Free Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Emperor by Felicity Heaton

angry with him. It was impossible to be angry
with him when he looked at her like this, so full of devotion and
love. She was about to throw her arms around him when she stopped
herself.

    “ You saw us
here?” she said, wanting to make sure that she had heard him
right.

    He nodded. “In the
gardens.”

    “ But you’re the
emperor of Varka. You can’t live here and I’ve already made up my
mind to leave with you. How could you see us here?”

    “ Perhaps
because I had already decided to stay here. The dreams can change.
I am willing to change with them. We could make both palaces our
homes.”

    “ Spend some
time here and some on Varka Prime?” It sounded too good to be true.
She knew it was a long journey between the planets but perhaps the
Varkans could invent a type of space travel that would be even
faster than sub-space. She could happily spend half a year on Varka
Prime if she knew she could bask in the sun of Lyra Prime for the
other half. If they were having twins as he said, then she wanted
her family involved with them. She didn’t have a clue how to look
after children and everyone would be more than willing to
help.

    “ Whatever you
wish for, you will receive, my love.”

    Sophia threw her arms
around him then and dragged him down to the bed. His mouth claimed
hers and she sighed inside over his tender kisses and the fact that
his hand remained against her stomach.

    “ Regis?” she
whispered when he kissed down her neck.

    “ Yes,
Sophia?”

    “ Will you lose
control again... if you taste my blood?”

    “ No, not
now.”

    “ Not now?” she
said with a frown.

    “ Not now that
you wear this,” he said and kissed the mark on her throat. It was
something she hadn’t read anything about and now she wished she had
so she could understand what was happening.

    “ Why
not?”

    He drew back and looked at
her. “Because it tells everyone that you are mine.”

    “ I’m yours?”
she said, hopeful and wanting to hear him say it again.

    “ Forever mine
and mine alone. No one will dare touch you.” He caressed the marks
on her throat and warmth spread out from their centre, suffusing
her entire body. She closed her eyes for a moment to relish the
feel of his fingers against her and then looked at him. “To bite
someone’s neck is the equivalent to... well...
marriage.”

    “ Marriage?” Her
eyebrows shot up and she went to touch her neck but touched his
hand instead. A jolt ran through her and she bit her lip at the
sudden hunger that followed. She wanted to feel him against her,
their bodies as one again. She cursed him for being able to make
her feel like that from just a touch, for making her forget what
she had been talking about. “Marriage?”

    “ There will be
an official ceremony of course, both here and on Varka Prime. The
people will wish to meet their empress. If you will have
me?”

    And she had been worried
that he was going to leave her. She blinked, too stunned to form a
response. He had already marked her as his but he still wanted to
marry her.

    “ Are you going
to talk to my father?” she said and he nodded again. “I think I
should go with you and perhaps we should bring Van and the other
one too. We might need all the protection we can get.”

    “ Why?” He
frowned at her.

    “ My mother will
be there.”

    “ And?”

    It didn’t seem to be
sinking in.

    “ Well, you see,
I already have ties to your species.”

    “ You do?” His
frown didn’t shift.

    “ My mother
isn’t wholly Minervan. She’s part Varkan. My father can feel things
but it’s strongest when my mother is with him.”

    His eyes shot wide. He
paled to a shade of white Sophia didn’t like.

    “ She will be
able to sense the pregnancy,” Regis said in a distant tone, his
eyes bright but unfocused. Clearly, he enjoyed the idea of having
to face her parents as much as she did.

    “ Your bags are
packed and I have nothing I’d need to take with me,” she said and
sat up.