Tethered by Pippa Jay

An Unexpected Christmas Present Called Inspiration

Hi, I’m Pippa Jay, author of scifi and the supernatural with a romantic soul. Inspiration can be a wonderful thing, but can hit at the most inconvenient times. You know, like just as you’re going to sleep, or in the middle of the night. When you don’t have a single thing to hand to write with, except perhaps the kids crayons and a napkin. I’ve even written down story notes with my eyeliner because I literally had nothing else to hand. Getting a mobile phone meant I would often end up sending several texts to myself because an idea hit when I was out and about, and now I thank technology daily for my wonderful smartphone that even made it possible for me to compose a 17K novella while away on holiday. ^-^

There are certain days I’m not supposed to be writing. Weekends are designated family time, and we have a (reasonably) strict no technology rule. Of course, we don’t always stick to it (psst, don’t tell my husband!). I shouldn’t have been writing on holiday, but since we were sitting on the beach and the kids were playing, I think I got away with it!

But Christmas 2011, inspiration decided to play a mean trick on me. As hubs was busy cooking Christmas dinner and the kids sorted through the presents they’d opened, muse saddled me with the irresistible urge to start writing a far future adventure story with a succubus-like assassin. Argh! Throughout the day, I took whatever few moments I figured I could get away with to sneak upstairs and scribble notes (it being back in the days when I still hand wrote a lot). Pretending to fetch things from bedrooms, change a top, go to the bathroom, bring down presents or take some to put away. Whatever else, at least I earned stuffing my face with Christmas dinner after all those trips up and down the stairs all day! And my family never guessed.

Somehow I managed to get about five thousand words down that day. That one day of the year when I really shouldn’t have been working. The result of that inconvenient flash of inspiration was my scifi romance Tethered, born on Christmas Day. I guess maybe it was muse’s present to me. Fortunately, muse has never been that cruel to me since.

What was the most inconvenient time or place that you ever got inspired?

Blurb:

She can kill with a kiss. But can assassin Tyree also heal one man’s grief, and bring peace to a galaxy threatened by war?

For Tyree of the Su, being an assassin isn’t simply something she was trained for. It’s the sole reason for her existence. A genetically enhanced clone—one of many in Refuge—she’s about to learn her secluded lifestyle, and that of all her kind, is under threat by a race capable of neutralizing their special talents to leave them defenseless.

For Zander D’joren, being a diplomat has not only cost him his appearance, but also the love of his life. Scarred, grieving, he must nonetheless continue in his role as co-delegate to the fearsome Tier-vane or risk a conflict that could only end one way.

Now both of them need to keep each other alive and maintain a perilous deception long enough to renegotiate the treaty with the Tier-vane, or throw their people into a war that could wipe out Terrans and Inc-Su alike. But there’s more at stake than humanity, whether true or modified. Can the love growing between them save them both? Or merely hasten their destruction?

Buy links:

Breathless Press - http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=6&products_id=597

Smashwords – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/455540

Bookstrand – https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-tethered-1562948-343.html

All Romance ebooks - http://www.bookstrand.com/tethered-0

Amazon - http://mybook.to/Tethered

Print coming 24th March - watch for pre-order at Breathless Press! Add it to your Goodreads TBR here – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22085149-tethered

Sign up to my no-spam newsletter to get updated on the latest releases, giveaways and special offers. Exclusive snippets and stories coming soon! http://pippajay.blogspot.co.uk/p/newsletter-signup.html

Bio:

After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include YA and adult stories crossing a multitude of subgenres from scifi to the paranormal, often with romance, and she’s one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3^rd place), the EPIC eBook awards, and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2^nd place).

You can stalk her at her website, or at her blog, but without doubt her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen.

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5054558.Pippa_Jay

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pippa-Jay-Adventures-in-Scifi/114058821953752

Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/pippajaygreen/

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/u/0/101080630877126516448/posts

Wattpad - http://www.wattpad.com/user/PippaJay

Amazon page - http://www.amazon.com/Pippa-Jay/e/B0080QVWEE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1406376408&sr=8-1

Breathless Monday: No Angel by Pippa Jay

Happy Breathless Monday! Today we have a familiar face around the blog. Pippa Jay rejoins us with a thrilling tale of angels and seduction...I am soooo adding this one to my want list! Fallen angels are my kryptonite!

1. How did you start writing romance? By accident. No, really! I wrote a scifi adventure, but one of my beta readers turned round and told me it was a romance and I should pitch it as such. So I did, got a contract for it, and I’ve found it hard to write anything without the romance in it now.

