Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Assassin Read online

He was tempted to look around and check that she was really looking at him and not one of the more worthy males present, but didn’t want to shatter a moment that he knew would live in his memory forever.

  No matter what happened, he would always have this moment. This smile would always be his.

  He took a step towards her.

  The universe exploded.

  ****

  Chapter 5

  A hot shockwave slammed into Natalia’s back, throwing her to the ground. She held the baby Friskin to her chest, protecting it, and angled herself so she landed on her shoulder rather than her front. Blood rushed through her ears, her heart thundering as she tried to make sense of what had happened.

  Her two attendants were immediately covering her, their bodies protecting her from any further damage. Her head spun and a ringing sound replaced the rushing blood in her ears. She could barely hear the shrieks and screams of the crowd over the noise. Every bone in her body ached when she tried to move.

  Suddenly she was on her feet, the baby bird still clutched safely in her hands, and was moving. She stumbled along, her legs shaking and weak, and looked down at the black-gloved hand on her arm. Her gaze tracked up a black-clad arm to its owner.

  Ixion.

  He said something to the other two assassins and they were gone, leading her two attendants off in different directions.

  The crowd pushed at her, increasing her panic to the point of hysteria. Weapon’s fire rang out around the square and she ducked her head, clinging to the small animal in her hands. Its frightened heartbeat almost matched the speed of her own but she wouldn’t let anything happen to it.

  Ixion pulled her down a side street where only a few other people were running from the scene. Natalia looked back to see black smoke curling up into the air and the military rushing in. So many people must have died. The heat and force of the blast had been incredible and she could see that it had come from the spaceport. She had been over two hundred metres from the port. The bomb must have decimated anyone near it.

  Adrenaline made her shake and she only managed to keep going because of Ixion’s unrelenting grip on her arm. If he hadn’t been with her, she was sure that she would still be back in the square, shell-shocked by the blast.

  Heavy weapons fire made her flinch. Deep thudding echoes alerted her to the approach of armoured suits—metal robotic armour that soldiers piloted. One appeared at the end of the alley, blocking it completely, the suit making her think of a huge man. It moved towards them, massive assault rifle raised.

  Ixion ducked down another alley, heading away from it and towards the palace.

  The palace.

  She wished that she had stayed there.

  Smoke loomed ahead of them and the sound of fighting was getting stronger rather than weaker. She gasped when they came out in the midst of a skirmish and only had time to see one man gunned down before Ixion was running with her again, this time towards the ocean. The palace was getting further away.

  Tears filled her eyes, a mixture of fear and reaction to the smoke. It burned her lungs but she kept running, holding the Friskin close to her chest. They were all in this together now and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to any of them—not her, not the Friskin and certainly not Ixion.

  Natalia looked across at him where he ran a step ahead of her, his gaze scanning everything. He turned again and she wondered how well he knew the city. She had never seen these side streets before. They were barely wide enough for them to run down.

  The palace stood in the distance. She held the Friskin in one hand and lifted her dress with the other, determined now to keep running and get back to her home. Ixion’s grip on her loosened, as though he had sensed her resolve to live, and he ran faster.

  “My attendants,” she huffed and promised herself that, if they made it back alive, she would start running around the palace grounds to keep fit.

  “Safe with my men. We must get you back to the palace.” Ixion didn’t sound at all out of breath.

  A wide road lay ahead of them. Natalia stopped in the middle of it when she saw the soldiers running along it towards them. They would help. Ixion grabbed her arm.

  “Not a wise place to stop,” he said and pulled her forwards.

  Shouts filled her ears and she turned and saw a group of civilians running at her from the other end of the road. No, not at her. At the soldiers. They raised their weapons and Natalia ducked as she ran. She had barely made it into the alley when laser fire shot down the road. One hit the wall of the building to her right, sending brick exploding outwards.

  “Keep moving,” Ixion said in a grim voice.

  She looked up at the palace. They were close now. She could see the bridge ahead of them.

  Her eyes widened when it began to lift. She ran harder, desperate to reach it in time, even when she knew it was impossible. Ixion had to grab her to stop her from attempting to leap for it when they reached the moat. He pulled her back, tightly holding her arm.

  Along the length of the moat, all of the bridges were rising.

  They were too late.

  The last bridge clunked into place and the pale blue shield flickered into life.

