Royal Torment - Viola Grace
Chapter One
Tydella smiled graciously and walked down the aisle, her heavy and bead-encrusted robes moved stiffly. She waved at the folk who had turned out for her cousin’s wedding and made her way to the private chambers that had been set aside for her. She reached up, pulled the face-framing coronet away, and twirled it on her finger.
Her eight guards were waiting for her.
She looked at Tomath. “So, where are we going to now?”
“Your trip to Zathura Station has been granted for your birthday celebrations. We will be on our way to the shuttle as soon as you change into your travel robes.”
Tydella grimaced. “What is the problem if people see me?”
Yaro snorted. “If people see you, they will make our work harder. You are a very attractive female, and you are one of the wealthiest for four star systems.”
She went behind the changing screen; that was all she was allowed since she had become an adult. Her lady’s maid no longer travelled with her, and that duty fell to her guards when it was necessary.
“It was a very pretty wedding. Are they my third cousins?”
Kimal growled. “First cousin once removed. They are honoured that you attended.”
Tydella snorted. “I am sure.” She reached behind her and unclasped the beaded dress that was hanging onto her breasts with painful tenacity. The moment it was free, it fell to the floor.
She stripped and changed into something lighter in weight that didn’t have a king’s ransom in gems on it. She had the dress over one arm with the coordinating underwear, and Kimal’s mate Abra took it from her. “Got it, my lady.”
Abra tucked the undergarments in the cleaner on the wall, and then, she folded the bejewelled gown into the case that was designed to contain it with a genetic lock. They stayed until the cleaning cycle was done, and then, when her undergarments were packed away, Kimal and Abra took the clothing cases, and the other six fell into place around her. Her personal parade took her from the manor house, where her cousin’s nuptials were still going on, to an in-atmosphere shuttle that delivered her back to the port where her short-range shuttle was waiting.
Tydella let herself be shunted from shuttle to shuttle by her guards. They were all royal guards who had taken a mate, and all four of the couples were happy to run escort for her. They could live together, work together, and enjoy life together.
Tydella was happy for them, but occasionally, she missed out on having a partner herself. Being her father’s only daughter came with issues. She was exceedingly wealthy, but she would not be an heir unless she married and produced a son. Then, her husband would be placed into a position of guidance over both her and her progeny. What fun. So, either she led a freewheeling life among the stars, or she settled down with some random royal dude to provide her father with an heir. So far, the stars had more allure than a wedding.
The moment that they were back on her ship, she headed to the gym to stretch out and work off the tension of all the hormones that were flying around her vessel. The musk that the mated pairs were putting out was enough to make her nervous. It did remind her of how her father had probably seduced her mother. A male Kiidar in rut was a hard thing for a compatible female to ignore. Weddings tended to setoff her guards, and her father sent her to a lot of weddings. The end was always the same. They headed for private time, and she hit the gym. She was guessing that her father was trying to coax her into a rash decision at one of the events. That wasn’t going to happen.
Tydella started doing pull-ups and checked her form in the mirror. She didn’t look like her father’s daughter. It was the jewels and wealth that smoothed her path. She didn’t have his stripes, his ruff, or his presence. She was stuck looking human, despite her strength, speed, and cunning. She looked like her mother.
She was going to need cunning for the next excursion she had planned. It was her birthday, after all.
Entering the lounge with Fallo and Merk Kiidar was fun. Her guards kept her so surrounded that folk didn’t realize she was there. She had a reservation for one of the private but transparent rooms. They could have fun in a secure environment, but folks could