Sons of Lyra: Runaway Hearts

Sons of Lyra:
Runaway Hearts

Heir Prince
Lyra I hates his life, and it’s only getting worse. Not only do
Sebastian’s parents force him to remain on Lyra Prime with them and
control his life, now they’ve gone and arranged his marriage.
Unable to stand the thought of getting married before he’s seen the
stars as his three younger brothers do and tasted adventure, he
decides to run away. Only that’s not as easy as it sounds when
you’re one of the infamously handsome sons of Lyra.

Terea needs to
get away. She’s had it with men and her family. When she spots a
man who looks as though he has a little money, she sees her chance
and pickpockets him. The only trouble is, he’s quicker than her.
Before she knows what’s happening, she’s been caught and is
agreeing to leave the planet with him. Anything to escape Lyra
Prime and her future there.

Terea’s plan to
escape Sebastian when they’ve left the planet behind is shattered
when he cleans himself up and changes on her, losing his naive air
and becoming a confident and dangerously sexy man. A bottle of the
strongest alcohol available is her last resort, but getting him
drunk to the point of passing out means she’ll have to drink too,
and before she knows what she’s doing, she’s sitting astride his
lap feeding him the alcohol and kissing him.

When the ship
is forced to stop and boarded by Minervan military looking for him,
will Sebastian hand himself over to protect Terea? Will Terea stand
by and let the man she’s falling for get hurt or will she sacrifice
herself and return to her family for the sake of saving him? Will
two runaway hearts find the freedom they’re searching for in each
other’s arms?

Sons of Lyra:
Runaway Hearts

Felicity
Heaton

Smashwords
Edition

Copyright 2008
by Felicity Heaton

All rights reserved. No
part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without written permission from the author, except for the
inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

****

Sons of Lyra:
Runaway Hearts

Heir Prince Lyra I only
had one thing to recommend him to women, and it was one thing he
wished he didn’t have—Royal blood. Never in his life had a woman
seen him for who he was. The second they realised he was a son of
Lyra and heir to the throne, they changed. Their petty flattery had
the opposite effect to what they wanted. It made him
leave.

He wished he were like his
younger brothers, free of the title of Heir Prince of Lyra. What he
wouldn’t give to be them, to be enjoying their lives and carving
out a reputation for themselves that didn’t tie them to the throne.
His next two brothers were both captains of the Lyran Imperial
Army. His youngest was in training to follow them. He’d wanted to
be a captain once, had desired to see the stars and experience the
universe’s many galaxies.

Leaning against the
balcony of his room in the palace, he stared up at the pitch black
sky and the millions of glittering stars, longing to be out there
with his brothers.

The piece of paper in his
hand rustled in the light breeze, reminding him of its presence.
Simply put, it was an order. It came from the highest power in the
land. It came from his parents.

They had decided it was
time for him to marry.

With Balt, the second
eldest of he and his brothers, married and settled on Lyra Five
with his wife, Kayla, his parents were anxious for another
marriage. More particularly, his mother was. He’d got the
impression countless times over that his father didn’t really care
if he or his brothers ever married.

He had to admit that
seeing his brother get married had made him consider marriage
himself, but he didn’t want it to be this way.

He stared at the piece of
paper. There was no name on it. She had been written about as
though she was a piece of property without any thoughts or feelings
of her own. His brother Balt would be furious if he saw this
letter. He hated anything that made people out to be a slave or
would offend his once-slave wife.

His eyes scanned the page
to the proposed date of the wedding. It was only a week away. It
turned his stomach so much that he screwed the note up and threw it
over his shoulder into his room.

He couldn’t marry without
knowing the woman first or even knowing her name. It was
impossible. He couldn’t marry without having seen the universe
first. He’d never even been into deep space.

A thought crossed his
mind, brilliant and glittering like a jewel at first, but quickly
becoming tarnished when his better sense said that his parents
would never allow him to go into deep space, not even with his
brothers.

He sighed and stared
longingly at the stars.

Perhaps there was another
way.

The bell rang for dinner
and he trudged wearily across his room and out of the door, his
thoughts still with the beautiful night sky and his heart still
fixed on seeing deep space before he was married. Perhaps the other
way was the only way.

He sat down at one end of
the long dark wood dining table while his parents sat at the other.
Even during his meals he was lonely, left sitting what felt like
miles from his parents because that was what propriety dictated. He
leaned his right elbow against the table top, propped his chin up
on his palm and played distractedly with his food.

“
Sebastian!”
His mother’s voice rang across the room.

His gaze slid to her. She
was frowning so hard he couldn’t see her eyes. She motioned towards
his elbow. He rolled his eyes and sat straight, removing his arm
from the table.

At thirty four, he had
thought he would have more freedom. His life seemed to be getting
more and more controlled the older he got. He was tired of being
treated like a child and not like the man he was. His parents never
saw the real him. They didn’t know him. They only knew the boy they
believed him to be—the one they wanted him to be. He sighed again
and decided that he would go through with his plan.

