As promised last week, here’s Kamin the Warrior’s answer to Nima’s expression of her dreams for a better life (please excuse the interesting punctuation choices):
Such simple dreams shouldn’t be out of reach. He tilted her chin, reached to take the now-wilted flower from her ebony hair as he said, “Well, then, we’ll get the nomarch who rules this province in Pharoah’s name to issue you a fat reward – genuine gold of valor – for saving my life, and you can make your way anywhere you choose.” He blew the limp petals off his fingertips.
Watching the tiny yellow fragments spiral away in the slight breeze, Nima half smiled, “You dream big, soldier.”
Actually I dream of you now. Kamin took a deep breath and said, “Nima—”
She set her fingers on his lips, “I don’t think we should tempt fate by talking of the future.”
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The story:
Egypt, 1500 BCE
Nima’s beauty and skill as a dancer leads an infatuated enemy to kidnap her after destroying an Egyptian border town. However, she’s not the only hostage in the enemy camp: Kamin, an Egyptian soldier on a secret mission for Pharaoh, has been taken as well. Working together to escape, the two of them embark on a desperate quest across the desert to carry word of the enemy’s invasion plans to Pharaoh’s people.
As they flee for their lives, these two strangers thrown together by misfortune have to trust in each other to survive. Nima suspects Kamin is more than the simple soldier he seems, but she finds it hard to resist the effect he has on her heart. Kamin has a duty to his Pharaoh to see his mission completed, but this clever and courageous dancer is claiming more of his loyalty and love by the moment. Kamin starts to worry, if it comes to a choice between saving Egypt or saving Nima’s life…what will he do?
Aided by the Egyptian god Horus and the Snake Goddess Renenutet, beset by the enemy’s black magic, can Nima and Kamin evade the enemy and reach the safety of the Nile in time to foil the planned attack?
Can there ever be a happy future together for the humble dancer and the brave Egyptian soldier who is so much more than he seems?
DANCER OF THE NILE, an Amazon Best Seller, is AVAILABLE on Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks iTunes Smashwords
That got to me, seeing where each character is coming from and where they want to go but can’t. Well done, Veronica.
Gorgeous, Veronica. She is so smart and the last line is perfect!
Beautiful snippet, love the little touches with the wilted flower in her hair, lovely.
aw, a really sweet moment. This is great. It shows us so much of both people, without whacking us on the head with characterization 🙂
What a beautiful (very visual) scene! Nicely done, Veronica 🙂
To further explain the flower a bit, there was an earlier scene I didn’t excerpt here, fairly soon after they’d escaped the enemy camp. They had to walk the horses to give them a break after all that mad galloping. . ~Bending to snatch a wildflower from its stem, he handed the fragrant little bloom to her with a flourish. “Since I have no gold of valor available, let this show my admiration for your quick thinking and bravery tonight.” ~ And then Nima tucked the flower into her hair.
So pleased that people are enjoying the characters of Nima and Kamin! Thank you!
Beautiful, sensual scene! I love the description of the flower petals dancing on the breeze. It’s all very dreamy in the way you’ve written it. Well done! 🙂
Oh my, this is lovely. I’m so far behind in my reading and everything else. I will get to this and Warrior is still in my Nook waiting… Great snippet!
I love how their connection is deep, even as her common sense kicks in. I hope his dreams find reality.
another beautiful snippet! I love the imagery of the petals blowing and stuff. I could really see it in my head and her last line is so powerful!
They are going to make the best couple. The way he thinks of her is so sweet. “Such simple dreams shouldn’t be out of reach.” Great eight!
Gorgeous dialogue in this snippet.
yes best not to speak of the future. And thanks for the explanation
Nice. Great description, imagery, dialog, and emotion. Well done.
Wonderful snippet. Very descriptive. Thank you for sharing.
So much drama packed into such a short space! Very nice! 🙂
Hey, she started the conversation about the future! I bet she just guessed where he might be going with it next, and cut him off with a reasonable excuse.
I truly do think it was more that she’s superstitious – they’re in a very precarious spot at the moment, which is hard to tell from the snippet….
Loved this bit when I read it (which I did very quickly.)
Lovely snippet!
Loved the imagery in the snippet. The touches, the flower… Touching scene!
Love the tenderness he shows. One question, is “nomarch” supposed to be “monarch” or I’m I learning a new word? Nice snippet.
Ancient Egypt was divided into provinces known as “nomes”, with a nomarch over each province. So in every book I try to make that clear at some point early on because the “monarch” vs. “nomarch” question does arise for the modern audience. Pharaoh was the ruler of all Egypt but at different points in time the provincial nomarchs had varying degrees of power. Which certainly works for my plots!
Such a lovely scene! The longing is almost overwhelming . . .
Perfect last line. Such a poignant excerpt.
Gorgeous as usual, Veronica. I loved the imagery of the flying petals…
This is such a tender moment between the two of the. It’s special and beautifully detailed. I just wanted to go “awww” I loved it! 🙂
I really hope they have a HEA! This scene is so poignant and beautiful.
I love how she stops him.
Really like the description of the flower blowing in the breeze. Very nice moment between them.
Lovely 8! Definitely felt the emotion between them. And I agree that the flower blowing away was a great detail. 🙂
Wow, thank you everyone for all the great feedback! I’m so appreciative….have to ponder what snippet to offer next week.
Very poignant and a bit bittersweet. Loved it!