Daughters of Lyra: Heart of a Prince (13 page)

Her father smiled and
shook his head. “One Vegan in the family was bad
enough.”

“
Think of the
deal you could cut for his marriage,” she said with a grin and
patted his hand. “Technology, father... all that
technology.”

He rolled his eyes and
shook his head again.

“
Took your
time,” Rezic muttered when they reached him.

“
I’ve never
seen you move so fast, brother,” she teased and smiled wide. “I
thought you didn’t like Tres?”

“
I’m warming to
him,” Rezic said with a sly smile.

The door opened and she
let go of her father’s hand when she saw Tres on the other side
talking to his sister. He turned to face her and Renie smiled her
best smile, fighting the urge to run over to him. She had to behave
like royalty, at least until her father had agreed to let them
marry.

Tres didn’t seem to be
thinking along those lines. He strode across the room to her and
pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her
forehead.

“
I am glad you
are safe,” he whispered against her hair and kissed her again. She
smiled at the feel of his cool lips. “I am glad.”

Drawing back, she looked
up into his eyes, into his black irises that surrounded his pale
blue pupils.

“
I was so
worried about you,” she said and buried her face in his neck. His
arms closed tighter around her.

“
I had to
protect you.”

She drew back again and
glanced over her shoulder at her father.

“
I have to
protect you too,” she whispered up at Tres. “My father is a tough
negotiator. I’ve told him to ask only for peace but I’m sure he’ll
ignore me and ask for all kinds of things. Don’t let him push you
into giving him more than I’m worth... which isn’t—”

“
Which is the
entire universe.” Tres cut her off and stroked her cheek. “I would
give everything for you to be mine.”

“
Don’t let him
hear you say that,” she muttered and turned to face her father and
brother. “Father, this is Prince Tres Vega XVI.”

Tres stepped forward and
intimated his sister.

“
This is
Princess Tesia Vega XVI, my sister and attendant.”

Rezic smiled and bowed.
“Prince Rezic Lyra V.”

Renie looked across to see
Tesia smiling and casting a shy glance at her brother. Tres raised
an eyebrow.

“
Shall we?” her
father said and swept his hand towards the door.

She could see the glint of
intent in his eyes. There was no way he was going to let Tres off
with just a treaty for peace. He was going to add at least a
promise of technology sharing to that.

Tres took hold of her
hand, the cool touch of his skin against hers chasing away her dark
thoughts about shutting her father on the other side of the docking
bay doors and running away with Tres. She smiled at him, glad to
see him again. Her stomach turned with nerves and
excitement.

“
I have
something to ask you,” she whispered.

Tesia and Rezic walked in
front of them, deep in conversation.

“
What is that?”
Tres said and walked with her.

“
I’m sure my
father will insist on a wedding on Lyra Prime, but after that what
will we do?” Her nerves increased as she thought about what she
wanted to ask him and whether he would refuse. “Will we live in the
Black Zone?”

He frowned. “A delicate
Lyran butterfly such as you in the Black Zone? No... not until I
have reformed it. I will not risk—”

“
What if I
wanted to go there... and explore?”

A glimmer of understanding
entered his eyes and he stopped walking, turning to face her. “I
see. You wish to continue with your brother, exploring the dead
cultures on our side of the barrier.”

“
Yes... and no.
I want you to come too. I want to explore with you, and my brother,
and probably your sister because I think my brother likes
her.”

His eyebrow rose
again.

“
You wanted to
come to this side of the barrier to see it, didn’t you? You wanted
to explore it. Well... how much of your side of the barrier have
you seen?”

His look turned
pensive.

“
Have you seen
much outside of the Vega system? My uncle was once an heir prince
and he wasn’t allowed off Lyra Prime. Was it the same for
you?”

“
I have been to
other planets, but have never been able to freely explore them. I
am guarded at all times by at least twenty officers of the Vegan
army, and my sister.” There was a look in his eyes that made her
feel she was winning. “Our appearance makes it clear who we
are.”

“
It does?”
Renie looked him over. Tres and his sister did look different to
the other Vegans. “Is this a royalty thing then?”

He nodded. “Our genes are
slightly different to those of normal Vegan blood.”

“
So I suppose
exploring is off the agenda?” She couldn’t imagine his family
allowing him to wander the galaxy when it was clear to anyone who
knew the Vegan species well that he was royalty. She and her
brother were only able to explore because they often went into
areas where knowledge of the Lyran royal family was limited to who
was ruling at the time.

