Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Assassin by Felicity Heaton Page A

he couldn’t have it. In
order to protect her, he had to do this, even though it would hurt
them both.

    He had to leave
her.

    He had to disappear from
her life and never let her see him again.

    ***

    Natalia placed the crate
down just inside the door and closed it. She stood on the
threshold, facing Ixion, hating the fact that they were back at the
palace. Tears trembled on the brink of falling but she wiped them
away, not wanting to look weak in front of him. There was so much
pain and sadness in his eyes as he looked into hers that she felt
it too. When he took hold of her hands, it was with a solemn look,
one that made her heart ache.

    “ Goodbye.” That
softly whispered word pierced her heart like a shard of ice,
turning her cold. It felt as though he was saying it forever and
they would never see each other again.

    Not wanting it to be over,
she stepped between his arms, tiptoed and kissed him.

    She didn’t say goodbye. He
walked away without so much as a backward glance and a tear slid
down her cheek, hot in the cold morning air. She would never see
him again.

    Her hands trembled when
she curled them into fists. Her heart hurt.

    Suddenly the palace garden
looked like a dark and dead place. The building towering at her
back felt like a prison. Her title was a collar around her
throat.

    She hated
everything.

    Everything but
Ixion.

    Why couldn’t she have been
born a normal woman who was free to choose who she
loved?

    She stared at Ixion’s
retreating back. He disappeared into the staff quarters of the
palace.

    Why couldn’t she be free
to love him?

    Something moved at the
corner of her vision and she turned sharply to see a woman standing
in the garden below her. Her long blue hair and milk-white skin
shone in the light of dawn, a face Natalia had never seen before.
Intruders?

    Natalia stepped back
towards her apartments. Her heart pounded.

    Had the female seen her
and Ixion?

    Natalia’s eyes widened
when a male that she recognised walked down the path to the female.
His dark hair, handsome face, and clothing of white shirt and tan
trousers was unmistakable. Rezic. Her eldest brother had returned
which meant that her father and sister had too. The female was one
of the party. A Vegan.

    The female spoke to him.
Natalia could only see her lips moving. The distance between them
was too great for her to hear what was being said. Rezic turned a
frown on Natalia. She panicked.

    He strode up through the
garden, his frown remaining fixed on his face, making him the
picture of their father. The female followed him. Her unusual
appearance went unnoticed by Natalia. She could only focus on her
brother and the look in his eyes.

    “ I heard the
strangest thing,” he said without any trace of amusement in his
voice. “Princess Tesia informed me that you were kissing
someone.”

    “ Leave me
alone.” Natalia backed into the door and fumbled for the pad that
would open it. “And keep your spy away from me!”

    The door behind her opened
and she darted in, closing it straight in Rezic’s face. He banged
on it, making the glass shudder in the frame.

    “ Come on,
Natalia, confess! I’ll find the man.” The note of amusement finally
laced his voice.

    Natalia cursed him for
finding this something to laugh about. It wasn’t a joke. She loved
Ixion with all of her heart. Why did all her family have to treat
her as though she was nothing more than a plaything, someone to do
their duty for them while they had all the fun? Why couldn’t she
have fun for once? Why couldn’t she be free?

    Her eyes widened in horror
when the female with Rezic gave a very detailed report of what she
had seen.

    Rezic was quiet for a few
seconds. The pounding of Natalia’s heart filled the
silence.

    How could the female have
seen that much at that distance?

    “ An assassin!”
The force and anger in Rezic’s voice shocked Natalia enough that
she stepped back from the door. “Natalia! Open this door
now!”

    “ No!”