Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Assassin Read Online Free PDF

eldest
brother could access the system, he was bound to be on her father’s
side. Mentioning it to him would only bring it to her father’s
attention again.

    It was better to sit and
wait just as her mother had suggested.

    “ Don’t stay out
too long. It will be cold tonight.” Her mother squeezed her
shoulders one last time and then left.

    Natalia looked up at the
darkening sky. Today had been such a good day too. For the first
time in a long time, she had enjoyed doing her duty and had been
happy without resorting to singing. Why had her father had to spoil
it by talking to her of suitors?

    She should have told him
who she had thought of when he had asked her if she had a male. Her
father would have had Snrikiks if she had announced that the male
she wanted wasn’t of royal blood or high status.

    It was an
assassin.

    Ixion.

    He had been on her mind
all day. Every meeting that she had attended had been made a little
easier because she had been thinking of him. She had relived their
walk back to the palace from the city hall, telling her guards that
she wanted a little air. She had retraced their steps and
remembered the way that he had looked at her. It still made her
heart race.

    But there was no hope for
a princess and a royal assassin.

    Her father would have
laughed at her once the initial shock had passed. He would have
thought that she was joking.

    Renie was going to marry a
prince and her father would expect no less from her.

    With another long sigh,
Natalia started singing softly, hoping to lift the pain from her
heart.

    Only tonight, singing
didn’t make her happy.

    For some reason it made
her feel sad.

    ****

    Chapter
4

    Natalia’s heart missed a
beat and her pulse quickened when Ixion and two other men in
similar black uniform stepped out of her father’s day chambers. One
of her mother’s attendants had told her that they would find her
there. Whenever her father was away, her mother took care of
household business. Did she have business with the royal assassins?
Ixion was their commander. Natalia didn’t know the other two but
they looked the same age as Ixion, if not a little
younger.

    She quickly smoothed her
sky blue empire-line dress down and slowed to a more measured and
demure pace. It had taken her three hours to dress this morning,
two and a half hours longer than usual, and the reason she had
taken such care was now talking to his men right in front of her.
If he had noticed her, it didn’t show on his face as he stood with
his profile to her, discussing something that she couldn’t
hear.

    Her steps didn’t falter as
she walked towards him, her hands clasped in front of her. Her two
attendants walked a step behind her, silent support that she badly
needed. They were the closest she had to friends, two women that
she had known since turning ten. They shared everything with each
other and they were always there to support her when she needed
them most. Today was one of those days. It wasn’t just because she
had resolved to find Ixion and see him again, but because she had
decided that she was going to go out. She was going to go to the
festival and her mother wasn’t going to stop her this
time.

    Ixion was only steps away
from her now. Natalia willed him to look at her, to see her. She
knew that he wouldn’t but she wanted him to. She had made so much
effort with her appearance today and it was all for him.

    Just as she passed, she
heard the shift of his boots on the stone flags and felt his gaze
on her. Her mouth turned dry and she resisted the temptation to
look at him. Playing hard to get was something that her attendants
had always told her about whenever they had talked of males but it
was more difficult than she had imagined. Her strength failed as
the guards standing either side of the double door reached over and
opened it. Her gaze slid to the side and a thrill bolted through
her when she found Ixion’s clear purple eyes fixed on her
face.

    “ Natalia.”