2. Plotter or pantster? Complete and utter pantster.

3. What are three things you have on your writing desk? Coffee, notebooks and phone.

4. Favorite food? Pasta in a cheese and tomato sauce.

5. Tell us a little about your new release. What character in the book really spoke to you? No Angel is my first ever angel story, and was inspired by a submission call by my publisher, watching Peter Capaldi as a ‘bad’ angel in the televised series of Neverwhere (by Neil Gaiman), and Jude Law as Gigolo Joe in AI. I adore Lucien, my fallen angel. He’s very different to my previous male characters in that he revels in his ability to seduce people and his sexual nature. Most of my characters aren’t such hussies. :P I think of the story as Bladerunner with angels and demons - SF is my home genre, so a little scifi tends to creep into my paranormal writing (but sometimes vice versa).

6. I write because not writing is not a viable option.

7. What is your favorite type of character to write about? Tortured souls - the more tortured, the better!

8. What is the sexiest scene you ever wrote? I love the seduction scene from my superhero story, When Dark Falls.

9. What advice would you give new authors in the erotica/romance field? Read, write and research. And don’t give up!

10. What is next on your writerly horizon? I’m trying to decide on a project at the moment. I usually have several on the go, and focus on the one that calls me most and/or is nearest to completion, but several are competing for attention at the moment. I have a YA dystopian romance releasing in April 2015, and I have the rights back to a scifi romance novel that I’m editing to re-release myself in the New Year.

Blurb:

How far would you fall for love?

Centuries ago, guardian angel Lucien committed a terrible sin. He gave into his own desires and revealed himself to the mortal woman he'd been charged to protect. By kissing her, he condemned himself. Torn of his wings and his angelic powers, thrown down into the City Below, Lucien now serves Satan as an incubus who claims souls for his master from the City Above, and who feeds on the energy stolen from his mortal lovers. Dark, sexy and charming, he's been top of his league for decades uncounted.

Until His Infernal Highness decides to send Lucien looking for a lost angel. Lucien has no idea what he did to deserve such a punishment, and the touch of an angel could destroy him. Yet the challenge and the potential kudos of seducing one of his former heavenly kin leads him on.

But when he finds the angel, he learns he still has more to lose than his already forsaken soul.

Please add it to your Goodreads shelf HERE, or sign up HERE for my no-spam newsletter for special previews on cover reveals, new releases, the latest giveaways and discounts, and upcoming news.

Excerpt:

A new burning consumed his body. He wanted to reach out and hold her. Wrap his arms around her, and drown in her kiss. But even as he took one shaky step toward her, the light and goodness within her scorched him and he staggered back a step, one arm thrown up to shield himself.

"Lucien." Her voice washed over him like a sweetly scented summer breeze. He dared to drop his arm and look at her again.

"Miranda." Her name came out as a growl, and he cursed himself for it.

Her frown deepened. "Lucien, what's happened to you?" She took a step closer and he shied away. No matter how she'd come to him, welcomed him, her angelic powers could still be deadly. "Oh, my love, what have you become?"

My love. The words cut him as deeply as the priest's forgiveness. The pain stirred his resentment. She had been the cause of his fall. The reason for his torment. And now she was scolding him for it?

"What I am is what you helped turn me in to." He raised his head, glared at her. "What I am is because of you."

She shook her head. "Is that really what you think? That it's all my fault?" Tears glimmered in her eyes. "I've watched you for a long time now. Waiting for the right time to come to you. I've seen how your existence has come to trouble you more in the last decades. How the tasks set to you have crushed what remains of your soul."

Lucien snorted. "My soul? I lost that with my heart. And my wings."

"No. You didn't. You hate what you do. You sealed your heart in stone to protect yourself, but you can't bring yourself to fully give into the darkness, no matter what."

Lucien shuddered. "You're wrong."

"You know I'm not." She took another step toward him, and though he tried to back away he found himself trapped against the brick wall. She put up her hand, palm outward, as if to touch him. His breath stalled in his chest and his whole body might just as well have become stone. He couldn't move.

Bio:

After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include YA and adult stories crossing a multitude of subgenres from scifi to the paranormal, often with romance, and she’s one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3^rd place), and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2^nd place).

You can stalk her at her website, or at her blog, but without doubt her favorite place to hang around and chat is on Twitter as @pippajaygreen.

