fairy skeletons.: Fiction Friday [10]: "Bridge of Snow" and "In the Sight of Akresa"

Wow, I haven't done a Fiction Friday in a long while! And look - what a milestone. It's my tenth Fiction Friday here at Fairy Skeletons, and to celebrate, I'll be highlighting two extra-special short stories from Tor.com.

It's no secret that Tor is one of my favorite places to look for short stories online - they publish very high-quality stuff that manages to not take up too much time to read. (In fact, it's one of my greatest aspirations to be published by them someday.) It's refreshing and fun and a wonderful venture. So without further ado, here are two of my favorite speculative fiction stories on the web that I've found this week!

Gorgeous illustration for the story, done by Pascal Campion.

Ignore the stirrings of war. Let the carriage to a royal ball wait. There is a story to be told: of a starless night, a mother and her sick son, and a mortal who falls in love with the snow god, and will do anything to have her...

"Bridge of Snow" by Marie Rutkoski - It's basically a given that I would love this one. After all, it's a tie-in to Rutkoski's fantasy YA book The Winner's Curse, which I'm sure I've talked about on this blog a number of times. I've gushed about the setting and characters to anyone who will listen, and this short glimpse into Arin's (the male protagonist's) past is a delightful bite of a country long gone. 

Oh, and a short sampling for your enjoyment, which will undoubtedly lead to you reading the rest of the story if you haven't clicked the link already:

But how to tell her son the rest? The way the god silently followed the goatherd, so close that his shoulders grew frost? He drew for the snow god, whose frozen diamond tears fell at the sight of his images and rang against the rock. Every morning, he looked for her. He began to love the chattering of his teeth. When she appeared, the air sheered and sharpened. It became hard to breathe. Still, he longed for that painful purity.

Unfairly pretty illustration for the story, done by Karla Ortiz.

Claire’s lover has no tongue. A slave liberated from a heathen temple, Aya cannot tell the story of her stolen voice, or of her and Claire’s unfolding love. She cannot speak her pain, her joy, or her sorrow. And if she sees that which eludes the blind goddess of justice, she cannot bear witness.

"In the Sight of Akresa" by Ray Wood - This piece is so tragic and lush. I loved the danger sweeping beneath every sentence, the rich fantasy worldbuilding done in such a short space of time, and the passion of the characters all around. I say without exaggerating that I want to read a book of this. From the bottom of my heart, I need a book of this.

And a little, slippery, burning quote for you:

I think you caught the waver in my voice. Your eyes plunged into me, direct as daggers, and I had to let mine drop. My fingers lingered on the leather of your glove as I handed the bird over. I had seen enough, in that look—I had seen, in the way your eyes hesitated on my hair and then my lips, that you shared something of my desire.

Hopefully you all find as much to love in these pieces as I did. Happy Friday reading to you!