New YA dystopian release, The Timekeeper Trials, is on kindle and in print today, May 1! Here is the scene where Elise first travels in time:
“I tried imagining every particle of my body as I took deep breaths in and out of my nose. I heard whoosh sound like a window had been opened, even though none of the windows in the palace could be opened. A gasp that did not come from the Queen in front of me filled me with such a strong sense of Déjà vu that my head spun.
From across the room, I heard the Queen speak. "Very good. Take a deep breath."
I must have been wrong about where the Queen was, but I tried to take a breath as the whooshing sound filled my ears again. The spinning in my head stopped abruptly and I was able to fill my lungs again.
"Elise. Hold out your hand." The Queen's voice was less than an arm's length away again, even though I hadn't heard her moving. I felt something metallic and oddly shaped in my hand.
"This is the Chronometer. There are three sections. The top has hours, minutes, and seconds just like a normal watch. The middle controls days and months, and below that is years and millennia. Today will only be going back a few minutes to see whether you can travel at all. You must hold onto the chronometer and my hands at all times, and please try not to make a sound."
For some reason the Queen sounded amused when she said that last part. She walked me towards her as I heard her stepping back. Five long strides before we stopped. "Take a deep breath."
The sense of Déjà vu filled me again, but this time I knew it was from hearing her say the exact same words over again. I suppose that would make it Déjà entendu, since it was something I had already heard, not seen. What was I doing? I was meant to attempt a meditative state; going over French verbs was not helping. I took a huge gulp of air through my mouth and held it in my chest while I cleared my thoughts.
A pleasant tingling started in my palm where Queen Demetria's hands held mine closed over the Chronometer which spread to my fingertips and then up my arms. My body filled with warmth while simultaneously numbing me from head to toe.
Suddenly, it felt as though someone poured a cup of ice cold water on my head and my ears rushed with the whooshing sound from before, but this time it was much louder, as though I was stuck in a tornado. I temporarily felt as though my feet left the ground, my body unmoored to any tether but the Queen's hands on mine.
My feet touched the ground and I gasped. This time the feeling that I had been here before and heard that exact sound, was a shock to my system. That was my gasp. I had heard myself a few minutes ago. I had just traveled in time. I had an overwhelming urge to remove my blindfold, but the queen interrupted my thoughts.
"Very good. Take a deep breath." This time, the words came from so close, I felt her words on my face.
I did as she asked and the tingling warmth started all over again, followed by the wind tunnel and weightlessness. Experiencing it a second time felt like coming home. This time the cold felt refreshing and the brief floating sensation was exhilarating rather than frightening. When my feet came into contact with the floor I felt both relief and regret.
When the Queen removed her hands and the chronometer from my grasp a moment later, I felt its loss. The timepiece felt like an extension of me, and I wanted it back.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0923F96PW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_6GPAVQ7B59MEETEHWZ03
