Page 3 of Her Lawless Prince

Nyle continued to study her. The intensity of it became unnerving. “Is it true your mother is a Ticaron princess? I look at you, but I’m not seeing it.”

“She’s half Ticaron.” Payton frowned. “How do you know about that?”

“And your father, the cat-shifter commander of the royal armies, is half Roane on his mother’s side, right?” he continued.

This time Payton didn’t answer. How could he even know that? Though it wasn’t exactly a secret, neither was it a well-known fact. Her family didn’t talk about their lineage with outsiders.

Payton’s mother, Princess Samantha, didn’t enjoy speaking of her Ticaron father. The man had tried to brainwash his daughter into complete obedience, and he’d poisoned her cat-shifter mate for not being worthy of joining the Ticaron family.

Not that Payton’s paternal grandfather was much better. King Attor of the Var had been a calculating man who raised his sons to believe true love didn’t exist, only loyalty. He’d started a war with the other race of shifters on the planet, the dragons, that lasted for centuries during his rule.

“You don’t appear submissive like most Ticaron women, and most Roanes have very, uh…” Nyle let his words trail off, and he gave a light cough.

Payton’s expression fell by small degrees into a frown as he spoke. What he probably wanted to say was that the Roane were renowned for their insatiable sexual appetites. They literally took energy from their sexual partners…not that the partners complained.

Was he trying to offer sex to her?

The thought took her by surprise. Sure, there had been a few visiting alien lovers, but their appeal rested in the fact they wouldn’t be around too long to annoy her.

“You’re one-fourth human, one-fourth Roane, one-fourth Ticaron, and—”

“I am Var,” she stated firmly. Her hand balled into a fist.

“Yes, but I mean you’re not just a Var. There are a lot of conflicting alien predispositions inside of you,” Nyle insisted. “I find it fascinating. So, my question is, which one is dominant—”

“I do not want to punch you because I fear it will kill you,” she managed through tight lips. “You are being overly familiar and will stop speaking to me now.”

His mouth opened, and he looked surprised. He closed it and nodded once, not talking.

Payton walked faster. She’d interacted with several Cysgodians and still maintained that this man was off. She felt his eyes on her but didn’t look in his direction to encourage conversation.

She took the easiest route through the trees to get to the top of the cliff that overlooked the city. The ugly stone structure of the Federation’s stronghold stretched along the topside and stood dominant over the ravine. Metal arches crisscrossed over the roof, amplifying their signals into space. The whole structure lacked craftsmanship and imagination.

Halfway down the cliff on a wide ledge were the barracks that once housed the soldiers. The evenly spaced buildings had been built with military precision, each identical to the next and looking exactly as they had since the Federation put them up thirty years earlier. They now acted as apartments for Shelter City’s citizens.

Payton finally looked at her traveling companion and asked, “Have you moved into the barracks, or are you still in the city?”

Not everyone had wanted to relocate from their homes.

Nyle eyed the top stronghold. Payton pointed down to the barracks. His gaze shifted downward.

“I don’t live there,” he said. It appeared as if he kept his gaze purposefully from her.

Payton found herself staring at his neck. Tiny dark strands clung to his flesh. The thought that all was not right tickled her mind, but she dismissed it as irritation after his rude questions about her family. “I think you can find your way to the city from here.”

Nyle began to answer. “Thank—”

Payton strode away from him, cutting off his words. She went along the tree line toward the cliffside path that would take her down to the city. Ignoring the gentle slope of the beginning, she hopped down from the top of the cliff and dropped several feet to the path. She breathed a little easier knowing his eyes were off her.

The man lingered in her thoughts as she rushed down the path. She paused as she reached a large misshapen tree that allowed privacy from those below and above. This was the only spot on the path that was secluded. It grew along the cliff’s side, surviving both time and precipice.

Payton could identify with that tree. Strong roots held it firmly in a place it didn’t belong. It would never move, never stop being a tree. Just as she would never leave the palace or stop being a princess. Her feet were rooted in duty and honor and all the things it meant to be a Var royal. Those brief moments of freedom were all she had to look forward to. Like when the wind blew through the tree’s branches and delighted its leaves.

Hearing footsteps, she continued on her way, not wanting to be stopped in conversation.

The more she thought about it, the less she doubted Nyle had been offering sex when he brought up her Roane heritage. She refused to feel any kind of disappointment in the realization. She’d seen handsome men before and wasn’t one to be swayed by a pretty face. Being involved with someone from the city was a mistake.

She’d never tell her cousin Roderic that. He’d married a Cysgodian woman. But really, that relationship was proof enough. The couple had a rough go of it, and Justina’s people still looked at her funny.

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