Happy Wednesday everyone. Today we are featuring a sneak peek from Clare Dugmore's story, "The Starlight Prince." You can find the story in the Beyond Starlight Box Set. It is a SciFi Alien Fated Mates Collection filled with stories from authors around the world. Check out Clare's sneak peek below.
═══ ⋆★⋆ ═══ EXCERPT ═══ ⋆★⋆ ═══
The Starlight Prince
Featured in the Beyond Starlight Box Set
by: Clare Dugmore
Eventually, I found a wide, circular chamber, lit by torches. And there, in the centre, stood a statue of a man that seemed to be made of alabaster.
He was breathtaking, standing at seven-feet tall, with a pale white body that looked to be chiselled and sculpted by the gods. Even though there was no breeze down here, his long, lustrous hair rippled.
He was perfect.
He had sharp, almost feminine features, with high cheekbones, a long straight nose, almond-shaped eyes, and full lips that were curled in the briefest hint of a smile. As the statue was completely white, I was unsure what colour the eyes were meant to be, but they held me transfixed regardless as I stared deeply into them.
‘Madelyne,’ came the intoxicating voice once more.
Something about the way he called my name and then the sight of his almost naked body made me feel hot and flustered.
As I took more time to study the figure of the man that called out to me, I started to notice things about him that were different. It wasn’t just his stunning, inhuman beauty. The slight upwards pull of his full lips as he smirked revealed sharp, pointed incisors and canine teeth. The way his hair was swept back off his face and held in place by a crown of some sort, revealed pointed ears, like an elf. His fingers were unnaturally long and slender, ending in almost talon-like nails.
But his inhuman attributes only served to make him more alluring to me. He was different, like I was. I felt a kinship with the stone figure, even though he’d only spoken my name.
‘You found me. Now free me,’ he spoke into my mind.
“Yes, but how?”
Nothing changed in the ethereal features of the stone face, so I walked around the statue, studying it for more information. Though his chest was bare, he wore a long cloak that looked to be made of birds’ feathers.
He truly was beautiful, but with no indication of whether he was alive or not.
“Help me,” I said to the figure.
‘Look, see, feel,’ came the reply, and I knew what I had to do.
I was looking with my mundane eyes. I had to search with my supernatural abilities.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Almost instantly, I heard it; a strong and steady heartbeat that wasn’t my own. The statue was indeed alive.
I slowly opened my eyes, and I saw inside the stone. That’s when the reality of the situation dawned on me. The alabaster man was indeed alive, but something had transformed his body to rock and imprisoned him.
I had to free him.
I glanced away from the living statue only long enough to pull my grimoire out of my bag and flicked through the pages, hoping to find a spell that would help me.
In the two weeks since casting the initial spell, I had read and re-read the grimoire from cover-to-cover, but I hadn’t come across any type of spell or incantation that might help me free someone from stone.
Still, I turned every page slowly, reading the title of each spell.
I came to the final page and noticed something I hadn’t in my previous studies of the book. The last page felt thicker than all the others, as though two pages had been bound together.
I channelled my magic into my fingertips, using my innate power to manipulate matter.
Telekinesis, Janine had told me it was called.
Using this ability, I was able to pull apart the two pages that had previously been fused together. There, on the new page, was a spell written in a language I’d never seen before.
The letters swam before my eyes as I tried to make sense of them.
“Help me,” I begged again, gazing up into the statue’s eyes.
Another ability some witches possessed was telepathy, the power to connect to another person’s mind and hear their thoughts. Perhaps even share their thoughts with others. I hadn’t used it much. As often as I could, I tried to block out the unwanted thoughts of those around me. If I gave into my telepathic abilities, I often heard things I desperately wished I hadn’t. Like the fear in my parents’ minds when they realised what I was.
But as I gazed into the eyes of the statue before me, I allowed my mind to connect with his. I welcomed his thoughts instead of hiding away from them.
As our minds joined, there was a brief, blinding light, followed by a bird-like shriek.
When I stared down at the spell book, the words on the newly revealed page started to make sense, and I read an incantation. In combination with my words, I morphed cells and molecules to my will.
I transfigured the atoms of stone into the cells of living flesh. I remoulded rigid stone arteries into real, living veins. Using an understanding of biology that I didn’t consciously possess but that lingered somewhere at the back of my psyche, I transformed the stone organs, muscle tissue, bones, and tendons into real body parts.
My innate abilities combined with the magic ritual from the ancient grimoire, weaved together to awaken something not of this world.
As I read the words of the spell, I understood that the power needed to free the man from his stone prison would require a sacrifice.
From me.
Instinctively, I kneeled down and picked up a jagged rock, and then plunged it into my inner forearm. Blood spurted out, splashing on the stone, which seemed to absorb it like a sponge.
My blood trickled onto the newly soft and fleshy body parts, filling them with life. I exhaled a long, slow breath, directing the air from my lungs to flow into the figure’s lungs and give him breath.
‘Awaken,’ I commanded.
And as I did, the stone eyes opened, revealing a pair of dazzling yellow eyes that sparkled like amber.
Feeling dizzy from blood loss, I took a few staggering steps backwards as a blinding white light filled the earthen chamber and dust filled my lungs.
And, as the dust cleared, the figure of a seven-foot muscular being with long, flowing black hair was revealed to me.
Before I had time to gather my thoughts, let alone speak, the figure lunged towards me, their pointed incisors and canine teeth flashing. The being sank its fangs into my arm, lapping at the blood still trickling from the wound I’d made.
And then everything went black.
Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into the "The Starlight Prince." You can find this story inside the "Beyond Starlight" box set.
═══ ⋆★⋆ ═══ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ═══ ⋆★⋆ ═══
Clare Dugmore
For Clare, reading and writing have always been an escape, and through their writing, they hope to offer an escape to others too.
Clare's ultimate goal is to create a community of like-minded creatives who come together to encourage, support, and celebrate not only each other but also causes that are important to them.
Clare is a forty-something, married, parent of two. In their spare time, they enjoy binge-watching shows with their partner, spending time with their two sons, playing video games, and crafting.
To find out more about Clare and their writing, please visit www.claredugmore.com
And, to enter a giveaway, in which you can win a copy paperback of Beyond Starlight (and other fantastic prizes) please visit: https://claredugmore.com/giveaway
═══ ⋆★⋆ ═══ ABOUT THE BOOK ═══ ⋆★⋆ ═══
The Starlight Prince
Featured in the Beyond Starlight Box Set
by: Clare Dugmore
A love story written in the stars.
Hunted for being a witch, Madelyne longs for somewhere to belong and performs a full moon spell to find her true love.
Across the galaxy, Kalas completes the aeons-old celestial ritual to show him the location of his fated mate. Enchanted by Madelyne’s beauty, Kalas flies to Earth to find her.
And, with nothing left for her on Earth, Madelyne agrees to accompany Kalas to his home planet.
But as Madelyne adjusts to her new life, old doubts linger, and she just cannot understand why someone like her would be worthy of the crown prince.
Madelyne has spent her entire life being told she doesn’t belong, and now Kalas must convince her it’s more than just ‘fate’ that makes him want to claim her as his own.
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