Sebastian stroked her hair, his fingers loosening it from the bun at the back of her head and combing through the long dark length of it. Her breath was hot against his throat but was becoming steady. He knew she’d never admit that she was a virgin, and she hadn’t acted like one. She’d been incredibly skilled and confident for one without any real knowledge of what she’d been doing. He held her closer, a need to protect her rising up inside him, and kissed her exposed shoulder. Her breasts pressed against his chest, warm and soft.
He hadn’t expected this to happen with her, and he got the impression neither had she. She’d ordered the strongest drink on the menu in the hope of getting him drunk, that much was obvious. What she didn’t know was that he’d had plenty of experience of drinking with soldiers, with his brothers all being in the imperial army, and he had drunk them under the table every time. A third of a bottle of Koji was never going to be enough to make him pass out. He could probably manage a whole one before that happened.
She shifted but he held her, forcing her to remain. His soft cock slipped from her warm folds and he wished he were back inside her. When he’d been in her, an incredible sensation of completion had filled him. He’d felt so connected to her. It was probably an illusion brought about by the alcohol.
He frowned when a strange feeling rose up inside him.
“We’re slowing down,” she said and pulled back, looking out of the window behind him.
He stared at her a moment, taking in her beautiful flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and then looked out the window too.
They were in deep space. They must have left the Lyra system behind while they’d been making love.
An alarm sounded, low and booming, loud enough that Terea covered her ears.
“What is it?” she shouted over the noise.
He could see fear in her eyes when she looked at him for an answer. He lifted her off him, tucked himself back into his trousers and did his shirt up.
“Wait here.” He touched her cheek to reassure her and went to leave.
She caught his hand. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to see what’s happening. I won’t be long. Just stay here and don’t let anyone in.” He smiled at her, hoping it would help calm her nerves. She shook her head.
“I’m coming with you,” she said and went to stand. He placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to sit back down.
“I’ll be right back. You’ll be safe here.”
He left before she had a chance to protest again. The door closed behind him. His head spun and he pressed a hand to it. Perhaps trying to take command of a situation with a sex and Koji addled brain wasn’t the brightest of ideas. He cleared his throat and walked down the corridor. It had to be done. He needed to know what was happening.
The ship rocked and he grabbed the wall as he was thrown to one side. He waited for the vessel to steady and then continued walking down the corridor. At the end of it, he turned right and went to the window. His heart accelerated when he saw the Minervan fighter docked with the ship.
What did the military want with a transport ship?
He left the window and headed for the lift. The moment he neared it, the doors slid open and he ground to a halt.
“Cruskin!” he said under his breath and stared at the five men.
They shouldered their weapons.
He raised his hands.
This really wasn’t good.
One of the men stepped forwards, his sharp teeth glinting in the low light as he grinned. The other four flanked him with their large black laser rifles trained on him.
He frowned and gritted his teeth as the man grabbed his hands and twisted his arms behind his back. Who had sent them? Lyran military had no right to board a Minervan vessel. Was that the reason the Minervans had boarded the ship, or were they acting for their own system?
He closed his eyes and winced when they locked thick metal cuffs around his forearms, pinning them behind his back.
“What’s happening here!” A female voice echoed down the corridor.
He looked up.
Terea.
Stupid woman. She’d get herself killed.
She stormed towards them and he noticed that she’d dressed but hadn’t put her cloak on. A glance at the man holding him revealed that she had the Minervan’s attention.
“This man is—” The man started.
“This man belongs to me,” she said, cutting him off. Sebastian raised a brow. He belonged to her? She gave him a little look that made him even more confused. It looked as though she was asking him to keep quiet and play along. She was the one who was better off keeping out of this. He’d told her to stay in the room for a reason. He didn’t want her getting hurt.
“We have orders to detain him in the name of Minerva.”
“Who’s orders?” she said and stepped up to the man. She was fearless.
Sebastian tried to look at her but the man turned him away so all he could see was a wall and the two guns of the men nearest him. They were very close to his face.
“Chief General Misea’s,” the man said and then added, “and King Atelier’s.”
Silence.
He tried to move so he could see what was happening but the soldier nearest him pushed the rifle in his face in an obvious warning to keep still.
