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  Escaping Lightning

  Born to a dying family, the lion shifter princess, Sehra runs from the choice her father made to strengthen their bloodlines. Fleeing to their sister world where a society of tiger shifters reigned supreme, Sehra decides to hide in the one place no one will look for her. The royal palace of Regav. Inside the palace she finds a calm contentment in the daily tasks until her path crosses with the king and her hormones take over. Lions and tigers get bare…oh my.

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  Escaping Lightning

  Copyright © 2011 Viola Grace

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books

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  Escaping Lightning

  A Trapezium Exclusive

  By

  Viola Grace

  Sehra was going to puke, she just knew it.

  “Mistress? Did you hear me?”

  She nodded to her nurse and companion. “I heard you. I am to marry my cousin on the day of the new moon.”

  Lira patted her on the shoulder. “It won’t be all bad. Once you get pregnant your children will be implanted in some of the suitable women who have already volunteered for the honour.”

  “So, it is common knowledge that I will have to fuck my cousin?”

  “I am afraid so. Many royal houses keep their bloodlines close.”

  Sehra shuddered. “I know, but the thought of spending my life with Mekar’s hands on me is too much to bear. Oh, stars. What should I do?”

  She cast her gaze to the heavens and sought an answer. A shuttle rising from the surface was silhouetted against their sister world and in a thunderclap of understanding, she knew that she had been given as much of a hint as she would be offered. To ignore the sign would be the move of an idiot.

  Sehra paced, her eyes on the night sky. “What has he offered as a bridal gift?”

  Lira cocked her head, a canny understanding coming to her gaze. “Nothing. You are kin.”

  “That is no reason to insult me. I think a lovely trip to our sister worlds to assemble my trousseau is in order, at his expense.”

  “Of course, Mistress. I will tell your father immediately.” Lira bowed and turned toward the door.

  “Stay out of his reach, he may bite.” The warning was accepted with a nod and Sehra was alone in her quarters once again.

  The line of leonine shifters was dying out. Sehra was the last royal female and it was up to her to carry on the matriarchal line. She didn’t have a problem with bearing young, but wedding that damp little jackass was far beyond any call of duty she was willing to answer, and screwing him was out of the question.

  A thunderclap sounded in the distance and soon Lira came back with a shred mark in her tunic. “He didn’t take it well, but you will leave at dawn.”

  Sehra hugged her carefully. “How many guards do we have to take with us?”

  “A dozen. Don’t worry, we will figure this out. We always do.”

  As Sehra hugged the woman who had raised her after her mother died and her father went mad, she wasn’t quite sure that Lira had it right this time. Despite what her servant thought, there were very few places that a woman like her could hide.

  As she continued on that train of thought, she started to smile. In fact, she only knew of one place where a female shapeshifter would be completely unnoticed by all around her.

  Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day.

  The trip on the shuttle to Regav was direct and silent. Lira tried to keep Sehra’s mood up, but she was far too tense to relax. If this worked, she would be able to run, and if not, a lifetime with the man she hated waited for her.

  Her plan was clear. As soon as Lira gave her the signal, she was going to run.

  As they disembarked the shuttle, a royal greeter from the Regav family was standing on the tarmac. Sehra pulled her veil across her features and tugged her hood down. This would be easiest if no one saw her as she arrived. Her height was her greatest disadvantage, she was the perfect example of Lanar womanhood, tall, golden, and lithe. Fortunately, those were not characteristics desired by the Regav.

  “Your Royal Highness, thank you for visiting us on the eve of your nuptials. I am here to escort you around the city.” He didn’t even make eye contact, simply bowed low.

  “Thank you for greeting me, but I have no need of an escort. I have been shopping on your world before, and will stop in to pay my respects at the palace before I leave. Is the king in residence?”

  “He is. He looks forward to your visit. Are you sure that you do not need an escort in the city?”

  “I am sure. Thank you for your offer.” She dismissed him and walked down the tarmac toward the conveyance that had been arranged.

  Hours of shopping for clothing and useless items passed and finally, Lira gave the signal. She knocked over a display and Sehra skimmed out of her concealing clothing and out the back door of the shop. A one person cycle was waiting in the alley, and Sehra geared it up with her palm print and took off. She had an appointment at three o’clock and it wouldn’t do to miss it. She wove through pedestrian and small vehicle traffic in a deliberate pattern.

  Her goal was ahead and as she approached the palace, she knew that it was her only chance, to hide in plain sight.

  She screeched to a halt in front of the gates, handing the guards her false identification. “Onari Bekwin, here to see Fortuna Welks. I have an appointment.”

  “The third building on the right, keep the speed to a minimum, miss.” The tiger shifter sniffed lightly.

  Two hours of scrubbing off her scent had done the job. He didn’t seem to recognize her potent pheromones and simply waved her through the gates.

