The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 42

POV: Lyra

Orion and Christian noticed my eyes glazed over during the mind-touch, so they waited. When I came back, my tone turned serious. "A few members of the alliance want to speak with you both about the rogue Lyrokan. They were hoping you could spare five minutes."

"Juan!" Orion called out like a brother, smiling as he walked toward him with me. Christian followed closely behind.

Juan was with Zeke, Zelena, and Tate. They greeted formally, "My Emperor. Your Grace."

Orion and Christian both bowed back, and the Kaelari lifted their heads as soon as the cousins lifted theirs.

Still weird seeing an Emperor bow to anyone.

Juan began, "Your Eminence, Your Grace. Lyra mentioned the rogue is due to regain consciousness this afternoon?"

"He is," Christian confirmed with a smile.

Juan asked doubtfully, "Would it be possible if one of us attended the interrogation process? We don't mean to intrude but we would very much appreciate a chance to listen in on..."

"I was expecting all of you to attend actually." Orion looked confused about why the rest of the alliance wouldn't want to be involved. The void-spawn attacked one of their own! They attacked Lyra!

"Really?" Commander Zelena asked in disbelief.

"Really?" Commander Tate asked right after her.

Orion said, "Of course. Why not? We'll be questioning him in a containment room with a one-way transparency field. You can all watch and listen from the adjacent chamber. I don't see why anyone would think the presence of the whole alliance would be an issue."

Commander Zeke was still in disbelief. "Really?"

Orion turned to me helplessly. "Sweetheart, help us please."

They're so used to being excluded from everything. They can't believe they're being included.

I looked at my friends. "Guys, just take it."

They seemed to finally come out of their shock. "Thank you, Your Eminence."

Zelena added, "We really appreciate it, and um... some of us had a thought that..." She looked at Zeke, who nodded hesitantly, before she continued, "We think they may have been targeting Lyra in particular, so we're all very concerned. We normally wouldn't interfere in matters unrelated to our station, but for this particular case, we had to ask. Thank you for granting us our wish."

Christian said, "We're on the same page, Commander Zelena. Orion and I feel our Empress was the one they were really after, too. We need everyone involved to be on board to see if we can connect the data points together." He chuckled and patted his cousin's shoulder. "My cousin and I would be very concerned if the alliance didn't want to be involved in the investigation, to be honest. We haven't reached out to any of you yet because we have to monitor the rogue's bio-signs today to see when questioning can start."

Juan extended his hand to Christian. "Thank you, Your Grace." Then to Orion. "And you, Your Eminence."

Orion took Juan's hand, smiling. "Like I said, Juan. It is I who owe the alliance. I should be the one expressing thanks. We'll update you when we get any news."

After we got our nutrient trays and sat down, I was pressing back a cheeky smile when a thought occurred to me. Orion caught it. "Lyra, do share the joke."

The others weren't at the table yet, so I said, "I was just thinking about how helpless you looked back there when Zeke still couldn't believe what you said."

"And?" He prompted, taking my hands in his, neural sparks flowing between us.

My eyes flooded with humor. "And you looked like the big, scary Lyrokan Emperor who was desperately trying to be a softy. And it was funny." I started giggling.

Something in my words and giggles triggered a switch in Orion. His pathways shifted to a deeper purple, and his voice dropped an octave. "Careful, my love. If you keep teasing me like that, whatever is soft in me will turn very, very hard."

I looked at him in confusion before catching the lustful glow in his pathways. My smile dropped. "The moment I detect your pheromone signature spiking, Orion, I'll be sitting at a different table for the next three consumption periods."

"How's that fair? You're technically the one who started this," he complained.

"You asked me about the joke!" I retorted in a whisper.

He said innocently, "How should I know the joke could be..."

"Could be interpreted so inappropriately by your hormone-addled consciousness?" I smirked.

Christian arrived with his tray. "You're doing it again, cuz? Take a neural conditioning course on controlling your base impulses. Maybe it'll help. Maybe it won't, in which case, you'll be sitting alone."

Orion looked at his cousin with mock betrayal. "You're ditching your childhood friend for your Empress?"

"Yeah, I am," Christian said without hesitation before offering a slight bow to me—still giggling—to signify his loyalty to me over his cousin.

Orion leaned in and pressed his lips to my cheek, whispering in that deep, alluring voice, "First, you steal my primary cardiac pump. Then, you beat me in combat. Now, you're even taking my best friend. Is there a limit to what you can take from me, my love?"

Oh void, not the voice. Not in public.

My skin heated, shifting to that embarrassing pink-purple that betrayed arousal. I felt his lips curl into a smirk against my cheek at how my body responded to his voice, his words. Then, the very pheromone signature I was afraid of detecting in a public setting started filling the space between us.

My shyness evaporated, replaced by annoyance. My stern eyes fixed on his flirtatious ones as I demanded in a hushed voice, "Control it, Your Eminence."

He knew exactly what I meant. Orion chuckled lightly at my seriousness and allowed himself a brief press of lips to my nose before muttering, "As you wish, my Empress."

Disregarding his Lyrokan consciousness's protest, Orion pulled away from me and his pheromone signature normalized, much to my relief. But from Christian's suppressed smile, the Duke knew exactly what had just transpired.

Great. Now Christian's never going to let us forget this. The Emperor getting aroused at breakfast. In public. Because of a joke.

At least the other Kaelari can't detect Lyrokan pheromones as well as I can through the bond. Small mercies.