Sons of Lyra: Stranded

by Felicity Heaton

  He opened his mouth to speak.

  There was a crackling noise and then a piercing tone that made her flinch.

  The communications light on the panel near the door lit up.

  She looked at it and then at Acer.

  “This is the Namrus-Lyra. We’ve picked up your distress call and we’re en route.”

  She stared into Acer’s eyes. They were full of anguish, as though they were reflecting all her feelings back at her. Her brows furrowed and she fought the tears that rose into her eyes. This was the decision she’d made. She had to live with it now. She had to be as strong as he was.

  The voice came again, breaking the awkward silence.

  “We’ll have you back on Lyra Prime before the seventh moon has set.”

  Staring at his chest, her heart clenched and ached. Tears spilled onto her breasts, streaking them. She couldn’t stop them now. Her dream of Acer loving her shattered.

  ***

  The hot sun beat down on her. She’d forgotten just how warm the planets of the Lyra system were. Above her was a sweeping arc of purest blue. Not a cloud marred it. It gave her no peace or happiness. It only gave her pain.

  Her nerve was holding, her feelings buried deep beneath the surface so the people present wouldn’t see them. Acer stood before her. His entire family were behind him.

  His eyes were cold as ice, his air distant. It hurt her more than anything. She could bear being parted from him if he showed her a hint, the tiniest sign that what had happened between them had truly meant something to him and that this was hurting him as much as it was her.

  On the ship, he’d shown her a glimmer of his feelings. The closer they’d got to Lyra Prime, the colder he’d become, until she was left doubting his feelings and wished she was away from him. He’d barely spoken to her since their time in the cryo-sleep chamber. She hadn’t been able to find her voice either. Each passing league had seen her sinking deeper into depression until she barely had the energy to raise her head. She’d spent most of the journey crying in her room. She wished she was far away and not standing here in front of him, unable to say what she wanted to and knowing that things would never be the same again.

  It hurt too much to be around him now and know that he’d never be hers. She’d lied when she’d said she’d be fine with just one moment in his arms. For the rest of her life, she was going to regret him.

  “Engineer Stella...” He started and his voice cracked, his eyes sparking with pain for a brief second before he cleared his throat. Was he hurting as badly as she was? The thought of that didn’t lessen her own pain. She cursed him. Why couldn’t he tell his parents to go to hell? Why did he have to marry another? He stepped forwards. “As soon as you fix the ship, you are to leave Lyra Prime.”

  She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay right here with him, even when she knew it was pointless. In a matter of days, he would be married. His wife could even travel onboard the Nephis-Lyra with him. What would happen then? How could she bear to see Acer with his bride and know that he would never be hers?

  “I’ll see you soon,” he said in a low voice, almost a whisper. “Enjoy your shore leave.”

  Tears filled her eyes and she couldn’t blink them away. She didn’t dare raise her hand to wipe them away. It would draw everyone’s attention to them.

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  Her hand rose in a shaky salute and she looked at him one last time, seeing the anguish in his eyes again, before turning her back. Her legs trembled as she walked to the ship, stopping at the gang plank and busying herself with the engine parts that sat in boxes on the dock. She felt sick and weak, shaking.

  The scrape of boot heels on the stone floor made her turn and disappointment flooded her when she saw it was Captain Lyra II, Balt. Her gaze strayed to Acer. His other brothers were talking to him, laughing about something. Acer wasn’t laughing. She’d never seen him look so solemn.

  Her heart broke.

  She actually felt the rip and the snap as it split in two.

  Unable to look at Acer any more, she forced her eyes away. They followed Kayla as she played chase with her twin daughter and son, all laughing happily with faces full of sunshine.

  “My wife plays with them too much,” Balt said with a joyful sigh. She envied him and envied Kayla even more. “She spoils them.”

  Her chest tightened and ached again when she noticed that Acer was leaving. She watched his back, torn between turning away and running to him. She did neither. She remained rooted to the spot and forced herself to watch him go.

  “All isn’t lost,” Balt said close to her elbow and her attention was with him. What was he talking about? She gave him a questioning look. He smiled at her. “I married a slave-girl and my parents forgave me. The moment you have children, they forget every past indiscretion.”

  Her heart thundered. She didn’t know what to say. Was he trying to hurt her more? She was already dying inside with the thought of seeing Acer everyday while knowing he could never be hers and they could never again recapture their moment together or the love they shared.

