Author Aimee Shaye

Day 20 of @oc-growth-and-development OC-tober. Here is my other female human Republic Trooper from Star Wars The Old Republic. I don’t normally have prompts related to each other, but this one takes place after Day 13: Burn. As always, shoutout to my wonderful wife, @nightsminx for assigning the characters to the prompts and editing them!

Also, fair warning … “Press F to pay respects”.

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Daeni placed her hand on the casket, closing her eyes and bowing her head. It should not have been a consolation that it could have been worse. That there could have been fewer members of Havoc Squad alive right now. Only Elara, Jorgan, Kayrana, and herself had gotten out of the mission alive. Still, there were four too many caskets before her.

“Complete mission failure,” Jorgan growled behind her. “This is what happens when criminals get in the way of soldiers.”

“You’re welcome,” Kaliyo snapped back, “Next time I’ll just let them kill you.”

Daeni ignored their bickering. Nothing could be done about it now. Arguing whose fault it was wouldn’t bring anyone back. Arguing wouldn’t change the mission outcome. Wouldn’t change that they had messed up. Wouldn’t change the fact that Daeni had failed to protect her squad.

They were soldiers. They all knew the risks when they enlisted. They all knew that any mission could be their last. Was what Daeni usually tried to tell herself. Had heard those same lines all throughout her career. It never stopped her from protecting those that she could. Never stopped her from ensuring that everyone on her squad would come back alive.

This was the first time she had failed so spectacularly.

The first time someone under her command hadn’t been saved.

The first time that they hadn’t been able to complete a mission.

“We had everything under control!” Jorgan yelled. “Then you started throwing around thermal detonators. We lost four good soldiers!”

“If they were so good-” Kaliyo began to say.

“Enough!” Daeni yelled, fists clenched tightly. “I’ll report to the Alliance Commander and take full responsibility for the outcome of this operation. Dismissed.”

Daeni spun around without waiting for a response from the others. She stamped down on her emotions. She would not break down. She would not cry.

“Damn it,” she hissed, punching the wall and squeezing her eyes shut. Her shoulders shook with the force of her trying to stop herself from crying.

“Ma’am?” Elara’s voice pierced the otherwise silent corridor.

“I failed them,” Daeni mumbled, collapsing into Elara.

The other woman wrapped her arms around Daeni. “You did all you could.”

Day 21 of @oc-growth-and-development OC-tober. Featured here is what I consider my canon female protagonist from Nioh 2. I am once again, shouting out my wonderful wife @nightsminx for assigning the characters and editing the prompts.

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Hide walked out onto the jetty, gazing upon the woman who stood at the edge. Something within her told her she should know who the person was. Something instinctual within her called out to the other woman. There was a memory buried deep within her mind. Blurred and hazy.

A veiled woman reaching out to her.

A man with glowing red eyes.

A stabbing pain in her chest.

A tanto pressed into her hands.

“Live on … my child …”

Hide knew that there were holes in her memories. Had known since she couldn’t remember her own name. It was why everyone used the kanji forged onto the tanto.

The woman turned, though a veil covered the top half of her face. Even so, the slight smile upon her face was evident. “You have grown so strong.”

Hide tilted her head. Who was this woman to her? There was some form of familiarity, of that much she was certain. Deep within herself, she already knew. Yet did she want to dream? Did she dare to hope? She opened her mouth to speak, yet her voice cracked and no sound came out.

“Oh my,” the other woman said, placing a hand upon Hide’s cheek. There was no denying anything. The touch was so motherly. How could she be anyone else? “You have been through so much, my child.”

Hide’s mouth moved yet no sound came out and her chest burned. It was such a strange feeling. As if she had been stabbed twice in the same place. Once, by whatever strange man possessed the glowing eyes. And again, when the possessed Tokichiro stabbed her with her own tanto.

“It pains me that you must bear a great destiny alone,” her mother said, “Byodo-In may hold the answers to the questions that you seek.”

Hide silently shook her head. There were many questions that she had. Questions about what had happened to her friend. Questions about the strange man she constantly encountered. Questions to fill in the gaps of her memory.Yet at the moment, there was only one thing that she wanted to ask. “My … name …” She stuttered out, almost surprising herself with the sound of her voice.

The corner of her mother’s lips turned down. “I gifted you the name Akiyama, after the great samurai who slew Otakemaru.”

She said her real name to herself several times, finding it only slightly strange. She knew who she was now. She knew what she had to do. Akiyama could deal with the impact of the other questions she wished to ask later.

“Please,” her mother said, drawing her out of her thoughts. “Head to Byodo-In. The key to defeating Otakemaru must be there.”

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“You must realize that she’s behind this,” Aryana said, leaning against the balcony railing.

“No need to remind me, Aryana,” Jorlyn responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well, are you going to do something about it?” Aryana challenged.

Between them was the body of an assassin. Only the latest of a dozen attempts. As with the other dozen assassins, there were no distinguishing marks or sigils. No pieces of parchment which bore orders for the hit. Yet still all the information that Aryana’s spy network had gathered all pointed to the same person.

The Lady Hardyng was finally moving against her daughter.

Now if only Aryana could convince Jorlyn to do something about it.

