Camilla sets a plan into motion in Ch 10/Sc 2b of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay c2016 by Kim Headlee.

When one suffers deep emotional pain from the actions of one's enemies, the temptation to seize an opportunity for revenge sometimes becomes far too great to resist.

My first and best beta-reader, my husband, probably will make me rewrite this section, but for now, I'm running with it. 

Because while fiction should make sense, it shouldn't be populated with characters who always make perfectly logical decisions. Where the heart is concerned, logic often takes a holiday.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in Raging Sea: Reckonings

 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a |

Raging Sea Chapter 10, Scene 2b

©2016 by Kim Headlee

All rights reserved.

A knock rattled her door. She drew a swift breath and straightened in her chair. “Enter.”

Hador, the warrior whom her father had designated as captain of the guard at Cymensora and therefore her chief protector and adviser, answered her summons. An atypical grin leavened his war-chiseled yet handsome features. Hand to chest, he gave her a deep bow.

“Welcome news, Captain Hador?”

“Indeed, Princess. The harbormaster and I have just concluded a chat with a certain Manx fisherman of your acquaintance.”

Camilla felt her own lips twitch upward. “Ah, what does that old salt swiller report this day?”

“Port Dhoo-Glass is increasing security measures to prepare for the arrival of a . . . how did Ymyl term it?” Hador stroked his thick golden beard for a moment. “A woman of eminence.”

Her elation slid as a realization dawned. “That’s all? No name?” She’d need more than vague titles to put any sort of plan into motion.

“Oh, he gave a name. Ghee—something. You know how thick Ymyl’s accent is.”

She knew indeed. “Ghee-ann, perhaps?” The few Saxons who had survived the clash that had killed Ælferd and nigh on a thousand of his men had reported that as being the name of the enemy commander, the shortened, foreign form of the name by which Camilla knew the bitch: Guenevara.

“I shall dispatch a man to obtain confirmation, Your Highness. The port is not closed; its residents won’t pay heed to yet another trader.” He must have seen something in her expression that compelled him to add, “It would be madness to act on such scanty information.”

The fact that he had not answered her question directly she was willing to forgive based on the news’s nature. Guenevara might fall within her grasp! Once that happened, there were ever so many choices for exacting revenge for killing her beloved.

She rose from behind the desk, trailing her fingers across wood Ælferd had touched, and approached Hador. “It would be madness not to act if the right opportunity presents itself. Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly, my lady.”

Camilla extended her ringless hand. “Please bid your man good hunting for me, Captain.”

As he clasped her hand and bent over it, he didn’t see her eyebrows lift in response to the tingling sparked by his lips brushing the back of her knuckles.

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow
... and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. Please enter often, and good luck!