The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 14

POV: Lyra

His eyes were glistening—actual moisture gathering in those impossible purple depths. Through our bond, I could feel his rage at the injustice of it all, mixed with something else. Protective fury. Like he wanted to hunt down every one of my previous matches and make them pay.

Don't get attached to that feeling, Lyra. He'll change his mind soon enough.

"When you looked at me at the meet-and-greet," I continued, needing to get it all out before I lost my nerve, "I couldn't see any hesitation or disappointment in your eyes. Even now, I still can't find it. You seem so sure, so certain that the bond is not a mistake."

I studied his face, those sharp Lyrokan features that belonged on propaganda holos, not looking at me with such tenderness. "And when I brought up rejection, you seemed genuinely hurt and confused, not contemplative or relieved like the others. I thought, as a Lyrokan, you'd feel disappointed about being bonded to a Kaelari, like Sebastian was. But you aren't like him."

Yet. Give it time.

"It's almost a full solar rotation since we met, and I haven't seen you upset over being with me yet. Sebastian's happiness lasted exactly two minutes before disappointment crept into his pathways. He just seemed like he was... tolerating me after that. Never really interested in what I actually am."

I laughed, the sound bitter even to my own audio receptors. "I don't know why I'm bonded to you, of all beings and species. I don't even understand why I'm being bonded again. Sometimes, I feel like the universe created me just as entertainment, a recurring joke—"

"No." His voice was gentle but firm, cutting me off. "Don't think that."

Before I could react, he lifted me effortlessly—Lyrokan strength making my combat-trained weight feel like nothing. He settled me sideways on his lap, and I should have protested, should have maintained professional distance, but... I didn't. He pressed his lips to my forehead, the gesture sending neural sparks cascading through my system.

"The cosmos knows you're meant for great things," he murmured against my skin. "It knew before any of us that you have the makings of a true leader, an Empress. Just being a Station Commander would've been a waste of your potential."

Right. Because the mining colony girl is destined for greatness. That's definitely how the universe works.

His lips found my hairline as his hand stroked my arm slowly, each touch sending those damned sparks through me. "I've seen the way you interact with other Commanders and Specialists. You operate on a completely different level. They respect you. Every worthy Kaelari loves and respects you. The universe sees this too."

He pulled back slightly to look at me. "Before meeting you, I wasn't even doing half of what I've accomplished at this summit since last night. I was never approachable, never bothered to know my subjects on a deeper level. But meeting you changed that. Somehow, your existence made me feel that the people deserved a better Emperor, one who saw them, heard them, felt them. You gave me that, Lyra. It's been less than one solar rotation, but I've never taken my subjects more seriously in my eighteen years of rule until last night."

He kissed my forehead again, then my nose—gestures so tender they made my chest ache. "There's no one more qualified to be an Empress than you, Lyra. You've already done more for the people than I have, than any Lyrokan or Kaelari has. You're already our Empress, even if you don't see it yet."

Pretty words. Sebastian had pretty words too, at first.

I forced a smile, holding back the burning in my eyes. "That's really nice of you to say, Orion."

"I'm not being nice." His tone turned serious, his pathways pulsing with sincerity. "I'm speaking truth. You are an Empress, our Empress. It radiates from the way you speak and carry yourself, which probably explains why I feel wrong when you bow to me. From the start, it just felt... incorrect. I thought it was the bond at first, but now I realize—it's because I'm not worthy to have you bow to me. If anything, I should bow to you."

"Stars, please don't do that." My eyes widened in horror at the image. "It would be so awkward."

He scoffed, a small smile playing on his lips. "It shouldn't be for you. But I guess now you understand a fraction of what I felt last night and this morning."

We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, just existing in the same space. The nebula outside shifted colors through the transparisteel, casting purple and gold light across his features. My fingers, seemingly of their own accord, traced patterns across his chest, feeling the warmth of his pathways beneath the bio-suit.

"Is there anything else you want to know about my previous matches?" I asked softly, my fingers stilling. "Any gaps in my story that need filling?"

I felt his physiological response to my touch through the bond—desire, pure and undiluted. His pathways brightened, and I quickly stopped moving my hands.

He thought for a moment, and when he spoke, jealousy laced his tone. "I don't quite understand the situation with Cummings. From his behavior, it's like he's under the illusion the bond still exists. And why did Commander Hale agree to let them sit with us? Didn't she know who he was?"

"Oh, that." I sat up straighter, creating a bit of distance. "Hale told me she wanted to watch Sebastian suffer in regret now that I'm bonded to someone else." I rolled my eyes. "She's not normally like this. That was probably her only unprofessional act as a Station Partner. And as for Sebastian's behavior..."