“We don’t have any solid proof she’s paying the assassins,” Jorlyn said.

Aryana almost rolled her eyes. “When has that stopped you in the past?” she asked, walking over to Jorlyn to wrap her arms around the other woman’s waist. “You’ve executed traitors on far less.”

“They were not my mother,” Jorlyn whispered. “I thought you would try and convince me to try and see the good in her.”

Aryana rested her head against the other woman’s chest, simply listening to the heart beat. Allowing herself to remember that Jorlyn was still with her. That they were together and nothing would tear them apart. “When I was younger, I certainly would have. But this is different.”

Aryana didn’t have to see Jorlyn’s face to know the northern woman raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

Aryana pulled back slightly to stare up into Jorlyn’s face. “This assassin went directly after you.” Aryana took a moment to collect her thoughts. “I swore long ago that I would do anything to protect you.” Aryana backed away and returned to the balcony railing, crossing her arms and leaning against it. “I will never forgive such a blatant move against you.”

“How did you come by this information?” Jorlyn inquired, still staring out at the night sky.

“She’s been careful,” Aryana answered, “Using messengers and underlings in all of her dealings.”

“Not careful enough if you’ve discovered her dealings,” Jorlyn said.

“It’s no secret that she doesn’t like me,” Aryana stated, her lips curling in disgust. What she wasn’t telling Jorlyn, was that it was a lot easier than she had expected. Certainly Jorlyn’s mother was being as careful as she could be. Yet Aryana had spent years building up her spy network. Recruiting those who were easily overlooked. Those who could easily fade into the background. After all, it was amazing what royals said when they thought their servants were loyal.

New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (October 12th, 2021)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

Our Way Back to Always by Nina Moreno

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan

The Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker

The Night When No One Had Sex by Kalena Miller 

Ferryman by Claire McFall

The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta 

Any Sign of Life by Rae Carson

The Delusionist by Don Calame 

Creatures Most Vile by Chelsea Lauren

Golden Boys Beware by Hannah Capin

New Sequels: 

Dragonblood Ring (Blazewrath Games #2) by Amparo Ortiz

Thronebreakers (Crownchasers #2) by Rebecca Coffindaffer

The Gilded Cage (The Prison Healer #2) by Lynette Noni

Aristotle & Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World (Aristotle and Dante #2) by Benjamin Alire Saenz

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Day 16 of @oc-growth-and-development OC-tober. Here we have my female character from Game of Thrones: Conquest mobile game. As always, shoutout to my wonderful wife @nightsminx for assigning the characters to the prompts and for helping write the dialogue for this one. You’re the best!

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The sand storm raged outside, which wouldn’t be so bad, Jorlyn supposed, if she didn’t know what was waiting within it. At least her scouts hadn’t been found. The sand storm had given them the perfect cover. If only they had better news to tell. If only it wasn’t all so dire. Not impossible. Certainly could have been better. Could have been much worse as well.

Well, at least it was only bandit groups camped outside her walls. Though if her scouts were to be believed, there were also troops from rival lords mixed in as well. Not that she’d be surprised if it were true. There was always someone who wanted her dead. Who couldn’t accept that she was their lord. Who wanted her position for themselves.

She’d spent her entire life fighting to prove her worth. They never mattered to her. It just hurt more than it should that she could count her own mother amongst them. That her own mother could never accept her. That no matter what she did, it was never enough for her.

It had only gotten worse when her feelings for Aryana deepened. When she made no move to hide how much the Dornish woman meant to her.

Suddenly it wasn’t her own bannerman

 that she had to worry about, but her own mother conspiring against her and Aryana.

Of course, her mother wasn’t so foolish as to act directly against her. But Jorlyn knew who some of the bannerman really answered to. Knew who had paid some of the assassins.

As if she wouldn’t find out.

As if Aryana didn’t have an immense spy network.

“You must know it’s hopeless.” Her mother said. “You must know they outnumber us.”

Jorlyn’s grip upon the handle of her sword tightened. She could practically hear the smugness dripping from her mother’s words.

“Just surrender, daughter, and we might be spared.”

Jorlyn derisively snorted. “You would like that, wouldn’t you mother? For my keep, my land, my people to fall on their knees and pretend they are loyal.”

“Sometimes that is the only way to survive.”

“Surviving is not living, mother.” 

Her mother rolled her eyes and sighed. “This is unlike you, daughter, to put your life at stake for others. That Dornish who—“

Jorlyn slapped her mother across the face, her ring cutting her mother’s lip. “Don’t you dare talk about my wife like that when you have sold yourself to any man who was stupid enough to bed you for any kind of solace.”

“What I have done, I have done for our house.” Her mother snapped back. “No different than what that Dornish-“

Her mother’s words were cut off with a strangled scream. “You can lie all you want,” Aryana purred from behind her mother, twisting the dagger deeper. “Everything I have done, I have done for Jorlyn.”

“I’m done with your games, mother.” Jorlyn spat, turning to gaze out the window. “Are the troops ready?” She asked Aryana.

Jorlyn ignored the sound of her mother’s body hitting the floor. “Of course they are,” Aryana said, coming to stand next to her. “They are some of Dorne’s finest soldiers, this sand storm will not hinder them.”