The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 63

POV: Lyra

In the transport pod, Orion flew a bit through the station's transit lanes before starting the conversation. "Lyra, Christian asked me to thank you."

I blinked in confusion, my skin shifting to curious yellow. "For what?"

Orion explained sadly, "For not asking Annie why they don't have younglings."

I shrugged and said, "There's no need to thank me for something like that. The absence of younglings is only for two reasons. One is because they don't want them, in which case, who am I to question their decision? Or two, it's because... unfortunately, they can't have them. If that's the case, then why bring it up to hurt them even more?"

Orion laced his fingers with mine and lifted my hand to his lips as he uttered, "You're amazing."

The neural sparks from his kiss sent warmth through my entire arm. We flew a bit more through the station's upper levels before he said, "I was supposed to let you know about the... delicate subject of younglings for Annie before you met her but... Christian and I forgot to brief you beforehand. We only remembered when Russell came up to you when we arrived. By then, we thought it was too late. But when you didn't ask them about not having their own younglings at all, even when Annie herself started talking about younglings, Christian was more assured that you weren't going to bring it up throughout our stay. And he really appreciates it. It's not something that he and Annie... are comfortable talking about. What surprised us though is today was the first time in a long time that we saw Annie talk about younglings with zero strain. She spoke about your interaction with Russell like she was just explaining what she saw. There wasn't any sorrow in Annie like there was in the past whenever the subject of younglings came up. Neither Christian nor I know how you encouraged Annie to talk about your interaction with younglings without her breaking down but, sweetheart, keep doing it."

I frowned as I whispered, "What happened... to Annie?"

Orion took a breath before he said, "In the first year of their bonding ceremony, when they both visited a leisure district one day, someone laced Annie's hydration drink with a compound that suppressed reproduction indefinitely."

I was shocked, my skin immediately shifting to angry red then horrified white. I thought that even if it were infertility, the cause would be a natural one—genetic incompatibility or radiation exposure. Orion's explanation shocked me to my core.

He gave me a moment before he continued. "We worked through the surveillance feeds and caught the culprit but before the interrogation could start, he terminated himself. It was a dead end from there. Christian and Annie visited every medical specialist and bio-healer we know but they all said there was no cure for that particular compound."

I digested the information before I asked cautiously, "Is that why Annie never attends government events with Christian?"

Orion kissed my hand again before he said, "That's one of the reasons." He sighed in despair before continuing. "Lyra, you already know that not everyone in that hall has good intentions when they come up to you. Greg and his supporters, especially, tried to make Annie feel uncomfortable when we weren't around to defend her. Even with them gone, Annie still doesn't feel safe being there so Christian never tried to persuade her to go to these things with him. If anything, he and I encouraged Annie to steer clear of events with those void-spawn [derogatory term]."

When I remained silent, he stroked my hand to get my attention. "Baby, you okay?"

I was holding back the optical fluid that threatened to fall. It felt so unfair. Christian and Annie were good people. How could something like this happen to them? "Yeah, I just..." I sighed, "I just feel helpless that I can't do anything to help them."

"Sweetheart, by not bringing up the subject, you were already helping them."

I groaned. "No, I mean really help them."

He kissed my hand again and whispered, "I know." We stayed silent for the next few minutes before Orion said, "You have no idea how relieved I felt when I witnessed you stand up to Greg. In front of everyone, no less. The second time you did that on the training ground, I was just in awe. But the first time, I was purely and genuinely relieved. And so was Christian."

I shrugged. "The two of you gave me a heads-up. Greg was caught off guard."

Orion groaned in frustration. "Stop trying to downplay everything you do, Lyra. Greg never slips, even if he is caught off guard. You made him uncomfortable in a way that I've never seen before myself. No one has ever been able to put Greg in his place, not even Christian or me. But you did it. You rendered him speechless on your very first encounter with him. It's like you used his own weapon against him."

"Because I knew what he used to put people down. He takes the most painful parts of someone's life and uses it to his advantage. So I just did the same thing to him."

Orion got curious. "But how did you know he didn't feel worthy though? I've known him forever but even I couldn't guess that. He walks around with so much arrogance that no one ever mentions or even suggests that he felt... unworthy."