  Natalia’s breathing quickened. She had to get back in. She needed to get back into the palace where it was safe. The whole city had gone insane. Everyone was fighting or running for their lives. She didn’t want to be out here anymore. She wanted to be back in her room. She wanted to be with her family.

  “Ixion reporting in.”

  Natalia turned to look at him. He had the black band around his wrist close to his mouth, his eyes fixed on her.

  “We hear you, Commander.” Came the reply.

  “Inform her highness that Princess Natalia is safe and contact us when the gates are open again.”

  What was he doing?

  Natalia grabbed his hand and pulled the device to her mouth. “Lower the bridge!”

  Ixion snatched his arm back. “Belay that order. I will report in at nightfall.”

  The communicator crackled and Ixion pressed the button.

  “What are you doing?” Natalia tried to grab his arm again but he held it behind his back. “Tell them to lower the bridge!”

  “I cannot do that. Lowering the bridge would leave the palace open to infiltration.” His tone was soft and Natalia stopped trying to reach his hand. He was right. She couldn’t risk her family for the sake of getting back in. There was fighting everywhere. In the time it took them to lower and then raise the bridge again, any number of people could make it over into the grounds. The shield would be down too, leaving the palace vulnerable to aerial attacks. Ixion took hold of her arm. “I promise you, my lady, that I will keep you safe.”

  She warmed from head to toe at those words and the fiery look in his eyes. She had no doubt that he would protect her and keep her safe. In fact, she trusted him with her life.

  And with her heart.

  “We must move.” He took her by the elbow and led her away from the palace.

  Natalia glanced back at it, afraid that her family were in danger and needed her, and that her mother would be worried.

  She must have slowed because Ixion stopped and looked at her. “Do not fear.”

  It was easy for him to say. It wasn’t his family in there and he was trained to kill. What good would she be if they were attacked? She would only prove a distraction for Ixion. He would want to keep an eye on her to ensure that she was safe. It could be the opening that would see him killed.

  She looked up at the sky.

  “Do you think my father knows?” she whispered.

  “Standard protocol dictates that he would be contacted in the event of an uprising or emergency. The moment it had happened, they would have sent word.” His tone started out empty but grew warmer, until it became so soft that it comforted her. “He will be on his way back, my lady. The skirmish will not last. You will be in the palace again before dawn.”

  Natalia nodded and then let h
im lead her away. He took her through the back streets, avoiding the areas where they had run into conflict before. When she began to recognise some of the streets, she realised where he was taking her.

  The entertainment district.

  She looked towards it where it lay downhill from her and then over at the spaceport far to her right. The single black column of smoke that the bomb had caused had been joined by others. The smell of burning wood filled the air. Some of the buildings were on fire. Her city was burning.

  Ixion’s hand tightened against her elbow and she looked ahead of her again. Some men were coming. They had no weapons that she could see but they didn’t look friendly.

  Natalia’s eyes widened when Ixion turned with her and pinned her against the wall, his hands firm against her shoulders. She was about to ask him what he was doing when one hand shifted to her cheek, moving her hair across her face, and his lips pressed against hers.

  Her eyes went even wider and then slowly slipped to half mast as Ixion kissed her, his mouth slanting over hers, turning her blood to fire and making her heart race quicker than fear ever could.

  She was too stunned to kiss him back, could only manage small jerking movements with her lips, was drowning in the feel of his against her and her first kiss.

  His mouth left hers and she remained leaning against the wall, her head tilted back in silent invitation, her mind spinning from how good it had felt to have a man kiss her.

  To have Ixion kiss her.

  His hands slipped from her face and shoulder.

  The world slowly came back. The first thing she noticed was the small baby Friskin wriggling in her hands. She released her grip on it a little, apologising to it without words. The second thing she noticed was Ixion had moved away from her and was looking along the alley.

  She turned there and saw the men had passed them. Ixion had kissed her to protect her identity and give the men reason to ignore them. Her heart thumped hard against her ribs, refusing to slow while the memory of the kiss lingered.

  “Are you alright?” He turned to her. The moment his eyes met her wide ones, he dropped his gaze, lowering his head a fraction too. “Apologies, my lady, for assaulting you in such a manner. When we return to the palace, I will confess to my handling of you and—”

  “Stop,” Natalia said, not wanting to even think about what punishment he would suffer if he confessed to kissing her. He had done it to protect her, and it wasn’t as though it had been bad. She had enjoyed it. “Don’t apologise.”

