Mauled by Destiny [Tales of the Citadel 17] Read Online Free PDF Page A

forearm and around her elbow to her bicep. Her skin tingled under his touch, so she shifted away from him.
    “And that is enough of that.”
    Rhanos smiled and filled a plate of his own.
    “Well, I am glad you retained use of your limbs and nerves.”
    “What did happen to him, the one who attacked me?” She licked her fingers and blushed as she noted that his gaze was focussed on her mouth.
    He cleared his throat. “He was judged by the clan council and shunned for five years. He re-joined the clan last year, and his family tithes ten percent of all earnings to your upkeep.” Priina choked and spluttered. “What?”
    “It is his family that paid for your Citadel training and medical care. The Danyik clan deeply regret the incident and hope to one day express their apologies in person.”
    “They paid for everything? Including the suit that I have to wear?” She felt peculiar about that.
    It didn’t feel right.
    “Yes, including the suit that you will be given.”
    “Suit? How will a suit fit me if I have to transform?”
    “It will shift with you. I have a battle suit as well, though it isn’t as fancy as the one you will be wearing.”
    She perked up. “You have seen it?” Rhanos stroked the controls in the couch, and he brought up a data file that opened under his direction. The image of a gold suit with red accents slowly rotated on the screen.
    “How does it fit?”
    “It expands and contracts as you shift. What do you think?” He raised his brows in query.
    She frowned as the image of the lovely armour continued to rotate. “I hope it doesn’t get caught in my fur.”
    Rhanos choked and coughed as laughter spilled out of him. “You know, I hadn’t thought of that.”

Chapter Six
    P riina stared at the spot in the wall where Rhanos had exited. Their rooms were adjoining, and she hadn’t even guessed.
    After seeing her armour, they had watched a Lyran documentary that covered the Drevvin population and countryside. She had watched with fascination as she saw a view of her home world that she had never imagined.
    Now, alone in her bed, her heart pounded sluggishly against her ribs and her skin felt hot. It was strange to think that she was alone in a huge building with a man she had met once six years earlier. What were the odds that we would be in the same place at the same time?
    She restlessly turned over and thumped her pillow. Dawn was only a few hours away, and she would need what sleep she could get if she was to track him at first light.
    * * * *
    Rhanos shook her awake. “Come on, Priina. A bit of breakfast and then time for a hunt.” She sat up, holding the covers to her chest.
    “Why are you in my room?”
    “I am here to make sure that you eat something before you take after me in the forest.” He turned and put a tray with a meal of eggs, cured meat and crisped bread on her lap.
    She blinked. “Thank you. Did you eat already?” He nodded. “I did.”
    She rubbed her eyes with one hand while fumbling for her eating prong with the other. With bleary concentration, she worked her way through the food while Rhanos tidied her room.
    She mumbled. “Why are you tidying?”
    “I like things in order, and I haven’t given you time to settle in.” He hung her robes up and brushed at her suit from the day before. “You don’t need to wear this anymore.”
    “If we are out in public, I prefer not to be stared at.” She sighed and shifted restlessly. She wanted to get up, but he was still in her room.
    “I will give you a bit of privacy.” He disappeared through the door between their rooms, and she set the tray aside and darted for the lav. Going to bed with a full selection of teas in her belly did not make for a slow rise from the sheets.
    Her hair was wild as she washed her hands and made faces at herself in the mirror. It was a tradition that she had begun as a child and there was no reason to stop it now. The faces made her feel more centred for some reason, as if she could