[Complete] [4k] [Speculative Short Story] A TASTE FOR MORTALS [Short Story]
Hello! I am seeking beta readers for my short story A TASTE FOR MORTALS. I would be happy to beta-swap for short stories or novelettes.
A TASTE FOR MORTALS follows a woman who is stranded on a planet after wrecking her space jet and encounters a creature long-thought gone from the world — a sídhe. This story is inspired by the fairy lovers of Irish folklore (drawing on the older, more traditional views of fairy lovers and the "Leanan sídhe" of Yeats fame). I am planning to submit this for a specific magazine submission call by the end of July, so I would appreciate any genuine feedback. That said, I am specifically eager to know how readers feel about the pacing, voice, and genre-mashing.
Content warnings: Implied suicidal ideation, conversation about the death of a grandparent, implied sexual relationship
Sample:
>"What is your name?" Isott asked that first night. They both tucked into the thick, lined sleeping bag from Isott's emergency pack, and their eyes trained up at the distant stars and blinking satellites splattered across the deep violet sky.
"I've been called many things," The sídhe laid her head against Isott's shoulder. "You can name me what you would like. I can look however you like, too. If it would please you, I could have blue eyes, or be dark-featured, or a man, or anything else at all."
Isott considered this as she pulled the sleeping bag up to their chins, her mind's eye picturing Sitti, a girl she had once known. Sitti was unabashed. Her hair was always free, and her body moved like a foal's when she danced: awkward and proud all at once. It was she, so long ago, who had made Isott think that there were things worth making immortal. "I would rather you look how you'd like to look and I will call you what you like to be called."
The sídhe was silent for a long time. And when she spoke, it was barely a whisper. Call me Leanan.