  Stooping, she picked up one of the boxes and started to walk towards the ship.

  Balt’s hand on her arm stopped her. She looked up at him, cursing him for looking so much like Acer. Her throat went dry. She swallowed to clear it and her lower lip trembled as her emotions got the better of her. She turned away again, staring at the box. If she looked at him, she was going to cry, and crying was a pointless waste of time now. It was over.

  She jerked out of Balt’s grip. “There’s no point.”

  Another few steps towards the ship and he stopped her again. She frowned at him, not caring that he was royalty or her superior. Let them throw her in prison for insubordination. She didn’t care anymore.

  Maybe she’d take the Nephis-Lyra and run away. She could leave it all behind her and travel into deep space, thousands of leagues from Lyra and Acer.

  “Do you love Acer?”

  Balt’s question floored her. She stared at the ship, heart hammering and mind racing with answers. Did she tell him the truth or lie to protect herself? It seemed that Balt could see straight through her. Could he see through his brother too? He’d been watching them both closely ever since he’d rescued them.

  She hesitated and then nodded.

  Balt smiled.

  “Don’t give up so easily then. Take it from a captain who’s seen more battles than you’ve imagined. If anything is worth fighting for, it’s love.”

  ***

  Acer stood lost in his thoughts, miles away. He didn’t hear the music as it swept around him, or the excited chatter of the thousand guests gathered to watch the extravagance of a royal wedding. He didn’t see the beauty of the decoration or notice that every noble and honoured family was present. He didn’t feel the sun against his skin and didn’t see the blue open skies above him. He was miles away in the docks where he’d left Stella to repair the ship. By now she was probably off-world and on her way to Lyra Six. Right this moment another man’s hands could be pleasuring her. The thought sickened him. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.

  He missed her.

  It had been three days since their moment on the ship, and two days since he’d told her to fix the ship and get on her way to her shore leave. It had broken his heart to leave her at the docks, but he’d had to do it. He was bound by duty and there was no escaping it without sacrificing everything. He wasn’t strong enough to go against his family. He was a coward.

  She’d never speak to him again.

  Would she even look at him?

  She’d left him with more pain than pleasure. Every time he saw her he would remember how things had been and what he could have had if he’d had more courage. Every day he spent on his ship would be a day where his thoughts were always with her. He deserved to be tortured for what he’d done. It was his own fault that she wasn’t his.

  Now he had to pay the price.

  He opened his eye
s and looked at the guests. So many distinguished families had travelled across the galaxy for this event. It was all politics at play. They were only here to maintain or build good relations with his family. None of them cared about him, about the fact that he was facing a sentence worse than death as he stood waiting at the top of the aisle.

  The fanfare began, signalling the arrival of his miserable future.

  He looked at his family, singling out his older brother, Balt. His brother looked as disappointed as he felt. His gaze slid to his eldest brother, Sebastian. Now he knew how he’d felt all those years ago, standing here waiting to meet his future bride and not knowing who she was. Now he understood why he’d looked so pained.

  His thoughts returned to Stella and he replayed the moment he’d said goodbye to her at the docks. There’d been so much he’d wanted to say to her, but he hadn’t been able to with his family all there to greet him. He’d told her that he’d see her soon. He sighed again. He’d be a married man then.

  His bride reached him, resplendent in sky blue and white, the traditional colours of a Lyran wedding. He looked at his future and didn’t like what he saw. He longed for it to be Stella in that dress, not this trophy bride.

  He held his hand out to her and turned to face the priest when she placed hers into it. He wished it were Stella’s hand in his. He’d give anything to feel her touch again.

  He was barely aware of the ceremony as he recited the words the priest said to him, his voice void of any emotion. A breeze stirred his jacket. He thought nothing of it. A stronger gust blew, pushing him forwards, and he frowned when there was a commotion behind him.

  Turning, he dropped his bride’s hand and brought his hand up to shield his eyes as wind blasted against him. The high tinny whine of forward thrusters made him instinctively brace himself. The flowers hit the floor, their vases smashing on contact with the flagstones. The guests screamed and scattered. His future wife clung to his arm and he shook her off, his eyes scouring the heavens for a sign of the ship.

  His heart leapt into his mouth, hammering in his throat and making him feel sick.

