Shiver and Bright Read Online Free PDF

spent my life not drawing attention to myself.”
    Dirven nodded. “That is over. You are going to stand with head high and order your people around.”
    “So, no one will notice who I am if I call attention to myself?”
    Kaylee tried to smack her on the shoulder but her arm went right through Nathaly’s body. “That is the spirit. No one realizes I am just a researcher with her head up her own butt most of the time because I can walk through walls. It is a fair trade.”
    Dirven sighed. “Go and rest, Kaylee. I will manage the rest of this. The shuttle is already loaded.”
    Kaylee kissed him, or that is what it looked like as she passed through him face to face and Dirven shivered.
    When Dirven collected himself, he raised his eyebrows and looked at the map as if seeing it again for the first time. “Right. So...”
    They went through the briefing a second time, and when everyone knew what was planned, Nathaly and Worvin were dismissed to retrieve her Citadel robes and board the ship.
     
    Worvin managed the controls and Nathaly sat stiffly in the seat next to him. “Are you nervous?”
    “Yes. I don’t know what I thought would happen, but this wasn’t it.”
    He chuckled. “Life rarely turns out the way you expect it. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. That is my motto.”
    “I had no frame of reference to prepare for this.”
    “No, but you are adapting wonderfully.”
    She looked over at him, and he glanced back at her and smiled.
    “You really think I can do this?”
    Worvin nodded. “I know you can. Your parents raised you with as much unity and education as they could manage. That much love carries an obligation to do the best you can with whatever situation you find yourself in. They prepared you for greatness, now take it.”
    Nathaly blinked at the firm tone in his voice. “Um. All right. I will do what I can.”
    “Good. Lady Lupik is breaking the news of the treaty to the government, and I am preparing to meet with resistance when we drop through the atmosphere.”
    “Right. What should I do?”
    “Have a meal and take a nap. We will arrive in two hours and you might want to be as fresh as you can.”
    She nodded. “Can I get you anything?”
    “Some caf. I have to remain here to monitor the chatter on their com systems.”
    Nat got to her feet and moved through the shuttle with her robes swaying heavily around her. The fabric was lightweight but had a solid feel. Worvin had told her it was armoured, but she didn’t want to test it. It also hid her obvious similarities to the Miikor. The mask across her eyes and down her cheeks was comfortable but would take getting used to.
    She was swathed and hidden. Nathaly Welling was gone and Shiver was standing where she had been.
    A nap was impossible, so she grabbed a snack bar and two cups of caf, returning to the cockpit and her seat next to Bright.
    She kept her breathing calm as her world filled the forward screen. They were taking direct action. They were going to begin the construction of the Citadel before meeting with the local government.
    It was a bold move and probably a stupid one, but it was the best way to get them into position so that the chancellor could not remove them.
    When they entered the atmosphere, she held her breath and Worvin’s eyes glowed bright. It was time to make their move, and it was going to be a big one.
     
    The aircraft that flanked them through the atmosphere had peeled off when they were over their official grounds.
    The moment they were down, Shiver got up, headed to the hold and grabbed the unit containing the pop-up Citadel.
    By vibrating the unit, she could drag it onto the bedrock half a kilometer from the ship. She dropped the unit to one side with the very large button facing upward. A quick glance showed that Bright was waiting next to the ship, so she pressed the button, waited for the light to begin its count down and she ran for it.
    Bright caught her in his arms as they waited for the