POV: Lyra
The rogue was already pale from exhaustion when he muttered grudgingly, "I am to kneel... and bow before the Empress."
Everyone looked teasingly at me as my skin flushed purple with embarrassment. In the interrogation room, Orion smirked like a cocky winner. "Good that you've come to your senses. We're done for today. Chief Dalloway will take it from here now."
As Orion got up, so did Christian and Juan. The Duke went behind the rogue, slammed the rogue's head against the table one more time before the Emperor fractured the rogue's neck, earning a painful whimper from the criminal.
Orion smirked in arrogance and satisfaction before walking out the door. When everyone started getting up from their chairs, Toby tried to copy Orion's murderous expression and repeated the Emperor's words out loud, "What should you do if you are in the Empress's presence?"
I punched Toby to the side with force again. He let his body fall sideways on the table as he started chuckling uncontrollably.
Zelena then started with a teasing smirk, "Kneel,"
Her partner, Zeke, playfully continued, "And bow."
Tate finished, "Before the Empress."
"Guys. Seriously, stop it." I pleaded, hiding my face with my hands as my skin cycled through embarrassed colors.
Orion opened the door, and Toby got off the table, still chuckling as he went to join Raden and Tate. Orion stopped the alliance from offering him another bow for the day as he went straight for me with smiling eyes. His demeanor was a complete change from just ten seconds ago.
Orion's hands pressed on the table, and his arms trapped my small body between them. He kissed my lips before uttering in a low, husky voice, "When we are in the Empress's presence, we are to kneel and bow before the Empress." The upward curl of his lips showed he heard everything from when Toby copied him.
I continued to blush, my skin shifting to deep purple as I tried my best to ignore the cheeky giggles among the alliance and told him, "Making one kneel is highly unnecessary, my Emperor."
Orion mocked frustration. "Oh, come on now, my Empress. We wouldn't want to confuse the rogue now that I've just gotten him to come to his senses on the formalities."
I smirked. "You've gotten him to come to your senses, you mean?"
He looked a little guilty, genuinely guilty, as he said, "I may have overused th—" I quieted him with a kiss on his cheek as I whispered, "I was only teasing, Orion."
Orion was visibly relieved, and Toby told Raden, "Maybe 'tame' was the wrong word. 'Control'. Hm. Control the fiercest of beasts. Sounds better. Not just taming but also influencing what the beast does. What do you think, Ray?"
I narrowed my eyes in my best friend's direction, and my voice returned to normal when I said, "I'm still here, Toby, and I don—"
"Yeah, I know. So, Ray, what do you think?"
Raden shrugged and said in agreement, "Control sounds better."
Before I could retort, Orion's firm voice filled the room. "I agree."
I turned my disapproving sights to him as I hissed, "Orion, don't agree to that! You should never relinquish control of your life to someone else. In fact, no one should."
Orion inched closer to me and asked flirtatiously, "What's so bad about relinquishing control to my match? I'd say I've never been in better hands. And besides, you only control my behavior, not my life. My life, you guide and rule, like the Empress that you are."
When I opened my mouth to refute, he kissed my lips to silence me and added, "It's a good thing, my love. Don't look so distraught by it. Imagine what would've happened to Caunterberg, Cummings, the Kyltons and the rogue in there if I hadn't given you control."
I argued with uncertainty, "But those are... those are different. I only got you to calm down. The control was still yours."
Orion scoffed. "Star-heart, if it were, they'd all be vaporized by now." He kissed my forehead before mocking a look of hurt. "Is having control over this beast such a nuisance, my dear? Are you trying to get rid of me?"
I narrowed my eyes at his overdramatic demeanor. "You very well know that's not what this is about. Orion," I sighed in worry, "You're the Emperor. The suggestion that you're merely influenced by someone else may affect public confidence in the monarchy and the government. To say that you've given control to me is just... wrong."
The hurt in his eyes was genuine and evident as he cupped my cheek and said, "Lyra, star-heart. Is my love for you wrong in any way?"
I blinked before uttering, "I hope not."
He pressed his lips briefly on mine before pulling away and locking a firm gaze on me as he declared, "It's not, my love. It's not wrong in any way. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Don't doubt that. Ever. I love you."
"I-I know. B-But control..."
"Is not something that you should see as an owner-and-pet relationship. You have control over me when I'm not in control. Other times, you're my beacon, pointing me in the right direction."
"I don't think it's customary for an Emperor to give so much weight to..."
"To the thoughts and views of his Empress? Well, that's true but I don't want to be like past Emperors, Lyra. I thought you knew that."
"I do. B—"
He took my hands and suggested with a smile, "So, why don't we start a new custom, where the Emperor and Empress lead together, as one? That's how Commanders and their partners do it, and the system seems to be working quite well. And that was also how you and your allies won in battles, wasn't it? Train as one, fight as one and win as one?"
The fact that Orion took out words from Toby's speech a week ago didn't go unnoticed. Internally, Toby was squealing in excitement, even though he was just quoting me at that time.
I sighed in defeat, and Orion sensed a close victory so he kissed my forehead and smiled wider at me. "I trust you, Lyra. I trust you to control me when I can't control myself. And I trust you to give me your unfiltered thoughts on anything we talk about, be it government issues or something personal."
After planting a kiss on the back of my hand, he said, "You're more, Lyra. Much more." This line sparked confusion among everyone else in the room since they didn't have knowledge of the private conversation between Orion and me the first time this was said.
"Okay." I answered meekly.
Orion was in the mood to tease. "Okay? That's it? Star-heart, at least say that you'll happily take control of this beast. After all the effort I've put in to win an argument against you, don't you think I deserve at least that specific line?"
I narrowed my eyes at him again. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Christian shaking his head and smiling at the ground, so I said, "See, you're even making your second-in-command uncomfortable by saying those things."
Christian's head snapped up. "Oh no, my Empress. You misunderstood. I was just wondering why our Emperor didn't find you sooner. A hundred and seventy-eight cycles was a long wait for the both of us, but more so for my cousin." Some alliance members gasped at the age shared by the Duke and their Emperor.
It shouldn't come as a surprise but it did. Lyrokans can live up to five hundred cycles, the longest living Kaelari only reached about three hundred cycles of age. Lyrokans age slower, much slower. Right now, the cousins only looked around thirty-five or so.
I tried not to sound too shocked as I responded, "Christian, let's face it. I didn't exist any sooner."
Christian raised his eyebrows and commented, "My Empress, it's not like you were born a week ago." He then turned to Juan. "How old is she?"
Juan replied without hesitation, "Twenty-nine, two months ago."
The Duke nodded, then said, "It would've been nice if you came nine cycles earlier, my Empress."
Orion was gazing dreamily at me. I blushed under his affectionate stare, my skin shifting to pink. When he was going for my lips, my hand pressed firmly on his chest as I said in a loud and clear voice, "Behave now, my Emperor. We still have the issue of the rogue to deal with. What's the plan?"