Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Emperor
the room she knew
was Regis’s. Perhaps her father was right. Regis was the one she
should be asking, even though she was afraid to. He was Varkan
after all. If anyone could make her understand the species, it was
him.

    ****

    Chapter
4

    Regis stalked his room,
grabbing everything that he had unpacked only hours ago and tossing
it back into the large cases on the floor. He was a fool for
thinking that he could do this. His father would have been sorely
disappointed with him if he had still been alive.

    He paused by the window.
The curtains and the tall windows were open. The world outside was
still painfully bright, stinging his eyes enough that he thought
about putting his visor back on. He didn’t. He walked to the edge
of the room, standing on the threshold of the balcony, and stared
out at the city. He had never seen such a blue sky before. Sophia
wore nothing but blue. Even if she did agree to marry Emperor
Varka, it would be impossible to convince her to leave this place.
She loved it as much as any Varkan loved their home
world.

    As much as he loved Varka
Prime.

    Although her skin was pale
and her eyes and hair were dark like a Varkan, she was a completely
different creature. She craved the sunlight while a Varkan needed
the darkness.

    With a growl, Regis
unbuttoned his black jacket and tossed it onto the expansive bed
beside his sword. Bare-chested, he walked into the bathroom and
stared at himself in the mirror above the marble basin. Dark red
eyes glared back at him. He knew what she had seen when she had
looked at him in that room. It was the exact reason his species
were so secretive. Other species didn’t understand their ways and
their needs. When they discovered the truth about them, their view
changed. His kind became something else entirely in their
eyes.

    Monsters.

    When she had looked at
him, she had seen a monster.

    He hung his head forwards,
grasping the edges of the basin for support, and closed his
eyes.

    He wasn’t a
monster.

    Or perhaps he
was.

    He had almost killed her
after all. Something with feelings, with a heart that could love as
well as merely hate, wouldn’t have done such a thing to someone so
beautiful.

    A knock at the door made
him tense. His fingers tightened against the basin edges,
threatening to smash the stone. He pushed away from it and went
back into his room, throwing the rest of his clothes into the
waiting trunks.

    Another knock.

    “ I wish for no
company, Van. Leave,” Regis said, hoping the younger Varkan would
do as he had asked. He had known Van since they were younglings
together on Varka Prime and under normal circumstances would
welcome his company, but not today. These weren’t normal
circumstances. He would leave a note for Van, the Count of Aeris,
and then make his way to the ship. His friend would
understand.

    They knocked
again.

    Perhaps he
wouldn’t.

    Regis’s temper frayed when
another knock sounded and he stormed to the door.

    “ Van!—” He
yanked the door open and stared at the blank space were Van’s face
should have been. His gaze dropped almost a foot to a
crimson-cheeked Sophia.

    She smiled nervously and
glanced along the hall in both directions.

    “ Will you let
me in?” she said, the anxiety showing her voice and her beautiful
dark eyes.

    Regis stepped back to
allow her to pass. She took a step and then stopped, her eyes
widening slightly when they fell on his bare chest. Her cheeks
darkened and she hurried past him and into the room. Closing the
door, he watched her standing in the middle of his room, looking
over his luggage. She turned to face him, her mouth open and shock
in her eyes.

    “ You’re
leaving?”

    He nodded. “I
must.”

    “ Why?” she said
and looked away, back at the trunks.

    “ I cannot
remain here.” He went to his trunks and closed the lids. “Not
now.”

    “ Not now?” She
took a step towards him, her dark eyes wide and entrancing. Each
shy glance she had ever given him flashed across
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