Daughters of Lyra: Heart of an Assassin by Felicity Heaton

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.

    It didn’t surprise him
when she removed her small blue jacket and placed it into the
crate, moulding it into a warm nest for the bird.

    It was just like Natalia
to be so thoughtful and kind. She had been protecting the baby bird
since the bomb blast, keeping it close to her heart. He had heard
her whispering soothing words to the animal, as though it
understood her. He smiled and looked down at the bundle of fluffy
feathers in his hand. It was calm, curiously watching Natalia work
to make it a comfortable bed.

    When she was done, Ixion
handed the Friskin back to her and she carefully set it down in the
makeshift nest. It investigated the new environment for a few
seconds, pecking at the jacket and the tall solid sides, and then
settled down.

    “ Thank you,”
Natalia said as she stroked the bird.

    “ There is no
need to thank me. I was only carrying out orders.” He sat down on
the other side of the crate.

    Natalia pulled her feet up
onto the stage and hugged her knees. Her gown had short sleeves and
the club was closed so there was no heating. It had taken them
several long minutes to find out how to turn some of the spotlights
on. The owner had given them the pass code for the back door and
told them to lock up after them. Ixion could understand why he had
wanted to get away. The battles outside showed no sign of dying
out. The weapons fire and shouting were only growing louder and
more violent.

    Ixion slipped down from
the stage and came to stand in front of Natalia. He removed his
jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

    The tight black vest he
wore beneath his jacket wasn’t enough to keep him warm, but the
princess needed heat more than he did. If he allowed her to become
cold and catch an illness, it would be a black mark against him and
would be a violation of his duty.

    And his
feelings.

    Natalia touched the lapels
of his jacket where they met in front of her chest and then looked
at him. Her gaze dropped to his body and she frowned at
something.

    “ What are
those?” She reached out to touch the two black leather and metal
cuffs that covered his forearms and he stepped back so she
couldn’t.

    He didn’t want her
anywhere near such things.

    He looked at them, turning
his arms so the underside of his forearms were upwards, and the
mechanics of the devices were visible. The short retractable blade
in each gleamed brightly under the spotlight, as though they had
never been used.

    They had caused so many
deaths.

    Natalia looked curious,
her eyes fixed on the devices.

    “ Do they come
out?” she said and a little line appeared between her eyebrows as
she peered at them, craning her neck so she could see better. “Show
me.”

    He thought about not
showing her and then acceded. Her words could be considered an
order. He had to obey.

    Without looking at her, he
tilted his hands back to trigger the devices. The two blades shot
out, extending past his fists, locking in place. Natalia’s eyes
were as large as twin full moons.

    She didn’t look horrified
though.

    She looked fascinated,
just as she had done the first time she had seen him.

    He pushed the tips of the
blades up with his fingers and they shot back into the
cuffs.

    “ Where do you
come from?” Natalia said with a glance to his wrists and then the
blades strapped to his thighs. “I have never seen such weapons or
the methods you were teaching Aiden and Ciel with
swords.”

    Ixion’s heart gave a hard
beat. She had been watching him teach her brothers? He hadn’t
taught them anything when she had been present. She must have been
watching them from the gallery around the courtyard on the first
floor of