You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Wattpad

Website – http://www.pippajay.co.uk

Blogs –

Adventures in Scifi - http://www.pippajay.blogspot.co.uk

Spacefreighters Lounge - http://www.spacefreighters.blogspot.com

Romancing the Genres - http://www.romancingthegenres.blogspot.co.uk/

SFR Brigade - http://www.sfrcontests.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/pippajaygreen

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5054558.Pippa_Jay

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pippa-Jay-Adventures-in-Scifi/114058821953752

Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/pippajaygreen/

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/u/0/101080630877126516448/posts

Wattpad - http://www.wattpad.com/user/PippaJay

Amazon page - http://www.amazon.com/Pippa-Jay/e/B0080QVWEE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1406376408&sr=8-1

Buy Links:

Webpage - http://www.pippajay.co.uk/#!no-angel/c17g7

Breathless Press - http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=13&products_id=701

Tantalizing Tuesday with Pippa Jay and When Darkness Falls

Greetings! Welcome to Tantalizing Tuesday! This week we have the wonderful and talented Pippa Jay dishing on her new release When Dark Falls. Now for the fun...

1. How did you start writing romance? I actually kind of fell into it by mistake, which sounds terrible but it’s true. I was trying to find an agent for my debut scifi novel when one of my beta readers turned round and told me it was a romance. I was kind of surprised. I mean, yes, my two main characters did get involved with each other even though that hadn’t been the plan, but it never occurred to me I’d written a romance. If I was a character in one of my own stories, I’d be the one who didn’t realize one of the other characters had the hots for me. *facepalm*

2. Plotter or pantster? Pantser. I’ve attempted to plot, but it never really works out for me.

3. What are three things you have on your writing desk? I don’t really have a desk, but generally the things I have close to hand are coffee, notebook and memory sticks.

4. Favorite food? Wow, um, right now pasta in any kind of sauce but preferably something tomato and cheesy.

5. Tell us a little about your new release. What character in the book really spoke to you? When Dark Falls is an alternative 1920s decopunk superhero story, more along the lines of X-Men than the likes of Superman or Spiderman. I love my leading lady--she’s so broken and confused, and with damn good reason. She doesn’t really want to be the hero all that much and doesn’t really think of herself as a good person, but she’s the only one who can do what’s needed.

6. I write because not writing is not an option. I went through about a decade of not writing, and when I came back to it I went a bit crazy for a while. It’s not good for me to keep all those word locked up, lol.

7. What is your favorite type of character to write about? I love tortured characters, preferably male over female, but either will do. The more tortured, the better. Bwahahaa!

8. What is the sexiest scene you ever wrote? Actually, I think it’s the bedroom scene in this one.

9. What advice would you give new authors in the erotica/romance field? Same as I’d give any author really - read, write and research. And be open minded. There’s a lot of things I said I would never write, and I’ve had to take that back. Challenge yourself. Experiment.

10. What is next on your writerly horizon? I have a futuristic urban fantasy short releasing on the 19th December--No Angel-- featuring an incubus on a hunt for a lost angel.

Social links:

Website:  http://pippajay.co.uk

Blog: http://pippajay.blogspot.co.uk

Twitter:  @pippajaygreen

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pippa-Jay-Adventures-in-Scifi/114058821953752

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5054558.Pippa_Jay

Newsletter sign up: http://www.pippajay.blogspot.co.uk/p/newsletter-signup.html

Wattpad - http://www.wattpad.com/user/PippaJay

Amazon page - http://www.amazon.com/Pippa-Jay/e/B0080QVWEE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1406376408&sr=8-1

Buy links:

Breathless Press - http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=25&products_id=691

Amazon US - http://www.amazon.com/When-Dark-Falls-Pippa-Jay-ebook/dp/B00P5MQR6Y/

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Dark-Falls-Pippa-Jay-ebook/dp/B00P5MQR6Y/

 Web page to other links - http://www.pippajay.co.uk/#!when-dark-falls/cl15 

Author bio:

After spending twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay is now a stay-at-home mum who writes scifi and the supernatural. Somewhere along the way a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moment playing guitar very badly, punishing herself with freestyle street dance, and studying the Dark Side of the Force. Although happily settled in the historical town of Colchester in the UK with her husband of 21 years and three little monsters, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.

Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the Science Fiction Romance Brigade, blogging at Spacefreighters Lounge, Adventures in Scifi, and Romancing the Genres. Her works include a YA science fiction novel—Gethyon—published through BURST (Champagne Books), a scifi romance novella—Tethered—published by Breathless Press, a YA paranormal romance—Restless In Peaceville—published by Lycaon Press, three self-published short stories (Terms & Conditions Apply, The Bones of the Sea, and Reboot), and she’s one of eight authors included in a science fiction romance anthology—Tales from the SFR Brigade. She’s also a double SFR Galaxy Award winner, been a finalist in the Heart of Denver RWA Aspen Gold Contest (3^rd place), and the GCC RWA Silken Sands Star Awards (2^nd place).

Book blurb:

In a city where Dark Technologies Inc. now runs the show, Kadie Williams has more immediate concerns than the fall of Blaze, their guardian superhero. Almost every morning for the last few months she’s woken up with cuts and bruises on her body, and no idea how she got them. There are no nightmares. No evidence that she sleepwalks, or any sign of a break in. And nothing to tell her who’s been cleaning up after her. As just one of thousands of civilians conscripted to slave away in the labs of Professor Dark, she knew there'd be trouble ahead. But  she never expected it to be so bad, or so personal.

Desperate for answers, Kadie looks to the new defender of the night, the only person who can hinder the total domination of Professor Dark—Nocturnelle. The mysterious vigilante superhero came from nowhere with her cybernetic sidekick Shadow, set on putting an end to the brutality of Dark's regime. But as his laboratories work on a new secret super-weapon, Nocturnelle and Shadow may not be enough to save Nephopolis...or to save Kadie either.

Book excerpt:

"I..." He swallowed. "I shouldn't be doing this but..."

He leaned down and kissed her, hard. Wrapped his arms around her. Pulled her tight against him.

She wanted more of him. More than his mouth on hers. More than his hands skimming over the fabric covering her back.

"Kadie..." His voice, rough with desire, made her ache. Right now, all she needed was him.

"Don't stop."

"I don't think I can. But Kadie?"

"Yes?"

"If you want me to stop, all you have to do is..."

She silenced him with her mouth, stopping any further speech. He grasped her hips, tugging her hard against him in response. The heat of him burned into her as she reached under the loose ends of his shirt, exploring the firm muscle of his back. She found knotted scars as she travelled upward, these from battle rather than the surgery that had saved his life. As she traced each scar, he held her as tight and close as her second skin, but stirred a thrill within her deeper and more exhilarating than traveling the city as Nelle. Her breath caught as every fiber in her body coiled tight and her legs shook. Nothing, not even an adrenaline fueled flight through Nephopolis could compete. She looped her hands around his neck, frightened of falling, of him moving away as need consumed her. Don't let this be the only time. Don't let this end...

Jev shifted and hoisted her off the ground, still kissing her. She clung to him as he carried her, not caring where they were going as long as he held her. When he stumbled and dropped, she clutched at his shoulders, but he'd just bumped into the leather sofa and sat. Now she knelt astride his lap, feeling the hard knot of his crotch pressing into the juncture of her thighs. She moaned, burying her fingers in his hair. His hands burned her back as they slid under her thin blouse.

Tethered by Pippa Jay

Author Interview Questions:

1. How did you start writing romance? By accident! No, really. I wrote and queried what I described as a science fiction adventure. It took a couple of my author friends beating me around the head with 'this is a ROMANCE, duh!' before I accepted it. Now I can't seem to keep the romance out of my stories.

2. Plotter or pantster? Pantster.

3. What are three things you have on your writing desk? Right now I don't use a desk, and my old desk is currently sporting a massive collection of…um…junk. But in order of priority, it would have been my computer, a notepad and a huge pot of pens, most of which probably don't work.

4. Favorite food? All of them? Um, chocolate.

5. Tell us a little about your new release. What character in the book really spoke to you? Tethered is a space opera, a little like Fifth Element meets Star Wars. It's the far future and humans have left Earth, to spread out to various planets and diversify, as well as meeting new races. But at this point in time they are on the verge of war with the Tier-vane, a ferocious species of feline who'd quite like humanity to die out. Negotiations are being sabotaged, and the chance of peace rests on Zander, a scarred human diplomat, and Tyree, a cloned Su assassin pretending to be her murdered sibling in order to sign the new treaty. Out of my two main characters, it was Tyree who really drove the story. She's such a strong, feisty character, and yet a little bit vulnerable and naive underneath because of her secluded upbringing. She spends a lot of the story confused because she's being required to do things totally outside her comfort zone, and to get along with a race of people she normally gets assigned to bump off.

