Her father grinned. She knew he would never follow an order like that.
“Ready weapons and fire on my mark,” he said.
“Nexus-Lyra. I have no intention of fighting you. Stand down.”
Her heart leapt into her throat.
It couldn’t be.
Her father raised his hand and she ran at him, grabbed his arm and held it tight.
“This is Renie Lyra, stand down all weapons. Disengage!”
Her father pulled his arm free and glared at her.
“What in Iskara’s name do you think you are doing?” he said, still frowning.
Now she knew where Rezic had got his unimpressed look. When her father frowned like that, they looked incredibly similar—handsome, with black hair and eyes like pools of midnight.
“Put the Vegan commander on screen!” she said, ignoring him and turning to face the screen.
The display flickered and changed to reveal the person on the other ship.
Tres.
He looked different. He had tied his hair back and his clothes had changed. She could see he was still wearing his thermal suit but he wore a tight dark blue thick collarless jacket over it. It was edged and decorated around his neck with silver. Across his chest was a silver sash. She couldn’t see anything below his elbows.
Something else was different too.
He seemed to be in command of the ship.
“General Lyra II, I have not come to rekindle a long dead war between our species,” he said.
Renie went to step forwards but her father moved in front of her and held his arm out, blocking her path.
“Prince Tres Vega XVI, I have no desire to fight you. Turn your ship around and leave Lyran space. You are in direct violation of the Treaty of Espacia,” her father said.
She stared at Tres. A prince? Not just a Vegan but a prince of Vega.
Tres shook his head.
“Fire upon us if you must, but I will not leave here without her.” Tres looked at her. “You will have to kill me.”
“Tres,” she whispered and stepped around her father. She held her hand up to him and Tres smiled at her. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why were you in the cells?”
He looked down and frowned. “I was placed there for attempting to leave Vegan space. As heir prince of the Vegan Empire, I am not allowed to leave the Black Zone. No prince of Vegan blood is allowed to enter this space. The treaty forbids it. I wished to experience this side of the barrier but my attempt failed, and then you came to me and made me see that on this side, things are... lighter... and beautiful... and that I had a duty to Vega to lead it into a new era where our side of the barrier would no longer be something to fear.”
She could feel her father staring. In fact, she could feel most of the bridge staring at her.
“But you’re here now,” she said.
“I no longer care about the treaty,” Tres said. “I will risk capture and imprisonment for the sake of seeing you again.”
“Hang on a minute! Is this who you wanted me to go back for?” her father snapped and she looked at him and nodded. He glared at Tres. “What is the meaning of this?”
“I wish to marry your daughter. To do so, I am willing to surrender the name of Heir Prince Vega XVI and my birthright. I will forsake my lineage.”
“No!” Renie said and moved forwards again. She silently cursed that Tres wasn’t here in the room with them. It would be so much easier and they could have made this so much less public. “I’ll give up all ties to Lyra and Earth! I’ll come to the Black Zone with you.”
Tres looked stunned.
Her father grabbed her arm and pulled her backwards. “Now wait a minute! Let’s not be hasty. Forsaking this and surrendering that. Who said that anyone had to sacrifice anything?”
Everyone looked at him.
She wondered if Tres felt as shocked as she did.
Her father turned to Tres. “Prince Vega XVI, if you wish to forge new relations with the Lyran Empire then prepare to board this vessel and meet me at the negotiations table. If you are so intent on my daughter’s hand, perhaps it is time that Lyra and Vega came to agree a new treaty and era of peace.”
She looked at Tres. He nodded, smiled at her, and then the screen went dark.
She turned to her father.
“Go easy on him,” she whispered, afraid that her father would see this as an opportunity to bleed Vega dry.
Her father grinned and slapped a hand down on her shoulder.
“A man will do a lot for love and he definitely seemed to love you.”
Those words made her so warm and light that it was almost impossible to glare at her father.
Everything in the past few minutes was a blur in her mind, a pleasant haze. In a matter of minutes, she had discovered that Tres was alive, was a prince, wanted to marry her and definitely loved her. If it weren’t for the fact that her father was about to wreck her chances with Tres, she would have been on what Terrans called cloud nine.
“You dare use his desire to marry me as an excuse to—” She cut herself off and started walking towards the door.
