep fire started once more, and the cool dew that managed to cling to the long blades of grass and clumped bunches of fallen leaves rose up from around my ankles and arches in light clouds of steam. The long sleeves of Evlin’s old dress did little to protect against the thin tree branches snapping back at me as I moved between them faster than before. I needed to reach that voice, see the eyes above the mouth, feel her presence. As the lava flow triggered by her voice raced through my veins, I only pushed myself harder into the web of tree branches crisscrossing the minimal open space of the barely there path. In my effort to protect my eyes from the branches, I had missed how close I finally was to the center of the blue-gray haze until I heard that maternal voice once more. “A century of protection and foresight have come full circle.” I could barely stand when I breached their leafy, dark meadow.
“‘Tis Ursah, Ara; do you see her?”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 9

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Monah has a dream after Evlin shows up to take her home. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“Princess,” she whispered, practically purring.
When my mother called me that, it stirred a bit of warmth in the center of my body. Hearing it from Evlin now set my insides on fire. Boiling, from the inside out, I wanted to run from her, but I could find no energy, no motivation to actually move from the spot I stood in.
“I cannot wait to serve you.” Her words echoed in my ears as if the space between them were totally empty, cavernous. Warm hands clamped first around my jaw and then slipped back into the roots of my hair, dragging her nails against my scalp, pulling my face toward hers. Instead of kissing me, she brought my ear against her mouth and started to scream. A bloodcurdling scream, high-pitched yet deep, full of hot breath and vibrato.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 8

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Evlin and Thyberius are informing Faldor of the status of the kingdom, when Ev includes an update from the Elders. A reminder of an old prophecy they insist is coming true. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“You do well to remember I am the rightful king here—regardless of any rumor that my family survived.” The speed and force of his movements reminded Evlin of her king’s true nature and made her step back from his advance, but that only forced him to get even closer. His eyes glowed their full natural yellow, revealing that he might be as hungry as Recruit Mason had been, and his fangs protruded beyond the thin pink line of his bottom lip. A strange acidic smell emanated from between them. “I watched them massacred before my very eyes in the last Turkish battle on this land, in front of this very castle!” Spittle flew from his lips, and it took everything Evlin had not to wipe it away from where it landed on the bridge of her nose. “How dare you contest my place, Vrăjitoare?”
“Your Highness,” Thyberius spoke softly, trying to concede to his king on his daughter’s behalf, nearly stepping between them.
“Stay back while you can, Grey. I will not have both of you defy me.” His wild yellow eyes burned into Evlin’s, and he reached out toward her to grasp only air. She’d clearly seen his intent before he moved to make it reality. “Answer me, Witch, before I make it so you can’t.”

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 6

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Evlin talks to Agnetta about Monah's trip to the Grey Meadow, meeting the Ancients and coming into her power. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

Evlin could only shake her head so as not to take her eyes from her princess. She aimed her words directly at the royal. “She pulled herself up from the ground. Asking for me, Aggie. My name was the first from between her lips.” Absently, Evlin brought her fingers up to the ridge of her own bottom lip—as if the memory were tangible, relivable by mere touch. “When I picked her up, after nearly falling for wanting to stand, she was humming with the power. Her body vibrated against mine, Aggie.” Wonder permeated every word. For a moment, the wonder felt juvenile as it grew behind her eyes. She’d seen so many of these ceremonies, watched so many Invelisians come into their powers, and seeing it happen to her princess was like seeing it all for the first time.
“Did you see the color of her power?”
“I caught a hint of blue just before she fell against the ground and extracted herself from it.” Evlin shifted her attention to the older woman as she nodded when she realized she hadn’t been given an answer to her earlier question. “Agnetta, where is my father?” She pressed her palms against her hips and felt literally torn between what answer she might receive and simply watching her future queen breathe deeper into her sleep.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 4

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- using "stellar" -- Faldor hates presiding over the Court, mainly because the members are often defiant. Madeline of the Medics is defending keeping their borders open to refugees after recent battles. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

“You must stop, Faldor. This is insanity. To go on this way is total madness.” The gray-haired woman pressed a stiff finger through the air to point adamantly at her king.
“You are a psychologist now, Madeline? Despite being such a stellar psychic in the Territories; so, of course, you definitely know about madness and instability.” Faldor did not even raise his eyes to look at the victim of his insult.
“Cheap shot,” she tossed, looking at the top of Faldor’s head as though the others weren’t there. She didn’t really need them anyway. The Medics, members of the City Realm, often stood alone in Court, unintentionally—but passionately—playing a weak devil’s advocate.
“Madeline, please, His Majesty knows what he’s doing. It’s for our best interest.” Tritt stood up amongst his seated peers and reached a cautious hand out to his sister. Though his opinion often paralleled hers, he was not as quick to toss it out of his mouth—not without regard for his audience, anyway.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 2

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 2 -- Evlin, Sonja, and Monah try to strategize in the aftermath of what happened just three months prior (at the end of Bk. 1). #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts

Evlin shook her head, dropped the weights of her fisted hands to her sides, and strode past us. “Father even had nothing to offer. We are in this…alone.”
“For now, but how will I know when I’m ready?”
Sonja touched my shoulder, then passed me to approach Evlin. She made us all look at each other, standing in a loose circle, right in front of the thrones. Feet planted on the stones beneath our feet. “Timing is everything, right? You will know. For now, we need to do what needs to be done.”
“Balance,” Evlin muttered, trying to turn back from the circle Sonja created out of us.

MeliSwenk Editing@lousytshirt· Jun 1

#WIPSnips from Monah Bk. 1 -- Evlin tells Monah about her biological parents, King Aleksander and Queen Ursah, and gives her some hope despite the major loss she's suffered. #writesky #writingcommunity #queerwriters #writingprompts