  His eyes widened now and shot up to meet hers. She could read the unspoken question in them.

  She wanted him to kiss her?

  A blush scorched her cheeks and she moved away to avoid his scrutiny.

  “We should keep moving,” she muttered weakly and, a moment later, he moved past her.

  As they walked, Natalia stroked the small blue Friskin where it lay nestled between her hand and her breasts, hoping to soothe it. She was thankful that Ixion didn’t look back. She couldn’t stop blushing while she considered the answer to his silent question. Did she want him to kiss her?

  She wanted it more than anything.

  ***

  Ixion walked out of the back room with a small empty shipping crate that he had found, trying to get his thoughts off the idea that Natalia might want to kiss him. She had responded to his kiss in only a small way, enough that he could believe that she hadn’t like it. He had believed it until she had told him not to apologise. Her blush had made his heart race. The idea that she wanted him to kiss her again was firmly lodged in his mind. He groaned inside. Iskara, he would dearly love to kiss her again.

  He placed the box down next to Natalia where she sat on the stage of the empty club, nursing the baby bird. When he removed the lid, Natalia frowned at the bare plastic interior of the crate and then looked up at him. She held the Friskin out to him and he took it, wondering what she was going to do.

  It didn’t surprise him when she removed her small blue jacket and placed it into the crate, moulding it into a warm nest for the bird.

  It was just like Natalia to be so thoughtful and kind. She had been protecting the baby bird since the bomb blast, keeping it close to her heart. He had heard her whispering soothing words to the animal, as though it understood her. He smiled and looked down at the bundle of fluffy feathers in his hand. It was calm, curiously watching Natalia work to make it a comfortable bed.

  When she was done, Ixion handed the Friskin back to her and she carefully set it down in the makeshift nest. It investigated the new environment for a few seconds, pecking at the jacket and the tall solid sides, and then settled down.

  “Thank you,” Natalia said as she stroked the bird.

  “There is no need to thank me. I was only carrying out orders.” He sat down on the other side of the crate.

  Natalia pulled her feet up onto the stage and hugged her knees. Her gown had short sleeves and the club was closed so there was no heating. It had taken them several long minutes to find out how to turn some of the spotlights on. The owner had given them the pass code for the back door and told them to lock up after them. Ixion could understand why he had wanted to get away. The battles outside showed no sign of dying out. The weapons fire and shouting were only growing louder and more violent.

  Ixion slipped down from the stage and came to stand in front of Natalia. He removed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

  The tight black vest he wore beneath his jacket wasn’t enough to keep him warm, but the princess needed heat more than he did. If he allowed her to become cold and catch an illness, it would be a black mark against him and would be a violation of his duty.

  And his feelings.

  Natalia touched the lapels of his jacket where they met in front of her chest and then looked at him. Her gaze dropped to his body and she frowned at something.

  “What are those?” She reached out to touch the two black leather and metal cuffs that covered his forearms and he stepped back so she couldn’t.

  He didn’t want her anywhere near such things.

  He looked at them, turning his arms so the underside of his forearms were upwards, and the mechanics of the devices were visible. The short retractable blade in each gleamed brightly under the spotlight, as though they had never been used.

  They had caused so many deaths.

  Natalia looked curious, her eyes fixed on the devices.

  “Do they come out?” she said and a little line appeared between her eyebrows as she peered at them, craning her neck so she could see better. “Show me.”

  He thought about not showing her and then acceded. Her words could be considered an order. He had to obey.

  Without looking at her, he tilted his hands back to trigger the devices. The two blades shot out, extending past his fists, locking in place. Natalia’s eyes were as large as twin full moons.

  She didn’t look horrified though.

  She looked fascinated, just as she had done the first time she had seen him.

  He pushed the tips of the blades up with his fingers and they shot back into the cuffs.

  “Where do you come from?” Natalia said with a glance to his wrists and then the blades strapped to his thighs. “I have never seen such weapons or the methods you were teaching Aiden and Ciel with swords.”

  Ixion’s heart gave a hard beat. She had been watching him teach her brothers? He hadn’t taught them anything when she had been present. She must have been watching them from the gallery around the courtyard on the first floor of the palace and she had done so stealthily enough that he hadn’t noticed her.