He couldn’t get married
without seeing those stars and another system, or the blackness of
deep space. He wanted to see the things his brothers saw and told
him about whenever they came home.

“
Mother,” he
said in a cautious voice. “I’m going to visit Balt on Lyra
Five.”

She snorted. “You
certainly are not.”

“
But the child
will be born soon... I would like to be there when it is. I
promised Balt that I would be.”

“
Don’t be
ridiculous. Kayla will come here to have the child, as tradition
dictates.”

He frowned. He hated
tradition. Why couldn’t he have been born the second eldest son? He
supposed that the less freedom you had the more you longed for it.
Kayla had told him as much once, just after her wedding. She’d been
radiant with sheer joy. She’d told him that she’d never felt as
free as the day his brother had removed her collar and said she
belonged to no one but herself.

He wished he belonged to
no one but himself.

He was the property of the
imperial family though, and of Lyra. Heir Prince.

“
Kayla will not
leave Lyra Five. She is intent on having her baby there with Balt
and the Terran midwives.” He knew that this slip of knowledge would
stir trouble, but he didn’t care. Right now, he wanted to spite his
mother for not letting him leave Lyra Prime and this seemed the
perfect way.

“
What?” She
stood sharply, sending the cutlery rattling when her legs knocked
the table. His father placed a hand on her arm. She shook it off.
“It was agreed she would come here!”

“
Balt says that
Kayla said no such thing and that they were going to have the baby
on Lyra Five.”

His mother stormed towards
him. He hadn’t seen her this angry since Balt had originally
announced his intention to marry Kayla. His brother had guts to go
against their mother. Maybe he had the guts too.

He stood, gave her a look
that said he was just relating what he’d heard, and then walked
away, leaving his parents arguing about where the baby was going to
be born.

It would keep them busy
for a while. Possibly long enough for him to put his plan into
action.

The short walk back to his
apartment passed quicker than he’d expected. He locked the door and
went to his wardrobes. A rifle through them made it clear that he
had nothing to wear that wouldn’t make him stand out from the crowd
wherever he went. He needed clothing that was a little more common
looking if he was going to get off the planet unnoticed.

None of the servants’
clothes would do. They were all too recognisable as
well.

He took the purse of gold
Lynans he kept in his desk drawer and went back to the wardrobe. He
stripped off his jacket and his boots, swapping them for a pair of
worn riding boots and an old riding jacket. A glance at himself in
the mirror made him realise he was even more noticeable now. He
growled in frustration, removed the jacket, and went back to the
wardrobe. There was just nothing suitable.

At the back of it, he
found a moth-eaten cloak that he’d had since forever. His parents
had insisted that he throw it away, but he’d always refused. He was
glad that he hadn’t now. He wrapped it around his shoulders and
went back to the mirror. It was better. The old brown cloak would
hide his crisp white shirt and tight black trousers. It went
perfectly with the scuffed boots. He looked at his face. He had to
do something about that. Everyone on Lyra Prime knew what he looked
like.

He stared at himself, into
his almost jet-black eyes, and ran his fingers over his short black
hair. A hat? It was the quickest method of disguise that he could
think of. Unfortunately he didn’t own any hats.

He was too clean as well.
The people using the public freighter transports were likely to
look more worn and dirty. He went to his balcony, stuck his hand
into the nearest plant pot and rubbed the dirt across his face and
neck and into his hands. A look in the full length mirror made him
smile. That was better, but he still could be
recognised.

A quick ruffle of his hair
made him look less like himself. He smiled at his reflection. He
actually looked better than he had before. He liked this new hair
style. It was wild and rebellious. Exactly how he felt right
now.

Deciding nothing else
could be done to disguise himself, he went to the balcony and
looked over the edge. He made the short drop to the larger balcony
below and ran to the steps that led down into the garden. In the
far corner, he found the gate he’d stolen the key to years ago but
had always been too afraid to use. He unlocked it and walked
through. A sense of freedom swept through him when he locked the
gate and then turned to face the wide open road that led down into
the city.

He was sure there would be
a transport leaving tonight. He didn’t care which one he got on. He
looked at the star-filled sky. He just wanted to be up
there.

Running down the road, he
kept the cloak closed around him to hide his finer clothes, and
tried to remember whereabouts in the city the port was. He stuck to
the winding side streets, avoiding the large square at the front of
the palace. There would be guards there and he wasn’t about to get
caught. For the first time in his life, he was going to see how
others lived and taste the freedom they did.

He slowed to a walk when
the palace began to grow small and distant. His eyes scanned the
dark shop windows, running over the displayed goods in fascination.
He’d never thought the world would be so colourful and interesting.
The shops sold all manner of things, most of which he’d never seen.
There were tools in one, material in others, and flowers. He
stopped to look at them. He’d never seen such delicate and
beautiful blossoms before. They were splendid white irises spotted
with rich purple. His eyes fell to the card in front of them.
Apparently they came from Lyra Three. Lyra Three was the planet
next to Lyra Prime on the sun side. It was hotter there. He
wondered if the ship he chose to board would go there. He hoped it
would go out of the system and into deep space.