Okay, so I skipped a few weeks. I'm still trucking along on the Shrouded Princes novel, so here's the (somewhat) weekly excerpt. :)
Excerpt:
(disclaimer- from the W.I.P excerpts are from works in progress and therefore not edited or proofed. Please expect errors)
“I think we should contact the king,” Jadyek whispered, but it wouldn’t matter if Jarn had their room bugged.
“Shh.” He’d had the same thought a dozen times. If they turned themselves in, begged King Peryl for mercy, it would mean prison again, but Shroud had no death sentence. At least they’d live. Knowing what he did about the king, it would probably mean they could see each other, even if only on occasion. The heartbond was too revered on Shroud to be blatantly sundered… even for traitors.
Dielel put up a hand and leaned his head to the side. Did Jarn listen to them? Did the demon know they’d happily go back to a hole in the ground than remain at his mercy? There had to be a way to do neither. He chewed on that thought all the time now. Throughout the lifeless days and all through the nights he spent half awake, waiting for some sign that their air had been terminated.
“We still might get away together,” he said. “Jarn will find us a safe port, and then we can start over somewhere alone.”
“I know.” Jadyek managed to smile for him. Hope sparkled in his wide eyes that didn’t, couldn’t, possibly still believe in that future. “It’s been longer than I’d thought is all.”
And they’d both seen the looks Jarn cast in their direction when they dared venture from the cabin. Unless he’d summoned them for a purpose, their pilot wanted them out of sight. Until he needed them, he wanted them only as something to torture.
Maybe screwing with them helped him pass the time. Maybe it helped Jarn sleep, though Deiel hadn’t managed to catch him at that. He’d fancied it a dozen times, catching Jarn fast asleep and summoning the courage to slit the man’s throat before he could wake, but even in his fantasies Dielel suspected he’d never have the guts to really do it.
He’d have to find another way to be rid of the madman. He’d have to, for Jadyek’s sake. And they’d have to think of it in a hurry, he suspected. If Jarn found a use for them, the man wouldn’t hesitate to seize it. When the time came, there wouldn’t be any room for contemplation. They’d have to act, fast, and that had never been Dielel’s style.
Jadyek’s hand settled over his, a warm comfort. “It will be fine, Deilel. You’ll see.”
Looking into Jadyek’s pale face, he could almost believe it. He breathed, felt the heart beating in his chest, and the ship they rode on lurch to one side as something impacted the hull.
The devil’s voice screamed through the intercom, Jarn, coming through the walls to reach them. “Get out here! The bastards have found us.”