Here’s the cover for Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade.
I really like it ^_^
Here’s an excerpt from “Bird of Paradise,” one of the stories in Shorts and Squares: Jagged Blade.
Candles flickered while incense burned. Paradise kept her bandaged face turned to the wall no matter who came to visit. She felt like a hideous monster as the bruises healed back into flawless flesh, yet her marred face was destined to remain a gruesome sight with the thick gash slashed out of her cheek.
The trainees brought her trays of food that she largely ignored. She picked at the tastes she enjoyed while feeling incapable of gathering the energy to even bother with the less tasty foods. She was tired of ashes in her mouth.
Paradise hugged her legs against her chest and closed her eyes. She would give herself a couple of days in which to feel worthless, then she would pick herself back up again and get back to the living of her life. No longer an Elite Courtesan, but still a member of the Pleasure Guild. The Matron would find her a position, or if she chose to retire there would always be her monthly stipend.
Once again she cursed Lord Gentle Valor and his mad desire to see her bleed. If she concentrated, she thought she could still hear the sound of his mad laughter as he’d carved up her flesh. She’d screamed so loudly she’d damaged her throat, but at least the guards had rushed in to save her life.
Her career was destroyed, but she would live. She would let that be enough.
I will not be defeated by such a mindless beast, she vowed. She was stronger than anything he had done to her.
