Ch. 19 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Nineteen of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein feelings are denied.

“Have you done that before?”

“Done what?”

“Kissed someone.”

An unaccountable shame bloomed in Emlyn’s chest. Xe’d never felt xe’d done anything wrong in this regard before. Now, however, with Rat asking xir the simplest question… Still, xe could do no less than answer honestly. “Yes.”

Rat deserved that much, at least.

Though he didn’t seem happy to hear it now. Nor did he say anything. No matter how dearly Emlyn wished he would. A horrible silence drew out between them.

Before Emlyn could stop xirself, xe added, “And more.”

This did nothing to improve Rat’s aspect. Nor did it induce him to speak. His eyes darted away from Emlyn’s. Over the room. Clear across it. Fixing on a point in the middle distance and focusing on nothing at all. His jaw clenched and unclenched. Yet he remained silent.

“Does it bother you?” Emlyn asked—though the answer was already evident.

“No,” said Rat.

There was something off in the answer. Too quick. Too sharp. It had a strange undercurrent that sounded utterly unlike the Rat that Emlyn had come to know and love.

All at once, Emlyn realized xe couldn’t recall Rat ever lying to xir before.

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A new chapter will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]

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Ch. 18 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Eighteen of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein our hero parties against his will.

“Fernsby’s throwing a bash,” Emlyn told Rat.

It’d taken xir almost an hour to work up the courage to do so. An evening hour spent relaxing with Rat in their dormitory—or rather failing to relax. Emlyn’s nerves rattled on edge for reasons xe couldn’t understand. It was a commonplace proposition. And it was only Rat.

Yet Emlyn had seen almost nothing of him these past few months despite their sharing a room. Hardly more than a glimpse since the horse show. Xe wondered, not for the first time, what xe had done to make Rat avoid xir. Xe told xirself—again—that nothing was wrong; Rat was just busy. First year and all that. And in the medical college to boot. A far heavier course-load than Emlyn’s own philosophy degree. More stringent and more demanding in almost every regard. Understandable given how life and death literally hung in the balance. Still, Emlyn wished it weren’t so taxing on Rat. Not entirely for unselfish reasons.

A wry smile twitched at the corner of Rat’s mouth. “Bully for Fernsby.”

It was only a glimpse of the friend Emlyn had known prior to university. It lightened xir heart regardless. “You’re invited.”

Rat cocked an eyebrow. “Not by Fernsby, surely.”

Emlyn furrowed xir brow. A troubling insinuation. But one which xe could contemplate later. At present xe had to make the most of Rat’s fleeting notice. “I’m inviting you.”

Rat’s left eyebrow arose to join his right.

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Ch. 17 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Seventeen of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein a whirlwind ensues.

Griswold frowned. “What sort of hound is it?”

“Bull-and-terrier.”

Her left brow arched. “Rat-catcher?”

Rat supposed it was rather funny for a man of his name to keep such a dog. “Aye.”

Whatever jokes Griswold might’ve made, she kept to herself. “Not catching rats at present, though.”

“Not in a pit. Though she does get hold of ‘em now and again in the corridors. Palace is big enough,” Rat added as Griswold’s right brow shot up to meet her left. “She’s plenty of room to find ‘em.”

“And they leave her to it, at the palace?”

Rat felt strange discussing palace life at university, where everyone play-acted as if they all stood on a level field. “She has a keeper. He sees to her needs particular.”

It hadn’t seemed right, throwing her in the kennel with the hunting dogs. She got on better with Iskandar’s long-shank cats and sleek sight-hounds. A palace pup through and through. Spoilt rotten, and who could begrudge her it?

“So she’s not wanting for company, then,” Griswold concluded.

“No,” Rat admitted with some hesitance. He couldn’t speak for the dog’s feelings on her constant companion abandoning her for greener pastures. But she wasn’t altogether alone, either. He hoped that might count for something.

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Ch. 15 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Fifteen of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein an ocean is crossed.

It took Emlyn longer than it ought’ve done to perform the arithmetic. In no small part because the first two times xe came up with the answer xe discarded it out of hand for sheer improbability. Yes, the hours had seemed to stretch into eons in the cold dark void, but xir perception must’ve been skewed by fear. Xe couldn’t possibly have drowned for—

“Three days?” Rat whispered in evident disbelief.

The void Emlyn had narrowly escaped reappeared in xir chest.

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Ch. 11 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Eleven of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein our hero survives a laboratory accident.

“I’m sure he’s just nervous,” Alistair assured Emlyn for the fifth time that afternoon.

For a fifth time, Emlyn found xe couldn’t believe him.

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Ch. 6 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Six of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patreon! Wherein a tentative friendship is forged.

She struck out her hand to him. “Griswold. Pre-med track. Aiming for general surgery.”

Rat accepted her firm handclasp with his first genuine smile of the day tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Ratcliffe. Likewise.”

She took this in with a brisk nod. “Do you ride?”

His first neutral-to-positive university acquaintance, and already he must disappoint her.

Joining me on Patreon will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them. You’ll also be invited to join an exclusive Discord server just for patrons!

Currently posting…
♡ A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)

See you on Patreon!