Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess by Felicity Heaton Page A

the highly decorative couch.

    “ Mother,
father, may I present Kayla,” Balt said and nudged her
forward.

    She didn’t know what to do
so she bowed her head.

    “ She has little
breeding,” the woman said in an unimpressed tone. Kayla frowned at
her. “I had thought more of the Terrans.”

    “ You must
understand, mother, that she has not had an education worthy of her
position... she has—”

    “ Yes, yes...
you’ve said all this,” the woman cut Balt off and raked her eyes
over Kayla.

    She didn’t look at all
impressed.

    “ Will you
consider my request?” Balt said. “Now that you have seen
her?”

    “ I know we must
make amends for what our forefathers did to her people, but you
must understand that we cannot simply hand over a planet,” the man
said.

    A planet? She looked at
Balt.

    “ Lyra Five is
unpopulated and on the outer rim of our system. The climate is
perfect for Terrans and they would be—”

    “ You have said
all this too, son,” the man said and then looked at her. A hard
look entered his eyes.

    She got the feeling that
they didn’t like the idea of handing over a planet to her people.
She looked at Balt, unable to contain her smile when she saw the
frustration in his eyes and realised how hard he was fighting for
her species. He wanted to make amends for what had happened, to
repay the debt. It was so romantic and noble of him. She didn’t
even think about what she was doing. She just reached out and
touched his hand in a light caress. He looked down at it and then
at her, right into her eyes.

    There was a flicker of
something and then he grabbed her hand, bringing her forwards with
him.

    “ Then give the
planet to me and I will give it to the Terrans. When I turned
thirty, you promised me something...” He sounded nervous now. She
could feel his hand shaking in hers. What had his parents promised?
“You swore that I could have any gift I wanted... anything... you
swore.”

    The man stood and the
woman followed suit. There was shock on their faces.

    “ We promised
you that as a wedding present.”

    Kayla’s heart jumped into
her mouth. She looked at Balt. He frowned at his
parents.

    “ It will be a
wedding present,” he said in a calm and measured voice.

    She couldn’t believe this.
She tried to form words to ask him if he’d gone insane or if he
really loved her enough to marry her for the sake of giving her
species a new home but they wouldn’t come.

    “ Balt,” she
whispered, afraid that if she spoke any louder this illusion would
shatter.

    He turned and looked at
her. His other hand claimed hers and he held them tightly. His eyes
were full of so much emotion and affection. Perhaps he did love her
enough to marry her.

    “ Kayla... I
only have one way of saying this...” He removed the translator from
her ear and then his own. She stumbled when he placed his hands
around her waist and drew her close to him. Her hands pressed
against his chest and she stared into his eyes, too stunned to say
anything. “Yoi aishin.”

    She didn’t need a
translator to know what those words meant. The horrified gasps of
his parents and the tenderness in his eyes and the passion in his
voice translated them for her. His kiss confirmed it.

    She leaned into it,
kissing him with as much ardent desire as he was showing
her.

    Someone cleared their
throat and she broke away from Balt. Her cheeks blazed when she saw
his parents were staring. She took the translator with shaking
hands and tried to get it back into her ear. Balt smiled and helped
her, his fingers brushing her cheek as he trailed them off
her.

    “ I love you,
Kayla. Be my wife.”

    He was insane.

    So was she.

    She nodded and grinned,
barely containing her desire to bounce on her heels. “I love you
too.”

    He kissed her and there
was another cough. They broke apart again and both looked at his
parents. His mother looked sour. His father sighed.

    His sigh became a smile
that gave Kayla the impression