“Renie, where are you going?” Rezic said as she passed him.
“We’re going to meet Tres at the airlock and run away with him. Come on.”
Her father stormed up beside her, keeping pace even when she was walking so fast she was almost running.
She stopped and swept her hand through the air in a cutting motion.
“Peace! That’s it,” she said with a frown. “No bleeding Tres dry because he wants to marry me.”
“But the technology. Did you see how that ship arrived, Renie? I’d heard rumours that Vegans could fold space and move from one point to another in hours rather than days. If Lyra could get hold of that... and the barrier—”
“Sir!” someone shouted from the front of the bridge.
Renie and her father turned to look at him and then stared at the display as another blue flash occurred and a second ship appeared. This one was smaller and sleek, but still silver and yellow.
“They can definitely fold space,” her father said and hurried down to the pilot.
Renie stared at the screen and found herself following him down the steps, curious about the new ship.
“Incoming communication,” the man said again.
She stood beside her brother, exchanging a glance that revealed they were both worried about this newcomer. Perhaps they were here to attack, or to make Tres return to the Black Zone.
“Open a channel,” her father said. “On screen.”
“This is Princess Vega XVI,” a beautiful woman said, her appearance similar to Tres’s. Her skin was white but turned blue near her hairline. Her long straight hair went from blue to black, parted at the sides by her pointed ears.
Rezic stepped forwards.
Renie raised a brow when she saw he was staring at the screen looking like a Gavaelian carp.
“I believe my brother is en route to your ship. I request permission to attend to him. It is my duty to travel with him wherever he may go.” The woman on screen looked around her and sighed. “I had not quite expected it would bring me into Lyran space however.”
Rezic stepped forwards again and cleared his throat. The woman’s attention moved from their father to him and her eyebrows rose.
“Permission granted,” Rezic said with what looked to Renie like a highly charming smile.
He might have pulled off handsome had he been a little cleaner and a little less bloodstained. Rezic seemed to have forgotten that blood caked his hair and covered one side of his white shirt.
“Curious, I had expected the command to come from a superior officer,” Princess Vega XVI said, her eyebrows still high.
Rezic adopted a frown that made him look very much like their father and stepped up beside him.
“I am Prince Lyra V. This is my father General Lyra II. Our orders carry the same weight.”
Renie stifled her laugh at his lie. Rezic’s ord
ers carried barely more weight than her own. Only their father’s tolerance was saving them both from being sent from the bridge for commanding his officers.
“Then prepare to meet me at the airlock, Prince Lyra V, and escort me to my brother.”
The screen went blank.
Rezic left the room so fast that Renie barely saw him go. She looked over at her father to see him staring towards the bridge doors with a raised eyebrow.
“Deep space has turned my children insane,” he muttered and then extended a hand towards her, smiling.
He was still as handsome as ever. When she had been little, she had thought there was no one in the galaxy more handsome than her father was. She glanced back at the screen as she took her father’s hand. Now she had found someone more handsome, someone she loved.
And she was getting the impression her brother wouldn’t complain about what she was going to suggest. Not if the princess had to go everywhere that Tres went.
Renie walked through the ship with her father, her arm looped through his. When they neared the docking bay, he paused, placed his hand over hers and looked at her so seriously that her heartbeat quickened.
“Tell me honestly, my little angel, do you love this Vegan?”
Her mouth turned dry and she swallowed to clear the sticky lump in her throat so she could answer him clearly.
“I know we’ve only just met. I heard that the sons of Lyra never took things slow and never took no for an answer. Perhaps the same could be said for its daughters? Sophia married Emperor Varka barely days after she had met him. Miali is going to marry Kosen. I want to marry Tres.” She paused and sighed. “I do love him, father, with all my heart.”
“What will your brother do now?” he said and began walking again.
She frowned at the doors ahead of her. Rezic was waiting there, pacing back and forth. He had cleaned up and was wearing one of the tight blue and black flight suits of the Lyran Imperial Army. It emphasised his physique, just right for making women stare and realise that he was a true son of Lyra—perfect and handsome.
“I think my brother will be happy for me,” she said and nodded towards Rezic where he waited for them. “I think he might just marry a Vegan too...”
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?”
Daughters of Lyra: Heart of a Prince Page 10