Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Assassin (6 page)

There was so much life in
her.

It only made him love her
more.

Natalia turned and stopped
when her eyes fell on him. Her hand continued to stroke the Friskin
even though her concentration was clearly on him. The laughter fled
her lips, replaced by 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 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 him 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.