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

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