Read Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Emperor for Free Online

his memory, making
his blood burn.

    His gaze shifted to her
neck and his hunger rose. The world became brighter as his eyes
altered and he waited to see how she would react to the sight of
them so vivid with bloodlust.

    She touched her throat,
delicate fingers caressing skin that he longed to devour and
taste.

    “ You want my
blood... and you’re leaving because of that?”

    There was an incredulous
note to her voice that amused him on some sick level. She didn’t
know what she was dealing with. Whatever she had learnt about his
species and their bloodlust couldn’t prepare her for the reality.
The darkness and violence, the need, were things that were
impossible to put into words that any but a Varkan could
understand.

    “ I must.” He
turned away from her and pressed the dark pad on the front of the
cases, locking them and registering his imprint with them so none
but him could open them.

    She huffed and grappled
with the lid of one of the trunks, trying to prise it open, clearly
wanting to unpack his things as though that alone would make him
stay. Her efforts were futile but it didn’t stop her. There was a
sense of sheer desperation about her actions and her feelings. He
could sense them as clearly as he knew she could sense his when he
was close to losing control. One of her parents had more than one
species blood in their veins. Perhaps her mother. It seemed likely
that a daughter would receive her mother’s gifts.

    “ Why?” Sophia
said, surrendering her attempt to open his luggage. Her jaw was set
tight, her lips beautifully compressed into a thin line that said
she wasn’t going to give up so easily. What was she fighting for so
vehemently? Was this the true face of love?

    Did she love
him?

    A voice at the back of his
mind laughed and mocked him for thinking such ridiculous things. A
princess wouldn’t lower herself to marry someone she knew wasn’t of
royal blood. Their trip here would prove him right in that. No
matter what she said, it was wealth, power and connections that she
wanted from marriage.

    Not love.

    “ Why?” she said
and moved closer to him, seemingly unaffected by his half-dressed
state now. He was under no illusion about her innocence. She had
never been alone with a man like this before. Anger coloured her
cheeks as much as the sight of his bare chest had. “Because you
want to bite me?”

    If only it were so
simple.

    “ You do not
understand,” Regis said and walked over to the bed to retrieve his
jacket.

    Before he could put it on,
she had crossed the room and had come to stand only a few feet
away. The sound of her heart pounding filled his senses and he
could feel the warmth radiating from her. She pushed a strand of
her long black hair from her face and glared at him.

    “ Father says
that Varkans control their bloodlust.” She grabbed his sword off
the bed and unsheathed it a little.

    “ What are you
doing?” He grabbed her wrist but not before she had managed to run
her finger along the blade.

    His eyes
widened.

    He stared at the drop of
blood as it blossomed on her finger. She held it up, her palm
facing the ceiling so the drop remained perfectly balanced. His
lips parted and his teeth sharpened. His heart thumped hard against
his chest, faster than he had ever felt it beat before.

    His breathing turned heavy
as he stared transfixed at the tiny bead of blood. Fire consumed
him and a desire for violence was born in its midst. He trembled as
he held her wrist, his fingers tightly closed around it, aware that
he was probably hurting her but unable to care at that moment. He
was lost. His mind raced forwards to imagine every possible outcome
of this moment. A wave of bloodlust stronger than he had ever
experienced hit him and he could see himself killing all in the
palace just to get to her, to have her all to himself.

    He could see himself
killing his friends.

    Her family.

    Everyone.

    It was torture to see all
that in one single drop of blood and