Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Emperor Read Free Page A

the military. How many of his
kin had he lost to Lyra? His hand fell to the sword hanging at his
waist. The feel of its hilt beneath his fingers was comforting. The
war was over now. A tentative peace bridged the gap between his
species and the Lyrans. They were here to strengthen that peace
through marriage.

    A sigh escaped him when a
full moon broke the horizon, blood red but slowly turning to white
as it rose. He watched its progress and then smiled when another
moon appeared a distance away from the first, this one crescent. He
studied them both and realised that the first moon partially
eclipsed the second. It was beautiful. It added a strange sense of
magic to the falling night.

    He missed the moon of
Varka Prime. It glowed purple, a pale lilac that reminded him of
the flowers his mother and sister had preferred. It had been long
decades since their passing.

    In all that time, he had
never left Varka Prime. His duty had been to the people and the
struggle for peace for his species, while his friend Van, Count of
Aeris, had left to join the military. Regis wished that he could
have that freedom too, but knew that it wasn’t possible. He had a
duty to do.

    The darkening sky lured
his attention to how quiet it was on this planet at night. He
looked down at the garden where it sprawled thirty metres below him
and then leapt over the wall, landing silently in a crouching
position on the balcony above the garden. He straightened and
walked to the top of the steps that led down into the maze of paths
and flowers. It was a beautiful night for a walk. It had been some
time since he had felt so relaxed and at peace with the
universe.

    Regis followed the steps
down into the garden and let his feet find their own route amongst
the winding paths. The flowers were beautiful, especially so when
the moonlight touched them. He gave a brief thought to the fact
that the emperor hadn’t reported back and that he might miss him,
and then shrugged it off. He wanted to walk the garden. If he
needed him, the emperor would easily be able to sense him
here.

    Perhaps he was still
speaking to the princess. Regis frowned at that thought. It had
been several hours since he had left them alone together. Maybe the
offer his species had laid on her table was palatable. A firm peace
between their species, the technology of Varka at their disposal,
and a marriage that would connect them with other species of
similar prosperity. Not to mention the fact that Varka were
offering Lyra the second planet in their system for a military base
station. Varka Two was a deal breaker. The Lyrans had desired a
presence in the Varka system for nearing a century and had fought
hard to win one.

    Unfortunately for them,
his species had fought harder.

    The Lyran Imperial Army
were no match for them.

    Regis stopped and looked
back at the palace. It was bright in the moonlight, the white stone
glittering. Most of the windows glowed warm and amber from the
lights inside. A few of the balcony rooms were in darkness. Without
thinking, he reached out with his senses and focused on each room.
The unlit ones weren’t all empty. Their occupants were sleeping.
The lit ones contained one or two signatures. A light sweet perfume
of Lyran lilies came from one, carried down to him on the cool
night breeze.

    The princess.

    Her room was distant from
his, close to the rear of the palace, near to where he was now in
the garden. He knew it was her. Her scent was unique in the castle
and had stayed with him all day. He stared up at her window, a part
of him willing her to come out onto her balcony. He had read Terran
literature about a star-crossed match and their tender balcony
scene. He had read a lot about love in an effort to understand
it.

    Looking back at the moons
and the myriad of twinkling stars, Regis took a deep breath of
night air that filled his heart with warmth and did something he
hadn’t done since his beloved mother and sister had
died.

    He