The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 37

POV: Lyra

I could see Orion's pathways shifting from purple to midnight black even from across the hall—he was furious about something. Or someone.

Sasha Cummings stood before him, her head lowered in that fake submission pose she'd perfected. "Your Eminence, I apologize for whatever I've said to the Kaelari. I promise that it won't happen again. It was a slip of the tongue, and I am deeply sorry for the distress that I've caused you."

His neural pathways pulsed dangerously as he spoke in a low voice. "You insulted my match and your future Empress. After showing you mercy by letting you train, you're now trying to push your boundaries by entering this hall?"

Sasha's head tilted lower—probably calculating her next move. "If memory serves me well, Your Eminence, which I'm sure it does, I was told not to appear in front of the Specialist. She's not here, so I'm technically not disobeying your order."

Oh, you manipulative void-spawn.

"Hey, Orion." I appeared by his side, my dark blue formal suit catching the station lights, my hair pulled back in a high configuration that had taken me forever to fix after the wind outside.

Sasha flinched visibly at my voice. I noticed her pathetic display and addressed her monotonously, "Oh. Hello again, Ms Cummings. Orion, I'll be right over there with Juan and the others when you're don—"

"Baby, don't be ridiculous. You're not the one who has to leave." Orion pulled me to his side, and pressed his lips to my forehead in front of everyone—neural sparks cascading from the contact—before insisting affectionately, "Stay, Lyra."

Baby? In public? The Emperor just called me baby in front of the entire diplomatic corps?

He turned back to Sasha. "I'm sure you know what to do if you know what's good for you."

Sasha scurried out with her head down, her fake pathways dimming to nothing. The other female Lyrokans in the room exhibited two types of emotions—I could read them clearly. First group: cynically happy that Sasha was kicked out by the very person she'd been trying to seduce for years. Second group: jealous of how the Emperor was completely smitten with the tiny, odd-looking Kaelari.

The younger male Lyrokans were throwing those looks my way—the ones that made my skin crawl. Taking in my whole figure with obvious intent. But they averted their eyes when they caught Orion's death glare. His pathways went so black that the temperature actually dropped around us.

"Lyra, I thought you would come with Juan and Hale. Did you walk here alone?"

"I did come with them but there was a strong breeze on our way here from the transport, and my hair configuration flew out of place so I stopped at the refresher to fix it before I came in. That's why I came in a little later."

He smiled and nodded before looking toward Juan and motioning him over with the rest of the alliance. Before I could ask what was happening, Christian appeared next to me.

"I'm not late, am I?" the Duke asked.

I looked puzzled. "What do you mean 'late'? The gathering lasts for the next five hours."

Ignoring me completely, Orion said, "No. You're right on time, in fact."

Christian caught my confused look and grinned with that mischievous expression I'd learned to distrust. "You'll know soon, my Empress. And it's great to see you up and energized again."

I looked at Juan walking over with the rest of the alliance. Through our mind-touch, I asked, What is going on?

He shrugged and responded through the link, Your guess is as good as mine, Lyra. I have no idea.

Seeing our eyes glaze over during the mind-touch and Juan's shrug, Orion caressed my shoulders. "Relax, beautiful. It'll be fun."

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked up at him. "Fun?"

Christian chimed in with that same mischievous smile. "Yes, fun."

Oh void, what are they planning?

The Duke moved to his cousin's side, and the alliance took their places beside me. Orion took one more look at my confused expression before addressing the room. "My loyal subjects, may I have your attention please?"

The hall fell silent. Every consciousness focused on us.

"Many of you may have heard, but some of you have yet to know, that the Jewel Station had to face two rounds of Rogue Collective attacks earlier today. The first started after midnight, which cost the station eleven specialists. Needless to say, their sacrifice to protect their people will not be forgotten."

All the Kaelari had distressed expressions—empathizing with one of their own stations. My gaze found the floor as I mourned for the loss. Eleven lives. Eleven families destroyed.