  After dismounting her cycle, she removed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. It contained enough supplements to hide her scent for weeks and if everything went well, the search would move on from Regav by then.

  The side door opened and a Regav woman exited smiling. “Onari Bekwin, I presume?”

  “Yes, Mistress Welks. My cousin called ahead?”

  “Yes, and told me you needed immediate work. It’s a good thing that she called, I am rather shorthanded. Please, come in.” The woman’s black hair was braided tightly to her skull and her bright blue eyes were inviting.

  “Thank you. I am competent at most household tasks and can be trained for anything else.” She was eager to get situated and it probably showed.

  “Excellent, but I think we will handle one little thing before you get started.” Mistress Welks led her into a small bathroom with a chair and a bottle of dye sitting on the counter. “Let’s take care of that hair, Your Highness. It stands out amongst all of us brunettes.”

  With eyes wide, Sehra took the chair and let Mistress Welks unpin her
hair. With smooth competence, she worked the dye into Sehra’s golden locks and soon they were waiting.

  “So, you knew from the moment you were called?”

  “Well, Lira and I go way back. We have been friends since your first visit here twelve years ago. She called me and told me that I was to prepare for a visitor and I made the necessary arrangements.”

  “Do they know I am missing yet?”

  “The news has not yet reached the palace. I think King Iro will find it more amusing than alarming though. You have done a good job removing your scent, can you continue it?”

  “Yes. I have supplements with me, so it would be best if I could hide them somewhere safe.” She nodded, watching her hair darken in the mirror.

  “I will store them for you. You can get them from me every morning. We have servants quarters, but it is not a private area.”

  “I understand. I seem to recall a uniform?”

  “Yes, a bandeau and tights. We do not share the Lanar penchant for hiding one’s body. Will that be a problem?” Mistress Welks moved to rinse her hair.

  “No, it should be fine. I will get used to it, I am sure.” The dye rinsed out, leaving long waves of black and glossy hair behind. Four rinses later and the colour was set.

  “Your hair can either be braided or pinned up. It is your choice. Either is acceptable.” Stripping off her gloves, Mistress Welks stood. “There, you look just like a standard blend. Half of those here have mixed blood, so it will not be unusual to for your golden eyes to be seen in the palace. Welcome to a life of service, Onari.”

  Onari stood and hugged the woman briefly. “I am at your command, Mistress Welks.”

  “Then, Onari, come this way.”

  In the first ten days, the Lanar guards combed every guestroom of the Regav palace. The king was irritated, but he knew he had nothing to hide. Onari held her breath every time they came through, but since she was polishing and scrubbing as they passed, they took no notice of her.

  Onari surprised herself by enjoying the manual labour. Her genes made her stronger than the standard Regav female, so it wasn’t long before she was speeding the delivery of firewood and towels to the noble guestrooms.

  The snow fell early for a Regav fall, and when Onari was sent to the city on errands, she was asked to wear the stripped fur that would mark her as a palace servant. The freedoms that she was given as a manual servant were far greater than she had experienced as a princess. She found herself enjoying picking up the special cuts of meat that the king preferred as well as the out of season fruit that had to be delivered from the greenhouses in a carefully insulated parcel.

  She was flying one of the small skimmers on the way back from a farm with the best of their harvest when a beast burst from the woods. She skidded sideways and braked, but the animal was struck with the tail end of the skimmer.

  Hissing, she left the skimmer and checked the beast, noting the huge paws and striped body. When he opened clear silver eyes, she shook. Kneeling in the mud, she bowed her head. “King Iro. I beg your pardon.”

  He shifted back into his human form and rubbed his thigh. “I should not have bounded across the road. Where are you coming from?”

  She blinked rapidly as her eyes took in slabs of muscle and his thick manhood resting against his thigh.

  “Holcross farm. I am bringing their best of the harvest to the palace.” She gave him a brittle smile and helped the very tall, very naked man to his feet.

  “That explains it. This damned weather has thrown everything off.” He looped an arm around her shoulders and nodded to the skimmer.

  “You had best take me in as part of the harvest. I don’t think I can shift again with this leg.”

  She nodded and hesitated. “Can I…may I try something?”

  She bit her lip and glanced up into his eyes. Surprise was in them as well as a dose of amusement. “By all means. I am always up for an attractive young woman to try something.”

  She settled him on the small seat and rubbed her hands together. Concentrating, she engaged her talent and pressed her palms to his thigh. Energy flowed through her hands and into his body, a side effect of which was his growing erection. She ignored it and continued to work on his flesh until all bruising and inflammation was gone.

  She withdrew her hands and flexed them, smiling. “I thought I was out of practice.”

  He gripped her hands and examined them. “I have never experienced anything like that.”