I explained, "Only those who lack something will see the need to make others feel like they lack the same thing. Greg saw the need to make Annie and me feel unworthy. It's only because he doesn't feel worthy himself. He wants to make himself feel better by making us feel worse. He could've flaunted his wealth, power or strength to make us feel lack in those aspects but he didn't. Because those aren't his insecurities. It's his worth. He didn't get the throne despite his efforts to overthrow you; the cosmos never gave him a match; and truth be told, I don't think he has someone he can count on. At least, I've never seen such a person with him before."

Orion smiled in awe and took a moment to internalize my words and gather his thoughts, before asking, "How do you know all this?"

I scoffed. "Greg wasn't the first person to use my past rejections against me. After the first few people, I saw the pattern. Those who taunted me with that had their own insecurities that they were never able to make peace with. Greg is no different... Well, apart from the fact that he's a Duke, there really is no difference." Orion chuckled.

He thinks too highly of me. I'm just observant. Anyone could do this.

He cleared his throat before saying, "Annie is right, you know." He glanced at me and continued. "You are the strongest Kaelari. I mean, one only has to listen to the way you speak to know that. Most people would be embarrassed to be rejected once, but when you spoke against Greg and even Cummings's daughter the other day, you talked about your rejections with so much grace. You were so composed. It's not that you downplayed the severity of it all but you sort of... showed everyone that rejections... do not define you as a person. I cannot imagine the amount of strength you had to muster to do that. It's like you were sending a message saying that no matter what, you won't merely survive, you'll live... to the fullest, even."

I was touched by how much Orion noticed in those few minutes I had with Greg and Sasha. "No matter what, all of us can live life to the fullest. It's not just me. But we have to choose to do that. Making that choice... is often the most difficult and painful phase to get through. But once you get through it, you'll be fine. Not instantly, of course. But gradually, you'll learn to make peace with it. I'm grateful to have something to live for and many friends to live with."

Orion felt a tinge of guilt that he couldn't be there for me when I went through the worst phases of my life. I had Juan, Hale, Toby, Raden and others. But he wasn't there. He wished he could have been. "You have me, too, Lyra. I hope you know that."

My smile widened. "I know." I stroked his hand with my thumb before saying, "Thank you, Orion. And you have me."

His Lyrokan consciousness purred in bliss under my touch. He docked outside the dining hall before pulling me into a deep kiss, then muttered appreciatively, "Thank you, baby."

We exited the transport and made our way to the dining hall. As we walked hand-in-hand, I said, "I have a question about the date."

Orion smirked. "You're not going to cancel on me now, are you, sweetheart?"

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Is it a standard date or... well, a consciousness-sharing date? I just realized I didn't ask."

Orion paused. He didn't think of that either. "When I asked you out, I pictured a standard date. But now that you mention it... my Lyrokan consciousness would really like to connect with yours again. And I'll definitely be paying more attention to your unique energy patterns this time."

He means my rainbow skin thing. Great.

I nodded once in agreement before I said, "Okay, then. I do want to experience your Lyrokan consciousness too. So which one are we doing first?"

Orion's inner Lyrokan was radiating excitement when it heard that I wanted to meet it. "You mentioned that you meditate at the observation deck a little after 0400 hours daily. How about we have the consciousness date tomorrow morning? We do have the next two days off since it's the rest period."

My eyes widened in surprise. I didn't expect our date to be only a few hours after we'd planned it. Orion teased me with mock suspicion. "My love, have you already planned a rendezvous with someone else? Am I disrupting your plans with one of my competitors?"

I composed myself and smirked. "Yes, you are, in fact. I was supposed to sneak out to see Russell tomorrow morning but I guess that would have to be changed."

Orion took my hand and continued making slow steps towards the dining hall. "I can't believe I'm competing with a 4-year-old."

I shook my head slightly with a small smile. "Neither can I, Orion. Neither can I. Imagine the number of little boys you have to worry about if and when you meet the younglings from my station... and also those from our allied stations." He squeezed the flesh on my waist to elicit a giggle from me.

After we'd entered the dining hall and bowed together with the attendees, an old couple and their daughter approached us, making Orion's pathways shift to alarmed black and discomfort. His grip around my waist tightened, fearful that I would leave his side. His consciousness was whimpering.

Christian entered shortly after, and he stopped abruptly when he saw the three people before us. When he snapped out of it, the Duke made quick steps to stand next to me, sandwiching me between his cousin and himself. How the void did they get clearance? Christian's thought leaked through.