Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Emperor

Daughters of
Lyra: Heart of an Emperor

Princess
Sophia, one of the beautiful and strong daughters of Lyra, has had
it with the never-ending row of suitors that her father, King
Sebastian Lyra I, has lined up for her. When the latest suitor
turns out to be the emperor of Varka, a species known for their
lack of emotions, nocturnal lifestyle and bloodlust, Sophia wants
little to do with him.

But when she
greets the emperor and his two attendants, Sophia realises that a
Varkan makes her heart beat like no other man before him and might
just win her after all. Only, it isn’t the emperor who was caught
her eye.

Regis, Count of
Sagres, is transfixed from the moment he meets Sophia. She pushes
him to the brink of surrendering control to his bloodlust with
every beautiful glance and smile she throws his way. But would she
ever marry a male who doesn’t know the meaning of love? Fear of the
bloodlust makes Varkans retain an iron grip on their emotions, but
Regis is willing to surrender control and risk everything to win
Sophia. And Sophia will do whatever it takes to make him see that
Varkans can love and that she wants no other man in the universe,
including triggering his bloodlust and putting the whole palace in
danger!

Will Regis’s
feelings for Sophia be enough to stop him from hurting her and
killing the entire palace? Will Sophia be able to love a man that
the universe sees as a monster? And will she still love him when
she realises the Varkans’ deception?

Daughters of
Lyra: Heart of an Emperor

Felicity
Heaton

Smashwords
Edition

Copyright 2009
by Felicity Heaton

All rights reserved. No
part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without written permission from the author, except for the
inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

****

Chapter
1

Sophia stood in the
expansive white square in front of the palace and watched the
biggest and blackest fighter ship she had ever seen descend into
the royal port of Lyra Prime. It wasn’t just the colour of the
sleek curvaceous craft that made it black to her. It was what it
contained. Another black cloud to mar her perfect blue Lyran sky.
With a sigh, she tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder and
ran her fingers down the twin braids that started at her temples
and flowed down the front of her pale blue empire-line dress. Her
eyes tracked the ship and she toyed with the braids as she always
did when nervous or angry. How was she going to get out of this
one? She glanced at the palace and then back at the ship as it
landed, sending a plume of white dust up into the air as the
thrusters fired.

Her father had gone too
far this time.

It had been bad enough
when he had brought a Minervan suitor to the palace. At the time,
she had thought it had been a joke and the man had been a friend of
her mother’s. No. A suitor. As though she couldn’t find her own
husband. After she had dismissed the Minervan, things had only
taken a turn for the worse. So far, her father had brought a new
suitor every month. Dazkaran, Sekarian, Terran, Sirian, and several
other species that she didn’t care to remember had sent suitors to
court her. She had turned them all away. Her father might be the
king of Lyra now that her grandparents had gone to Iskara, but he
had definitely gone too far this time.

In the heat-hazed
distance, three black-clad figures shimmered, striding towards
her.

Varkans.

Sophia swallowed her
trembling heart and straightened her back. They didn’t frighten
her. She had been reading up on them. At least, she had read what
she could find, which wasn’t much. There hadn’t even been a picture
of the royal family in the computer or the books. They were one of
the most technologically advanced species in the universe, creating
things that everyone had heard of, yet they had somehow remained
the most mysterious. It was that mystery that frightened her, not
their apparent bloodlust.

Her father and mother
stopped beside her. Her mother was still as beautiful as ever. As
always, she wore her long black hair in an elaborate bun, drawn
away from her pale face. Her eyes were as dark as her father’s, but
seemed blacker with the makeup surrounding them. Her parents did
look so very regal when they stood together like this, King
Sebastian and Queen Terea of Lyra.

The confident click of
heels on the white stone of the square ceased. Sophia took her
place beside her mother and turned to face the Varkans.

It seemed she would still
have to wait to know what they looked like.

Stood before her were
three tall, slim males, all dressed in black high-collar
knee-length jackets, black trousers and polished knee-high boots.
Silver embroidery decorated two of the men’s jackets, three columns
of bright buttons down their fronts that shone like full moons. The
third man, stood between the other two, had gold embroidery on his
jacket and a deep red and gold sash that cut across from his left
shoulder to right hip. The emperor she presumed. She wished that
she knew what he looked like.

It was impossible to tell
when they were all wearing black visors that covered the top of
their heads, the two curved sides coming to meet in a point in
front of their noses. All she could see were their mouths, jaws and
necks. All of them were pale. The man on the left had lips like her
father’s, curved and hinting at beauty. The emperor’s lips were a
thin compressed line that made her wonder what he was thinking. She
couldn’t sense his feelings as she had been able to with her other
suitors. The man on the right.

Sophia paused.

His lips were perfect.
Curved, full, and intensely kissable. She dragged her eyes away
from him and back to the emperor.

Her father stepped
forwards.

“
Emperor Varka,
may your species flourish and may eternity be within your reach,”
her father said and Sophia noticed the emperor’s lips tilt slightly
into a smirk, as though her father’s words amused him. Eternity.
Apparently, it was something that Varkans already held within their
grasp. They flourished rather well too. Perhaps her father should
have chosen a better Lyran greeting. “May I introduce my daughter,
Princess Sophia of Lyra.”

