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

Her voice
shook but she held her ground. She wouldn’t do as he asked because
she was afraid that she would confess if she did.

    “ Fine.” His
tone was calm and measured. It only meant one thing. He was up to
something. “If you will not confess… I will find your assassin
myself.”

    Natalia gasped. He
wouldn’t.

    She looked out of the door
to see that he was gone and so was the female.

    He would.

    Panicked, Natalia grabbed
her long coat to protect her from the morning chill of the palace
and put it on. She lifted the crate with the Friskin in off the
floor and placed it on her bed so it would be safe while she was
gone, and then ran to the door.

    By the time she had
reached the central courtyard, most of the assassins were lined up
and Rezic was pacing the length of them.

    Her heart stopped when her
father chose that moment to walk through.

    “ Inspecting the
troops?” he said in an amused tone. “That isn’t like you,
son.”

    “ No.” Rezic’s
voice was dark. “I am looking for someone who took something dear
to the family.”

    “ A
thief?”

    Natalia’s fingers closed
around the heart pendant. If they discovered what Ixion had done,
he would be punished, or worse. She prayed to Iskara that Ixion
wouldn’t come but knew that he would. He was commander of the royal
assassins. It was his duty to be here.

    She would have to stop
this madness before he arrived.

    Dashing between her
brother and father, and the gathered assassins, she flung her arms
out either side of her to block their way. They both frowned at
her. Her father looked confused.

    “ Please don’t
do this, brother,” she whispered, not above begging him if it would
protect Ixion. “Leave it alone… you’re worse than Aiden and
Ciel.”

    “ Confess then,
little sister.” There was a strange look in Rezic’s eyes. It was
hard to tell whether he was joking or not.

    At that moment, Ixion
walked in.

    Natalia looked at him, her
heart aching. Tears welled up.

    “ I only wanted
to be normal… free of the tight bonds that hold me prisoner, tied
to a destiny that I don’t want. Is it too much to ask?” She looked
at her brother and the tears in her eyes slipped down her cheeks.
His look softened and then changed completely to one of
remorse.

    “ I didn’t
realise… I thought it wasn’t serious or I would never
have—”

    “ Serious?!” She
cut him off and glared at him. The anger in her veins made her
blood boil and she couldn’t contain herself. She stepped towards
her brother. Her voice was a snarl. “What would you know of
serious? You spend your whole life gallivanting around the galaxy,
fleeing your duty as Lyra V. You have never had to dance at the
balls or meet the new commanders or bestow gifts upon the
populations of Lyra. You shirk your duty at every turn! And while I
hate mine… I do it… and I’ll do it even when it breaks my heart.”
Her eyebrows furrowed when she looked at her father, her anger
overwhelmed by the sadness and pain in her heart. She clutched the
heart pendant tightly. “I’ll marry someone I don’t love because I’m
a princess and a good marriage is expected of me.”

    Stepping back, she lowered
her gaze away from her father and brother’s stunned ones and turned
away.

    “ I guess we
can’t all be as fortunate as Renie.”

    With that, she ran away,
unable to hold back her tears any longer.

    ***

    Ixion stared in the
direction that Natalia had run, touched by her words but angry,
upset that her family had hurt her so much. Both her brother and
father looked shocked. Her words had hit their mark but Ixion
didn’t expect them to have much effect. Natalia was so different to
her family. She bore so much pain and stress for their sake when
none of them would do the same for her.

    “ She always did
speak her mind and tell the truth.” Rezic was the first to speak.
The sound of his voice made Ixion’s fingers curl into tight fists
of barely restrained anger. He wanted to