Orion laced our fingers together, neural sparks flowing between us, before continuing. "The second attack came at dawn. Eleven rogues invaded, three of whom... were Lyrokans."

Audible gasps filled the hall, particularly from Lyrokans who'd never faced a single threat in their privileged lives.

"The people standing by my side here are members of the alliance who put an end to the threat at Jewel Station. It is because of their own initiative that there were, thankfully, no further casualties. It is because of their nobility that Jewel Station can now honor their fallen specialists in peace. It is because of their bravery and sacrifice that the station remains operational. But their victory came with a price."

His expression hardened, pathways darkening. His grip around my hand tightened. "The leader of the alliance came out badly injured. In efforts to follow a runaway rogue, she came head-to-head with three rogue Lyrokans."

Juan's expression darkened as he recalled the incident. His hand found my shoulder in remorse. I gave him an encouraging smile—it's okay, not that it made my brother-figure feel any better.

How does Orion know all these details? Juan must have given him a full report.

"She was alone and surrounded. Even so, she managed to terminate one of them before help arrived."

The Kaelari in the room erupted in applause and cheers. Orion had to pause. Some—most—already knew who he was talking about. The Rainbow Commander. The mining colony girl who somehow kept surviving impossible odds.

When the applause died, Orion continued. "Sadly, that was where things took a turn. They attacked her. She was wounded so badly that her bio-fluid leaked. She was weakened so much that she couldn't even stand. Later, her energy was so drained that she couldn't even vocalize. Three members of the alliance came to help her but the rogue Lyrokans were not faltering. Thankfully, the Duke and I managed to get there on time to help out before the unthinkable happened." He patted Christian's shoulder with a grateful look.

"The people before you knew the likelihood of losing their lives. They were fully aware of the risks. Even when a new threat arose, none of them showed signs of wavering. They stood to protect, to fight and to be ready to die trying. Never in my years as Prince and as Emperor have I witnessed what I saw this morning. Lyrokans, we have been living in the dark for far too long. Our cousin species have been facing this all on their own. It's time that changed. I doubt that the three rogue Lyrokans we met today are the only ones in existence. The stakes have never been higher. It's time to take training seriously, regardless of whether you were ever taught combat."

"That being said, I expressed my highest gratitude to the members of the alliance for what they did. But it would be arrogant of me to think that they protected the station for their ruler. Their intention was clearly to protect their ally. As Emperor, I feel ashamed"—his gaze found Cummings and Whitlaw—"that my own governing body could not handle what my people had so willingly taken into their own hands."

All eyes fell on the minister and his deputy, whose heads faced the ground in shame.

I started stroking Orion's hand, sending calming neural energy through our bond before he continued. "Members of the alliance, it was an utmost pleasure to have fought alongside you but the Duke and I apologize for arriving late on the battlefield."

The alliance and other Kaelari started laughing at this. An Emperor apologizing for being late to save us? Unprecedented.

Orion's eyes met mine, his voice ringing through the hall. "And it is my greatest honor to be bonded by the universe to the noble leader of the alliance, Lyra Ash."

Oh no.

My smile fell. Shock replaced every other emotion. Christian was grinning at me from the side as I waited for whatever was about to happen next.

Orion's smile broadened. "Lyra is known to put the lives of others before her own. And today, I personally witnessed her doing so. She held off the Lyrokans alone until help arrived. She suffered the highest degree of anguish from the attack yet she forced herself to stay awake until she was certain that the threat had been neutralized. And throughout the entire ordeal, never did she resort to complaining or blaming. Her actions have been far more selfless than any ruler I've heard of. Her contribution as a specialist, a friend and an ally are far more significant than anyone I know. Her grace and humility is something one can only wish to replicate. But her noblest act didn't come from the battlefield."

Everyone in the room held their breath in suspense. Even me.

What is he doing? This is too much attention. Way too much.