Sophia stepped forwards
past her father to greet the emperor and instantly the other two
men were in front of him, both holding one arm out to block her
path, their other hand on a weapon at their waists. They looked
like swords. She frowned.

“
You must
understand, little one, it is not wise to approach our species so
flagrantly,” the emperor said, voice deep and edged with an eerie
echo. She glanced at the small black triangular device attached to
the left side of his throat. Did the translator make his voice
echo, or did all Varkans sound this way?

“
I apologise. I
had only wished to greet you.” She bowed her head, already wishing
that the Varkans were gone. If she couldn’t go near him, how was he
supposed to court her? Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at
the male with the perfect lips. Maybe she didn’t want them gone
just yet, not until she knew his face. “I am Princess Sophia of
Lyra. May I enquire as to your guests’ names?”

She could feel her
father’s eyes on her, and her mother’s. None of the suitors had
brought company with them before. It wasn’t such an unusual
question to ask.

The men moved back into
their positions and then the one on her left stepped
forwards.

“
Attendant
Second to Emperor Varka, Count of Aeris.” He bowed very stiffly and
then stepped back. Her right eyebrow rose. She didn’t catch a name
in there unless she was supposed to call him Count of
Aeris.

The man on her right
stepped forwards, an aura of confidence surrounding him. She
watched his perfect mouth as he spoke, mesmerised by the movement
of his lips and the deep echoing timbre of his voice.

“
Attendant
First to Emperor Varka, Count of Sagres.” He bowed with grace and
when he was rising, the sun hit his visor and she swore she caught
a flash of his face.

Her heart
pounded.

If she had, then he was
handsome enough to rival any Lyran, even her father.

She curtseyed and then
fixed her attention on the emperor so she didn’t appear rude. It
was difficult to keep her eyes off the Count of Sagres but she
managed to make it through the rest of the greeting ceremony
without looking at him. When they were walking to the palace, she
reached out a little to try to read him. The area he occupied was
there and she could feel it, but she felt nothing from him. It was
as though he wasn’t there.

“
Sophia, dear,”
her father whispered as they led the way into the palace,
accompanied by four Lyran guards. “You seem tense. Do relax. If you
are worried about the rooms for the attendants, then you need not.
They are already being arranged.”

Sophia wasn’t worried
about rooms at all but she didn’t correct her father. It was
probably better that he presumed she was fretting over tiny details
rather than battling her desire to look at the Count of Sagres
again. She felt drawn to him, under a spell that commanded she look
at him. Keeping her face forwards, she walked under the grand
archway that led into the darker interior of the palace and smiled
as the cooler air hit her. There was a collective murmur from the
Varkans and a shuffling noise. Had they removed their visors?
Suddenly, not looking at the Count of Sagres seemed
impossible.

One of her attendants,
Caria, hurried over to her and Sophia stopped to see what she
wanted. Tiptoeing, the dark haired girl whispered in her ear,
curtseyed and then stood to one side. Sophia glanced at her parents
before slowly turning to face the Varkans, her heart thumping in
her throat. Her gaze fell on the Count of Aeris first, her nerves
and the anticipation of seeing whether the Count of Sagres was as
handsome as she thought making her take the long route. The Count
of Aeris was handsome, his beauty exactly as his lips had promised.
The emperor was also handsome, but there was a cruelty about his
features, a darkness that she didn’t like. She knew that in terms
of wealth and power he was a good match, and that marrying him
would advance relations between Varka and Lyra and strengthen the
peace, but for some reason he made her wary. Her gaze shifted,
finally falling to rest on the Count of Sagres.

He was
stunning.

His moon white skin was a
stark contrast to the chin length tendrils of his black hair. It
hung in ribbons, parted down the centre and caressing his cheeks
and the defined straight line of his jaw. The sensual curve of his
lips drew her gaze and she imagined how they would feel against
hers—soft but strong, caressing hers in a kiss that she knew would
be commanding, passionate and consuming. She dragged her eyes away,
up over the fine aristocratic line of his nose to his eyes. They
met hers and the deep red colour of his irises shocked her for a
moment. Blood. They were the colour of blood. All of their eyes
were dark crimson.

Regaining her composure,
Sophia stepped forwards and curtseyed to the emperor.

“
Your room is
ready, your highness. Rooms have also been prepared for your
attendants. One of my attendants will show you to them,” she said
and intimated for Caria to come forward. The young girl did and
curtseyed so low that Sophia wondered if she would be able to get
back up.

With a smile, Caria turned
and started walking up the hall. The Count of Aeris led the way,
followed by the emperor. He looked at her, his red eyes briefly
meeting hers before he turned away. She had felt as though he had
been assessing her with that glance. It made her nervous. In a few
hours, she would have to sit and talk with him. Normally her
research into the species helped the conversation but she still
knew little about the Varkans. Perhaps she could ask him, at the
risk of looking ignorant. The Count of Sagres passed her and her
eyes followed him, studying his noble profile. Why couldn’t he have
been the emperor? She would gladly spend hours shut in the drawing
room talking to him.