Read Sons of Lyra: Stranded for Free Online

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