The Empire (The Lover's Opalus) by Grayson Reyes-Cole Read Free Book Online Page A

of his throat and the curves of his muscles even down to his belly. A thin sheet hid the rest of him but she knew that beneath were strong legs, thighs corded with muscle and a light dusting of sleek hair. Above those thighs? Something she had not felt in a long time, something that had brought her pain once, something that had inspired fear.
    Yet now, she felt no fear.
    It had been a long time. A very long time. She now knew well that the Emperor had not hurt her on purpose. If he were to enter her again, to stroke a little, make her ready for him, maybe the low hunger that had eaten at her for cycles and cycles, since she had borne Rucha, could finally be satisfied. Once maybe. Just once this desire to lie with a man, this man, could be slaked and maybe–
    “Stop it.”
    She winced. Whether emperors were mind readers or not, his eyes and the dry rustle of his Spirit told her he was exasperated, that he knew the direction of her thoughts.
    “You have not been pleased with me,” Raeche declared. “I have been wed to the Empire for five rings yet I have not once pleased it.”
    “You are the Empire. You have been wed to me and you have given me a daughter. A daughter who will, as my oldest, rule this land after me, who will be greater than I have been or will be. There is nothing more I have the right to demand.”
    “Those are not the words of a conqueror.”
    “I have no interest in conquering you.”
    He lowered his eyes and went back to reading his book. Raeche furtively searched the area near her.
    Casually, he said, “There will be no violence between us. I will not tolerate it from myself, though I have in the past ring had a growing desire to wring your neck every time the nightstar goes full round, and I will not tolerate it from you.”
    “How will you prevent it?” Raeche asked, horrifying herself. She clamped her hands over her mouth.
    “You confuse me.”
    She confused herself. “Emperor?”
    “In here it is Lanus.”
    Raeche tried to say it but could not force the name through her lips. Frustration pounded at her like waves against rocks. Her body hot, her skin sensitive, standing still grew difficult. More of those angry flashes of power sparked off the Emperor and onto her, sending her up in frustrated flames.
    “Say it,” he told her in what sounded like a purr.
    “Say?”
    “Lanus. Say Lanus.”
    Something poked like a stick in her chest. More awful, unwarranted and undesirable words tumbled forth. “Rucha is your daughter.”
    The muscles in his arms and shoulders tensed but when he spoke his tone lacked all expression and his words were mundane. “Yes, she is,” he responded. “There was never any doubt of that.” Theoretically, Raeche posed to herself during a brief storm of reason, she should let this rest. But she could not, not any longer, not if she were to allow herself to enjoy his kiss.
    “She is your daughter true.”
    “Indeed.” He put the book away then pushed back to sit against the centuries old headboard of a giant bed that was the twin of her own. “Raeche, let us accept that your teachers, your aunts, and your mother all failed at their task. They did not train you to please me. They trained you to fear me.”
    “No.” Raeche’s response was pure reflex. Hiding that she despised her mother, her aunts, and her teachers had not been necessary but the right thing to do. Despite all their demands, their instruction, their push and their pull. “They did not fail. I am sure they would all dive to their deaths from the Standing Rocks if they should hear these words or have any inkling of your perception.”
    “They shall have no inkling. They have had none this whole time you and I have existed apart.”
    “You cannot blame them for my fear of you. It has consumed me my whole life. I feel it when you are near. I feel it even when I think of you.”
    Lanus nodded and unfolded his hands. The Emperor frequently talked in gestures. “I know. When you came to me you