“I’ll repeat myself just this once,” Terea said and he heard her move. “This man belongs to me. No harm will befall him. I will tell your Chief General in person. Take me to him.”
She was asking a lot. He frowned at the wall and then the gun, waiting for their reaction to what she’d said.
“Certainly, my lady,” the man said and the soldiers nearest him lowered their guns.
My lady?
Why was a woman of rank running away? If she had the power to make these men release him and go against their orders, then she had to be important. He risked it and turned to face her and the man. The man bowed his head to her and then reached around and pressed the button on the tight metal cuffs that had been restraining Sebastian’s arms. They clattered to the floor.
“If you would accompany us,” the man said to Terea and indicated the lift.
“May I have one moment?” she said and the man nodded. She turned to face him.
Her fingers brushed his cheek and he stared at her.
“I don’t know what you’ve done wrong,” she whispered with tears in her eyes, “and I don’t need to know. I think this is goodbye.”
He frowned. “Goodbye?”
“If I go with them, I won’t be coming back. I’ll see to it that they don’t follow you. Get away from here. I hadn’t realised Minervans wanted you. If you’d explained that to me...” She placed her palm against his cheek and the tears in her eyes trembled on the brink of falling. “All this could have been so different. We could’ve been free.”
Her hand slipped from his cheek to rest on his chest for a moment before it fell to her side. He stared at the space where she’d been when she turned away and started walking towards the lift and the man.
“Wait!” he said and took a step in her direction.
She stopped and turned her head to the side, but didn’t move to face him completely.
“Don’t follow me,” she said in a pained voice. A tear streaked her soft cheek. “They’ll kill you if you do... and I don’t want that. I’d rather live a life knowing you were out there somewhere and we could meet again, than spend it mourning you.”
He reached a hand out to her but she walked away. She stepped into the lift and turned to face him, her head bent and eyes fixed on the floor. As the doors slid shut, she looked up at him and smiled.
This wasn’t right.
In Iskara’s name, what was she thinking, handing herself over to the Minervans and bargaining for his life. Without him there to protect her, they might harm her, or worse. Her words rang in his head, a veiled declaration of feelings that made him warm inside but caused his heart to ache. A few hours with her had be
en more wonderful and adventurous than his entire life. He wanted her back. He couldn’t leave her to disappear. What if he never saw her again?
He stood in the hall staring at the wall and not knowing what to do. If he went after her, he’d be going against her wishes and placing himself in danger. He knew the Minervans wouldn’t kill him, but they would ransom him, and they might hurt her in order to make him speak and tell them the secrets of Lyra. It was impossible for him to choose between her and his people. He wanted to protect them both.
But he had to protect her foremost.
He ran back to the room, grabbed the knife she’d tossed onto the table, and then back out again.
He sprinted to the lift and pressed the button. The doors opened and he scanned the deck listing on the panel until he found the docking bay. He hit the button for it and paced the small cylindrical room while it went down. The doors slid open to reveal the cargo hold of the ship. A light caught his attention and he frowned when he realised it was doors closing.
“Terea,” he whispered and ran towards it.
Before he could reach it, the doors had shut completely and then the ship rocked as the Minervan fighter disengaged. He braced himself against the shaking and stared at the closed airlock. His heart sank. She was gone.
He walked slowly to the door and stared through the small glass window and the window on the other door in the hull. The Minervan fighter drifted backwards, turned and then disappeared from view. He leaned forwards and pressed his forehead against the glass.
His eyes lost focus as he placed his hands against the cold metal door.
Emptiness filled him.
He’d never see her again.
The ship shook again but this time he didn’t care. It was probably another Minervan ship come to take him in anyway. How had they found him so quickly? Had one of the crew recognised him?
“Your Highness.”
He frowned and looked to the side without moving. There were several men stood there, all wearing the Lyran Imperial Army flight suits. He heaved a sigh and pushed away from the door when they stepped aside and his brother, Acer, walked towards him.
“You gave us quite the scare, what with that Minervan fighter. Good thing for you we showed up when we did and they high-tailed it.” Acer smirked and slapped him on the shoulder. “Sorry, old man, I’ve got orders to bring you home.”