  The fighter descended, sending another rush of warm wind towards him and causing his bride to fall to the floor with a squeal. He didn’t move to help her. He couldn’t take his eyes off the ship.

  The front cargo bay doors opened and the ramp descended.

  The ship hovered in front of him, casting a wide shadow over the shrieking guests and filling half the square.

  The Nephis-Lyra.

  He couldn’t believe it.

  Stella appeared on the ramp, her cheeks flushed and a smile shining in her eyes. There was something else there too. Fear.

  “I fixed the ship,” she shouted over the engines, her voice shaking enough for him to hear it. “I’ve come to take you away from a future you want no part of to one I hope you do.”

  He smiled and then ducked as the guards arrived and started firing on the ship. Stella backed into the ship for cover. He shouted at the guards to cease fire but they ignored him. Anger bolted through him at Stella being fired upon as though she was the enemy. He had to protect her. He’d made a silent promise to himself that he would. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. His gaze shot to his family and then to her, and then back again. He looked at Balt. His brother nodded and smiled. Had he had something to do with this? Only their parents looked angry.

  By Iskara’s wings, he wasn’t going to let a second chance with her slip through his fingers. He’d said that he’d give up everything just to be with her and here she was coming to rescue him just as she’d said she would.

  The guards closed in, hollering orders to each other.

  He ran, leapt and grabbed Stella’s hand as she reached out to him.

  She hauled him up and then ran inside. The guards backed away, evidently not eager to fire on royalty. He looked down at his family and his bride.

  “I’m sorry... but I’ve already found the only woman I want,” he said to his family.

  His mother stood, pushed her light brown hair from her face, struggling as the wind from the thrusters blew it around, and scowled at him. “Get back down here right now and finish this wedding!”

  His father took hold of her arm, restraining her. His grey hair danced around in the wind.

  “There will be a wedding within a year,” his father said to his mother and then looked at him. “I guarantee it.”

  “But who is she? Who is her family?”

  Acer turned away, not needing to hear any more. He would bring his mother a wedding within the year if his family would accept him back and accept Stella for who she was. He didn’t care that she wasn’t of royal blood or from a distinguished family. He loved her.

  He closed the cargo doors and went up to the bridge to find her.

  Walking onto the bridge had never felt so exciting. He slid into the co-pilot’s seat beside her and strapped himself in. She shot him a wide smile that reached her eyes, turned the ship, and blasted out of the atmosphere.

  He smiled when dark deep space greeted him. He’d never felt so free.

  “Where are we going?” he said.

  Stella eased the ship past the defence satellites and out into open space. She leaned back into her seat and looked over at him. He was smiling broadly. She’d never seen him look so happy. She grinned at him, happy too.

  “I still have shore leave,” she said. “I was thinking we could swap my reservation on Lyra Six for Vega Three. It’s a good distance away and no one will recognise us there.”

  She unbuckled the straps holding her into the chair.

  He nodded and punched the coordinates into the ship’s computer. Vega Three flashed up on the panel in front of her. There was the click of a safety belt being undone and then his hands were around her waist. He lifted her out of her chair and settled her on his lap.

  “Vega Three sounds good,” he said and then kissed her, his lips playing slowly against hers.

  She’d missed them.

  She’d missed everything about him—his eyes, his voice, his touch, the way he smelt.

  Her arms went around his neck and she smiled at him when he looked at her.

  “It was close,” he said. “If you hadn’t fixed the ship—”

  She pressed her finger to his lips, silencing him.

  “I work better under pressure,” she said with another broad smile. She shuffled on his lap, getting more comfortable. It was a long journey to Vega Three, but she didn’t want to sleep through it. She wanted to spend it getting to know him.

  A smile arched his lips. “So do I,” he said. “A year of you onboard my ship and finally I have you.”

  He dragged her back close to him, crushing her hands against his chest as he kissed her hard. She tackled his tongue with her own, loving the sensual glide of it against hers and the way it stirred fire in her veins.

  She was breathing hard when he released her.

  “Now I’m never going to let you go,” he whispered and placed brief soft kisses to her lips.

  She smiled lazily, melting in his strong arms and wondering if she was dreaming.

  “Will they come after you?” she said, worried that they were going to be chased across the galaxy and he’d be taken from her, forced to marry his jilted bride.

  He smiled and shook his head. “Balt and my father will see to it that we’re left alone...”