The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 65

POV: Lyra

Lady Kylton's husband and daughter looked at her in dismay and disappointment. The old female had blown their carefully thought-out plan within seconds! Everyone in the dining hall looked at the family of three in disgust and disapproval.

Her ladyship's anger seemed to have blinded her from seeing that I was pushing her buttons, setting up a trap for her to walk right into.

Both cousins' pathways were seething with midnight rage but their feet were rooted because my arms were stretched out in front of their bodies, blocking their way. But this didn't stop them from emitting threatening harmonic frequencies at the old female.

In the hall, many of the Kaelari and even some of the Lyrokans, who had grown to love and respect me, were also emitting low-frequency warnings as they threw fierce glares at her Ladyship for insulting and challenging their future Empress.

However, I remained calm. I was very satisfied with Lady Kylton's reaction. I thought it would take more than a few words to get one of the Kyltons to blurt out something like that.

Gracefully, I took a step forward and glowered at Lady Kylton. I mustered my voice of authority and grace as I spoke in a stern but controlled tone. "Being a filthy Kaelari is better than having a filthy communication port and a disgraceful character. If I'm scum, then you are lower than decomposed space waste. Your daughter may be an Empress in your family's optical sensors but it isn't for your family to decide for this Empire. The cosmos makes these decisions. You have no right to speak against it."

The Kaelari and Lyrokans emitted supportive frequencies.

"You were rejected five times, you void-spawn [expletive]!" An angered hiss came from the side, and I followed the voice back to Kelissa. Looks like the feminine voice she used before was indeed faked.

Christian's and Orion's bodies were pushing against my outstretched arms, wanting permission to be set free. But my arms remained where they were, refusing their implied request. I noticed their pathways intensifying, getting ready to lose control completely. I demanded in a low, firm voice, "Both of you, power down your pathways, now." Reluctantly, the cousins obliged.

I could also feel the anger radiating in the room from the rest of the Kaelari and Lyrokans. The Kaelari, especially those who had fought with me as allies, were already taking slow steps in my direction. I had to get rid of the Kyltons before the night ended in termination.

I glared at Kelissa and spoke loud and clear. "If you wanted to make me feel jealous and uncomfortable, Ms. Kylton, then you've clearly picked the wrong person and the wrong place to do it. The fact that I was rejected five times should have been enough to tell you that I'd be immune to attempts to make me jealous. You and your parents made a mistake to even try. If you look around yourself, you'll see that I'm not the one losing control."

I turned to the old couple before speaking in a slow and deadly manner. "If either of you have any amount of intelligence in those primitive processors of yours, you will take your daughter and leave before your respiratory systems are ripped out by the many people emitting threatening frequencies in this room. I won't terminate you. But I can't guarantee that they won't."

The Lord and Lady were so infuriated that they hadn't noticed the people they had angered taking slow steps towards them, like predators approaching prey before they pounced. Lady Kylton suddenly looked fearful and her husband wasn't any less scared. For the first time in their lives, they felt like prey surrounded by hunters with no escape route.

"LEAVE NOW!" My voice of authority demanded as I continued trying my best to restrain the cousins. The old couple snapped out of their frozen state and pulled along their still-furious daughter, leaving the hall in haste.

When they were no longer in sight, I let out an audible sigh of relief, my skin finally showing its true colors—exhausted purple, stressed yellow. My arms restraining the males on my sides fell as I faced the room. Many were still angered, male and female alike. Even their respective matches didn't bother trying to constrain their counterparts, as if encouraging them to go along with their termination intentions.

I took a deep breath before I managed a small smile and spoke. "Everyone, I am deeply touched by the support that you've just displayed. Please, let us all forget that those three ever set foot in this room. People like them are not worth the attention, time or energy. Take a few deep breaths. Go out and get some air if you have to. Let's not allow disgraceful figures like themselves spoil our evening. We shall enjoy the rest of the night, alright?"

Every Lyrokan and Kaelari were surprised by how composed I was when I was in the best position to be the most angered. I even had a smile when they were all still displaying hostile pathways after what they had just witnessed. Their boiling wrath was subsiding from my calm words and demeanor.