  “It was my grandmother’s gift. Your leg should hold you now if you don’t wish to be hauled in with the vegetables, Your Majesty.” She kept her head down as he turned her palms over and rubbed them with his thumbs.

  To her shock, he pressed soft kisses into each palm, bringing her gaze to his in surprise.

  He laughed, a deep happy growl. “I thought it might take that to get you to meet my gaze. Who are you, miss?”

  She paused and then said, “Onari Bekwin. Maid in the palace household.”

  He walked to the edge of the skimmer and started a slow and controlled shift. “Onari Bekwin, arouse me again and you will have to do something about it.”

  She blushed from head to toe and hid her face in the furred hood of her cloak. He shifted into his tiger form and ran back into the woods.

  Shaking at the images that had been put in her thoughts, she slowly flew the skimmer back to the palace, apologizing to Mistress Welks for the damaged goods.

  Mistress Welks sighed, “I will have to dock your pay for this, as well as give you more of the heavy work. His Majesty truly enjoys the fresh harvests and this will upset him.”

  “I understand. It is only to be expected.” Onari checked the roster and the rooms that needed fresh wood and got to work. Her body was energized and it took all of her self-control to hold herself in check.

  A few nobles had gotten grabby with her while she had been working in their chambers, but it was allowable for a maid to defend herself in the Regav palace. The nobles had quickly gotten the hint.

  On her fourth haul, she noted that she was on the roster to refill the king’s rooms. She knocked quietly and waited. There was no response and she lifted the carrier again with some relief. She tidied the fireplace in the outer room and set the wood in place for a new blaze.

  The bedroom was unoccupied as well so she quickly discharged her duty while breathing shallowly to avoid intaking the musk that King Iro had saturated the room with.

  It was a subtle scent, masculine and enticing. Onari bit her lip and stood to leave, only to have the king emerge from the bathroom, a towel his only clothing.

  “Good afternoon, Onari. What are you doing here?”

  She held up the carrier. “I am setting your fire for his evening, Your Majesty.”

  “The lads normally do that.”

  “I was scheduled for it today.” She bobbed a short bow and kept her gaze directed toward his huge but elegant feet.

  Funny she had never considered any part of a man to be elegant before, but here she was noting the charming turn of his toes.

  “I will talk with Fortuna. None of the females should be hauling firewood. It isn’t seemly.” He took a few steps toward her and she tensed.

  “Please, don’t mention it. If I had known you were here, I never would have come in, Your Majesty.” She was reminded, quite suddenly, that she had to take her medication again this evening. She had to be running low, but the moment that she went into heat, she would become much more visible.

  The Lanar forces had moved their search elsewhere, but she didn’t trust that they didn’t have spies on Regav. She wasn’t going to be popping her head out if she could help it.

  “I am glad you did. I did not thank you for your healing today.”

  “It is nothing, Your Majesty. I was driving too fast and without due care.”

  “On an unused road in the woods? Yes of course, it was all your fault.” He snorted, but she kept her gaze down.

  He lifted her chin with warm, firm finge
rs. When her gold gaze hit his silver one, he blinked, then smiled. “Thank you for the healing.”

  Her eyes widened as he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek. The roar of heat that flooded through her mortified her. His nostrils flared and she blushed furiously as she backed away without being dismissed.

  The moment she was in the outer room, she ran for it.

  Down in the servants quarters, she breathed heavily, a hand over her pounding heart. With trembling limbs, she sought out Mistress Welks.

  “Last one, Onari. You will be on your own after this.”

  Onari quickly took the pill and closed her eyes. She wished that she had been able to get more of the drug, but on short notice, Lira had only been able to lay hands on two weeks’ worth.

  “You are no longer serving in the dining hall this evening. A dignitary from Lanar is here and we don’t need to push our luck.” Mistress Welks patted her cheek and gave her a thorough look. “We also need to touch up your roots. Your hair grows very quickly.”

  Onari nodded. “Will tomorrow be fine?”

  “Yes. I have an hour near lunchtime.”

  “Good, I will see you then. I believe I am on butcher shop duty in the morning.”

  “You are.”

  Onari nodded and went to engage in the remainder of kitchen duties for the evening. She scrubbed, peeled, mashed and washed until her mind was numb and her body was tired.

  Returning to the palace the next morning, she was shocked to be hauled aside by Mistress Welks. “What did you say to him?”

  Confused, she babbled. “Me? Say? Nothing. Who is him?”

  “King Iro. He has asked for you to attend him at lunch. He never has an attendant.”

  Her body ran hot and then cold. “I ran into him with my skimmer, and yesterday in his chambers. He was coming out of the shower.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Onari hissed, “He was running through the woods and I hit him with the skimmer. He was fine and returned to the palace. I arrived with the bruised vegetables. Then in the afternoon, I was preparing the fires and he emerged from his bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. I apologized I think, and ran for it.”