6. I write because I just can't stop.

7. What is your favorite type of character to write about? I love to write about tortured souls, the more anguished the better. Bwahahaaa!

8. What is the sexiest scene you ever wrote? I think it's for the book I currently have going through edits – a superhero romance. Originally it didn't have any at all. But I have the hero carry the heroine to his room and strip her slowly. That was kind of hot.

9. What advice would you give new authors in the erotica/romance field? Read plenty of it before attempting to write it. And please, don't use some of the cringe-worthy euphemisms for various body parts, unless they are appropriate to your setting, say for a historical romance. You can Google advice on what kind of words not to use.

10. What is next on your writerly horizon? My next release is a YA supernatural novella, Restless In Peaceville, but I also have a paranormal short coming out in October, a superhero romance sometime before the end of the year, and I'm working on a bad angel story for a holiday season collection.

Social Links:

Website – http://www.pippajay.co.uk

Adventures in Scifi - http://www.pippajay.blogspot.co.uk

SFR Brigade - http://www.sfrcontests.blogspot.co.uk/

Spacefreighters Lounge - http://www.spacefreighters.blogspot.com

Romancing the Genres - http://www.romancingthegenres.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/pippajaygreen

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5054558.Pippa_Jay

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pippa-Jay-Adventures-in-Scifi/114058821953752

Buy links:

http://www.pippajay.co.uk/#!tethered-an-inc-su-story/c182x

Author bio:

A stay-at-home mum of three who spent twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay bases her stories on a lifetime addiction to science-fiction books and films. Somewhere along the line a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her plethora of characters, she spends the odd free moments trying to learn guitar, indulging in freestyle street dance and drinking high-caffeine coffee. Although happily settled in historical Colchester in the UK with her husband of 20 years, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.
Pippa Jay is a dedicated member of the SFR Brigade, a community of science fiction romance authors and publishing professionals committed to writing and promoting the very best in the genre.

Book blurb:

She can kill with a kiss. But can assassin Tyree also heal one man's grief, and bring peace to a galaxy threatened by war?

For Tyree of the Su, being an assassin isn't simply something she was trained for. It's the sole reason for her existence. A genetically enhanced clone--one of many in Refuge--she's about to learn her secluded lifestyle, and that of all her kind, is under threat by a race capable of neutralizing their special talents to leave them defenseless.

For Zander D'joren, being a diplomat has not only cost him his appearance, but also the love of his life. Scarred, grieving, he must nonetheless continue in his role as co-delegate to the fearsome Tier-vane or risk a conflict that could only end one way.

Now both of them need to keep each other alive and maintain a perilous deception long enough to renegotiate the treaty with the Tier-vane, or throw their people into a war that could wipe out Terrans and Inc-Su alike. But there's more at stake than humanity, whether true or modified. Can the love growing between them save them both? Or merely hasten their destruction?

Book excerpt:

Tyree gazed at her image with a sensation akin to horror. That wasn't her. She'd never looked like this. Like some gloss painted, surgically enhanced Skiv putting herself up for sale.

She touched the elaborate coils of her hair in wonder, watching the alien reflection do the same.

"Is it to your liking, my lady?" Visaya asked, her voice quivering.

"I...I've never worn it up like this." Tyree continued to stare.

"It was how the Lady Mirsee liked it." The woman's voice broke, and she sniffed. Tyree turned to look at her, stunned to see tears flowing down the attendant's face. Was she so offended by Tyree's reaction?

"I didn't mean to be rude." The apology snagged in her throat. It was a first, but in this situation she didn't want to make too many mistakes around these humans.

"No, lady, it is not that. It is very strange to see another in my lady's clothes. Someone so alike, and yet you are not her."

"It freaks you out a bit?" Tyree stared at her reflection again. "Yeah, I can understand that feeling."

Visaya sobbed harder, and discomfort ran down Tyree's spine. What was the woman so upset about? Su never cried, and certainly never mourned anyone. Talented Inc-Su could be cloned again, and there were few emotional attachments in Refuge.

"Do you miss Mirsee?"

Visaya wiped her eyes. "She was a great lady. And we grieve for the master's loss."

Hmm. The master, huh?

Tyree straightened. It might be his title, but Zander D'joren was no master of hers. Not even if he Tethered her.

"Then perhaps it's time I met him. I'm sure he'll want to see how I compare."

And a visual comparison is all he'll be making, or I'll snatch the aura right out of him.

Visaya gestured to the door. "This way, my lady."