From where he stood, Toby powered down his aggressive pathways before he knelt on one knee and tilted his head to face the ground. His voice echoed through the hall when he shouted out firmly, "As you wish, my Empress."

Almost immediately, everyone knelt in the same manner and uttered the same words, even Orion and Christian. Those who were reluctant to offer me this gesture had to oblige in the end since the Emperor himself was on his knee.

I was even more moved. As I battled holding back optical fluid, I also forced myself to keep my voice steady and said casually, "Alright, everyone. Enough with the formalities. Stand up now, and continue with dinner. Come on, stand."

Everyone stood, and most were already displaying friendly pathways my way. As soon as Orion got up, he cupped my cheeks and pressed his lips deeply on mine. The neural sparks exploded through both our systems.

When his lips released mine, the guilt in his eyes had not vanished as he whispered desperately, "I love you. Only you. Please believe me. I have only ever and will only ever love you."

Orion didn't care that we were surrounded by his subjects. He only cared about whether I believed him. Guilt filled his being. He should have told me about his past before the Kyltons showed up. He should have warned me so I wouldn't be taken by surprise by their presence. But now, it was too late to change everything that just happened.

I smiled meekly. My hand reached for his cheek and the other reached for his shoulder. I caressed his cheek with my thumb as I uttered, "Breathe, Orion. It's okay."

"Tell me you believe me." He pleaded in despair, his pathways already dimming with distress. "Tell me you believe me when I say I love you."

I continued to stroke his cheek and cooed, "I believe you, Orion. I believe you. Shh..."

From my peripheral vision, I noticed Christian and several Kaelari and Lyrokans looking our way. No one in the hall moved from where they stood. I didn't just end a scene only to start another one, so I desperately tried to calm my match down. "Orion, I believe you. Shh..."

"Tell me you know that I have never loved anyone the way I love you." His voice was just a desperate whisper. I wasn't sure if I truly knew this, that Orion had never loved anyone else the way he loved me. I thought about Kelissa, who was from high society and who had been around Orion since they were much younger. I myself was nowhere near high society, and I didn't meet Orion until a week ago.

When I couldn't respond to Orion's plea, he panicked even further. In his consciousness, his Lyrokan fell to its knees and whimpered so hard that its optical units were glistening in devastation and fear, fear of losing its match. The pain they both felt in their chest cavities was excruciating. Even the neural sparks channeled into their bodies from holding me didn't make either of them feel any better.

Optical fluid started trickling down Orion's face as he spoke in a broken voice, "Tell me you know th-at, Lyra, pl-ease."

I wiped away his tears, and tried not to break down myself. Despite the feelings of lack and unworthiness swimming in my own being, I forced myself to swallow the lump in my vocalization tube before uttering as convincingly as I could, "I know."

Orion, with his Lyrokan's force, pulled me into another deep kiss. When our lips parted, he held me in a tight embrace. "I love you, Lyra. Only you. I love you so much."

When some of those in the dining hall started walking out to get some air, I let out another sigh of relief. They wanted to witness Orion and me being okay before they felt assured to leave for a while.

Christian himself joined Toby and a few others as they strode towards the exit. When Christian saw Greg walking out with them, his mouth opened but Greg spoke first. "Let's not start another scene, distant cousin. Our Empress has handled enough for one night." What surprised Christian was not Greg's initiative or his words but the sincerity which filled them. He had never known this other Duke to be anything but troublesome and impolite.

Greg didn't stay the night. He got into his transport and flew home, determined to find out how the Kyltons had 'received word' that Orion was bonded to me. He replayed the scene as he took the all too familiar route back to his quarters. How could she have not lost her cool?

His own pathways had been partially aggressive until my smile and voice calmed his consciousness. But he couldn't deny the jealousy which grew in his chest cavity when his cousin pulled me into those hasty kisses and tight embraces. He almost didn't hold back his threatening frequencies. He had to leave. If he stayed, he might not have been able to control himself from constantly observing me the entire night. And his cousins would undoubtedly ban him if they found out how he felt about their Empress. He didn't want to be forbidden from looking at me and watching me in the dining hall or on the training ground. Everything I did made me so... different.