“I need to go after them,” he said, pushing his brother’s hand off him and frowning. “I never ask you for much, but I need you to do this for me. You will do this for me as my brother.”
Acer looked shocked for a moment.
“I can’t go against orders issued by my superiors, you know that. What you’re asking me to do is impossible and would most likely result in destruction of either of the ships or war.” Acer’s look turned dark and serious.
Sebastian realised that he was right. All was lost whatever he did. If they went after the Minervans, they would open fire and Terea could be injured or killed in the battle. That battle could lead to war between the Lyra and Minerva. The relationship between the two systems were strained at best, and it would only take a single push to break the tie between them completely and push them into war. He couldn’t put the lives of his people at risk for the sake of her, and he couldn’t risk her. He had to do as she’d asked and go on without her, hoping one day that they’d meet again.
He lowered his head and sighed in resignation.
“Besides, I don’t have time to be running after Minervans. I have strict orders to get you back in time for your wedding. I hope you enjoyed your jaunt, brother, because when you get back, you’re going to be under lock and key.”
Acer’s words chilled him to the bone. He’d forgotten that returning to Lyra Prime meant returning to be married. He knew his parents and they weren’t going to let him out of their sight until he was wed. There was no way he’d be able to escape again and find Terea.
“Come,” Acer said and placed his arm around his shoulders, grinning. “The whole of the galaxy is waiting to see you get hitched.”
Sebastian couldn’t manage a smile or anything remotely near one. He stared out of the airlock windows at the dark space beyond. He’d seen the stars as he’d wanted but at the same time, he’d found so much more. He’d found the woman he wanted.
Now he’d never see her again.
***
Sebastian stared through the tall glass panelled doors that led onto his balcony, feeling nothing and seeing nothing. It was a matter of minutes now. This week had been the longest and most painful of his life. His parents wouldn’t hear a word of his protests and had banned the mention of Terea’s name. They’d assured him that he’d forget her.
What did they know?
It had been a week and he hadn’t stopped thinking about her, replaying every moment in their short time together. He’d never forget her. He’d never stop thinking about her.
Acer had been little comfort, and neither had Balt. Not even his youngest brother Remi had been able to lift his spirits. He’d banned them all from his room two days ago. He couldn’t bear to speak to anyone anymore. He only wanted to see her and speak to her.
The only one who had managed to get a smile out of him had been Kayla, and that was because she’d reassured him that he would see Terea again one day and that he could divorce his future bride once his parents were dead and he was king. It had even made him laugh for a moment. She knew his family’s stubbornness so well and she’d only been with them a short while.
“Your Highness, it’s time,” someone said as they opened the door to his room and then left again.
He stood and sighed as he walked to the door and followed them down the hall. Kayla was right. In a few years, his parents might be dead and he could divorce his current wife and find Terea again. He hated to wish that fate upon them, but he couldn’t help himself. He longed to see her.
The sun was bright today, warm on his face as he stepped out of the palace and onto the white wide open square in front of it. The walk to the end of the rich blue line of carpet that marked the aisle was long and made him even wearier. His heart was heavy, empty. He wondered if it would always feel this way, as though it was missing and a black hole had opened up in its space, sucking every feeling into it and leaving him numb.
The priest said something to him that he didn’t bother listening to. He stood with his back to everyone, the gathered hundreds that sat either side of the aisle, and stared off into the distance.
The fanfare began. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t care if it was tradition to watch the bride approach. It would give him no joy to see her. He wanted Terea. His eyes went skyward and he wished he were out there amongst the stars with her, free of this life. She’d wanted to be free with him. She’d said as much. Had their short time together affected her as deeply as it had affected him?
The woman came to a halt beside him, dressed in black and silver. He glared at her where she stood facing the priest, her side to him and her face hidden beneath the black veil.
A Minervan?
His lip curled in disgust.
His parents were marrying him off to a Minervan?
The fanfare ended and the priest called for everyone to stand. Sebastian turned to face her. She lowered her head, her hand disappearing under her veil. He frowned as she pressed the back of her index finger to below her eyes as though she was catching tears. Was she happy or sad? The priest told her to turn to face him. She turned her head away instead and took a long deep breath as though trying to control her emotions. The priest again told her to face him.
Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts Page 5