“
Not at all,”
he said and took both of her hands in his. Warmth spread through
her when he stepped up to her and smiled into her eyes. “I would
very much like to explore my side of this galaxy. It would give me
a chance to see what needed to be changed, and would bring me the
adventure I have craved since my childhood.”

“
Is that a
yes?”

He nodded again.
“Yes.”

Renie grinned, tiptoed and
wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. For a moment, she
had been convinced that he would say no to her. She never wanted to
stop exploring the galaxy but if he had refused, she would have
given it up. She wanted to explore, but she wanted to be with him
more.

The thought of heading
into unknown territory and meeting unknown species was almost as
exciting as the thought that Tres wanted to marry her.

Almost.

“
We’ll need a
bigger ship,” she said. “Presuming your sister will join
us.”

A smile tugged at the
corners of his lips and he looked towards her father, brother and
his sister where they were waiting.

“
She will go
wherever I go. She shares my passion for exploration and I share
your belief that she may grow to like your brother. I wish only for
her happiness. As a princess of Vega, she is forbidden to marry
until her twin has.”

“
Twin?” Renie
said, hoping he would say what she wanted him to.

“
I am her twin.
Vegan royalty always has twins. A boy and a girl.”

She frowned and began
walking with him again. “That takes the fun out of having a family.
Now I know what we’ll have.”

He stopped and she jerked
backwards when his hand pulled on hers.

“
Family?” Tres
said, curiosity in his eyes and voice.

“
If you want
to... not right now... not yet... maybe someday?”

He laughed at her and she
dropped her gaze to the floor, her cheeks blazing over how
ridiculous she had sounded. She wanted a family but she wanted to
explore the galaxy first. She had said it without thinking, not
realising that he would take it so seriously.

“
After we have
charted the entire galaxy, yes?” he said and she got the feeling
that he could already read her.

She nodded and went to
walk again but he stopped her, pulling her into his
arms.

“
Renie?” he
said with a serious expression that made her heart pound with
nerves.

“
Tres?”

He smoothed the tangled
strands of her dark hair back, watching his fingers. A look of
tender affection entered his eyes and he smiled. She smiled too
when he caressed her cheek and his eyes met hers.

“
Will you?” he
said.

“
Will I
what?”

He pressed his forehead
against hers and cupped both of her cheeks in his palms.

“
Be
mine?”

Her heart thudded hard
against her chest. Reaching up, she held his cheeks and drew back
enough that she could see his eyes.

“
Always,” she
whispered.

He tilted his head, dipped
his mouth towards hers, and kissed her so slow that her whole body
felt light and warm. It was a tender caress of her lips, a kiss
that spoke of love and affection. She melted into it, wishing it
would never end and not caring that they had an
audience.

His hands caught hers and
he lowered and held them.

When he broke the kiss,
she stared into his eyes, lost in their fascinating depths and her
feelings for him.

“
Ready?” she
said to Tres with a sideward glance at her father.

“
Ready,” Tres
said and then added, “Are you ready?”

Renie looked back into his
eyes. She knew what he meant by that question. He wasn’t asking
whether she was prepared to face her father, but rather if she was
prepared to face a future with a Vegan. She was under no illusion
that it was going to be easy. Their union could only promote peace
between the species. Even if it upset a few, it would benefit
many.

Besides that, she wanted
to marry him.

No. She loved him and she
was going to marry him.

As long as they loved each
other, she could face anything.

She smiled.

Was she ready to walk
forwards at his side towards their future?

Taking Tres’s hand, Renie
held his gaze, seeing her happiness reflected back at her and how
wonderful that future would be.

There was only one answer
to his question.

“
Yes.”

The
End

###

About the
author

Felicity Heaton
is a great believer in love at first sight and the romantic ideal.
Having grown up reading extensively, she developed a deep love of
classical literature, ranking Jane Eyre, North & South, and
Persuasion amongst her all time favourite reads. The most romantic
moment of her life was when her husband got down on bended knee on
the steps of Sacré Coeur, Paris, at night in front of several
hundred spectators and proposed. She was too drunk on love, and
subsequently champagne, to care about the audience. All she could
see was the man that she loved. A writer of emotion and life, she
always strives to touch a chord of familiarity in her readers and
give them characters they can love and a read to
remember.

Connect with
me online:

Website:
http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk

Twitter:
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Blog:
http://felicityheaton.blogspot.com/