Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Assassin by Felicity Heaton Read Free Book Online

a shy smile that barely tilted the corners of
her rosy lips but filled her green eyes with startling
warmth.

    It tugged at his
heart.

    Such a smile for
him?

    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