I cleared my throat, remembering that night. "After I caught him with his... companion, he promised he'd do anything to make me feel better. After making him swear he'd agree to anything I asked, I rejected him and demanded he accept the rejection. He wanted to argue, but I held him to his promise. And he—not being fully coherent after all the synthetic alcohol he'd consumed at the recreation center—accepted it."

One of my few victories. Using his intoxication against him.

"I'll admit I was being manipulative to sever that bond, but—"

"But thank the cosmos you were." Orion's pathways flared with satisfaction.

I rolled my eyes. "I was going to say it was manipulative but I don't regret it."

"Good. You shouldn't." He kissed my cheek, and I felt my skin flush that telltale red. He seemed to enjoy the display, his pathways glowing brighter.

I tried to cool my warm cheeks with the backs of my hands, but he caught them, holding them firmly in his larger ones. He planted another kiss on my cheek, sending another wave of color across my skin.

Traitor skin. Always giving me away.

"I thanked them last night, you know?" he said, looking at me with an expression I couldn't quite decode.

"Who?" I asked, confused.

He smiled, his fingers reaching for a strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear with impossible gentleness. "The cosmos, sweetheart. I thanked the universe for this bond when we were walking back to your quarters last night."

Sweetheart. That's new. And dangerous. Don't get used to it.

His fingers traced the curve of my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "You are so much more than I deserve, and nothing I could ever imagine asking for. I never thought someone like you existed. I don't remember doing anything exceptional to be bonded to someone so amazing, but I know that I'm never letting you go."

He kissed my nose again, and for a moment, we just looked at each other. His purple eyes meeting my multifaceted ones. Through the bond, I felt his contentment, his peace. Like he'd found something he didn't know he'd been searching for.

This is the part where it gets too good to be true. This is where the universe laughs and takes it away.

My communicator vibrated on the side table. The display showed my reminder: prepare for evening meal cycle.

"Do you have a reminder for everything?" Orion teased, his pathways flickering with amusement.

"Only scheduled events. I don't want to be late because I was distracted." I kept my tone matter-of-fact, trying to ignore how his proximity affected me.

"Hmm." His nose started trailing down my scar, his breath warm against my skin. "A little distraction might be good though, don't you think?"

"Maybe," I managed, my voice embarrassingly breathy, "but not the type of distraction you're implying."

He pulled back to look at me, his eyes darkening in a way that had nothing to do with anger. "And what type of distraction am I implying, my dear?"

Then he leaned in, taking in my scent at my neck, right where the pulse point betrayed my accelerated cardiac rhythm.

I gasped, my hands flying to either side of his face, gently but firmly pushing him back. His eyes were hungry when they met mine, pathways pulsing with desire that echoed through our bond.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Your Eminence." I used his title deliberately, trying to reestablish boundaries. "I need to use the refresher, and then we should go."

Ignoring his exaggerated pout—which should not have been as endearing as it was—I climbed off his lap and escaped to the refresher.

What are you doing, Lyra? This is moving too fast. You know how this ends.

Inside the refresher, I stared at my reflection in the polished metal. My skin was still flushed, cycling through pink and gold—happy colors I hadn't seen on myself in years. My eyes looked brighter, and there was something else... hope?

No. Don't hope. Hope is what makes the rejection hurt worse.

I splashed cold synthesized water on my face, trying to calm my racing thoughts. Through the door, I could feel Orion's contentment, his joy. He was genuinely happy just being near me. How long would that last? How long before he realized what everyone else had—that I was too much work, too damaged, too Kaelari?

When I emerged, he was standing by the transparisteel wall, having straightened his formal bio-suit. The way his face lit up when he saw me—like I was something precious, something worth waiting for—made my chest tight.

He crossed to me in two strides, kissing my forehead with that same reverence that confused me. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I said, trying for lightness.

As we headed for his transport, his hand found mine, fingers interlacing like they belonged there. Through our bond, I felt his thoughts—not words, but impressions. Gratitude to the universe for not making things complicated, for giving him this chance. Joy at my warming to him. Determination to prove himself different from the others.

He doesn't realize the universe doesn't give people like me happy endings. It gives us lessons. Usually painful ones.

But as we traveled through the station's gleaming corridors, his hand warm in mine, his pathways glowing with contentment, I let myself pretend. Just for tonight, I'd pretend this could work. That the Emperor and the mining colony Commander could overcome the statistics, the politics, the sheer impossibility of it all.

Tomorrow, reality will set in. But tonight... tonight I'll let myself imagine match number six might be different.

Even though I knew better.

I always knew better.