Meet Darius and Cilla from The President’s Daughter

Cilla has never quite recovered from the trauma she experienced as a teenager, when she and her family were almost taken hostage. She’s smart and feisty, very much a loner and she has no wish to be reminded that she is President Ghiborien’s daughter. She has landed a job on another planet and has decided to travel there on a cruise liner, seeing some sights before she starts in her new position.

Darius Fletcher is a forty-something military officer who has been badly injured in a battle. He’s off on a tour of the galaxy while he decides what to do with the rest of his life. He won’t be returning to active combat and the thought has left him feeling useless.

But then, on the cruise liner, he encounters Cilla. She’s traveling under another name but he recognises her as the president’s daughter. He’s surprised that she’s traveling without protection.

This scene is where Darius tells Cilla he knows who she is.

‘Darius leaned over the table toward her, his voice pitched low.

“Does your father know you’re on this ship alone, Isabella? Or is your security incompetent or invisible or both?”

Something growled, low pitched and soft, the sort of sound he’d associate with dark caves and danger. Darius froze as the something sat up beside the woman’s chair, a feline with a spotted coat and yellow eyes currently staring at him. He caught a hint of fangs.

She smiled as she put her hand on the beast’s neck. “This is Maahes. He’s my security detail. And my name’s Cilla. I didn’t catch your name?”‘

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