inutes, moving Lyra and baby Nora deep into the m

thstand planetary bombardment, its sterile

ched the atmosphere," Quentin said quietly, che

old hands twisting together in her lap as her

pen with a muted hiss, dropp

ler of an interstellar empire. Empress Eleanor tripped over

ted frame, a gut-wrenching sob tore from Eleanor's

d that the fragile girl might shatter if touched

oke into ragged pieces. "My

race, burying her face in the crook of Lyra's nec

id for twenty years," Eleanor wept, her trembling fingers

did to you. Look

enty years of accumulated grievances-the starvation, the psycholog

, burying her face again

al pulsed incessantly with urgent alerts from

d the device face down, silenc

s opened again to admit the t

legendary Emperor whose name made gala

d floor, wrapping his massive ar

sands of star systems swept, and I was sitti

crown of Lyra's head. "Daddy is here now. From this day fo

er wet eyes, she finally noticed the

hite suit with gold-rimmed glass

dragon horns curled against his silver hair, and the tip o

ath his tailored cuffs, radiating the dangerous

smerizing grace and dropped smo

pressing his warm lips to her

deep, resonant cello that vibra

d child-groom, Aiden Starfall. Those who bullied you, I

her aristocratic mask sl

Dragon raised specifically for you since birth. His geneti

cheeks flushing hot at the

or in the corner. Baby Nora was waking up in biol

en was already on his feet,

ith practiced precision and slid hi

energy coiled around his fingertips as he gently

ritorial, yet Aiden's power flowed into the h

sigh, wrapping her tiny paws around Aiden's thumb and affe

pregnancy like a filthy disease, yet this terrifying dra

ng his glasses up his nose. "Do not worry, Your Highness. I hold

e chief executive of the Starfall Empire. With him ma

Aiden will accompany you as your legal assistant

em, and the frozen walls aroun

wport, staring out into the dark void where t

narrowing into razor-sharp blades.

ing. At ten o'clock tomorrow, the Interstellar Tri