Free Blue and Alluring by Viola Grace Page A

quit, and now, she was stuck studying xenobiology without a companion. Her life had definitely changed.
    Her father remained at the house, and they had dinner every evening. Tonight, he had invited a special guest.
    When he had told her that, she had caught the subtext that she was to be on her best behaviour and fully dressed.
    Illuma stared at herself in the mirror and made faces without moving a muscle. When she was done, she let everything slide back to normal, and she looked through her dinner gowns. For her, misting was the most awkward portion of the shifting process. Her mother’s natural form had been mist, and her system had been stressed as it carried a child to gestation. Once she had delivered, she had dissipated and gone to the hollow.
    Lord Ambrehar had been left with a little girl to raise. Her regular visits to the hollow as an infant had given her what she needed to grow past the toddler phase, but when she was five, her father started to spend less and less time at home. She was unable to get to the hollow on her own, so she stopped growing.
    As time passed, when she did visit the hollow, it was to share her new discoveries with her mother. Growing physically didn’t matter when she could speak and care for herself, even if she was small.
    She hadn’t clued into the passing of time until her father had mentioned how old she was. For a physical being, twenty should have seen her through puberty. For a half Nishan, puberty was a state of mind. She had no interest in it, so it didn’t matter. If she got to the point where she wanted to reproduce, she would concentrate on it then.
    With a soft blue dress that complemented her hair, she trailed tattoos across her skin in a vine pattern and looked at herself in a mirror. She supposed she could pass for attractive if you liked blue hair.
    Snickering, she walked through the halls and smiled at the few maids who were finishing up their daily duties.
    It had to have been stressful for them to have their eternal child change into a woman, but it was what her father wanted, so his servants would have to deal with it.
    The sitting room was warm, and her father was sitting and reading a digital tablet. “Illuma, you look lovely.”
    Learning that how she looked was important to him had been a surprise, but she was getting used to it. The fact that she could now reach all of the cookies in the house without standing on a chair was one of the perks of her new height.
    She walked over and kissed her father on the cheek.
    “I like the markings. New design?”
    “Yes. I have been experimenting with the superficial. It is fun to see the reactions of those around me.”
    He chuckled. “Sit. Tell me about your day.”
    She sat on a well-stuffed chair next to him and went through her xenobiology studies, including her efforts to mimic the organs and appearances that she read about.
    “Can you do one now? Without needing to change clothing?”
    She shifted into an Azon appearance and smiled. “How about this?”
    She moved to Nyal. “Or this?”
    The third was a Selna with velvety black skin. “Or this.”
    She resumed her features.
    He chuckled. “You kept blue hair through all of the changes.”
    She shrugged. “I didn’t want you to forget it was me.”
    He laughed. “Well, our guest this evening might ask you to do a few of those species. He is a recruiter from the Citadel, and I believe that you would benefit from hearing what he has to offer.”
    “The Citadel? I don’t have any extra-sensory talent.”
    “Ah, button. Your half-Nishan bloodlines are unusual enough to qualify you.”
    She frowned. “What about my Breethin half?”
    “It is enough to get the Citadel here for the interview instead of you going to them.” He winked one of his navy-blue eyes.
    She grinned and heard the arrival of a heavy vehicle. “I believe our guest is here.”
    “I believe he is. Shall we greet him?”
    Her father rose to his feet and offered her his arm. She took it,