Se connecterLyra“Nick… Nick, open your eyes.”My voice trembled so badly I barely recognized it.My hands cupped his face, my thumbs brushing over his eyelids, trying to force them open like that alone could wake him. His skin was still warm, but there was no response beneath it.“Nick, please,” I whispered, shaking him gently at first, then harder when he didn’t react. “This isn’t funny. Stop it. Open your eyes.”His head tilted slightly with the movement, limp, unguarded.Panic clawed up my throat, choking me. I pressed my forehead against his, my breath uneven as tears spilled down onto his face. “You don’t get to do this,” I said, my voice breaking. “You don’t get to leave like this.”My chest tightened painfully as I pulled him closer, cradling him against me, my fingers digging into his shirt like if I held on hard enough, I could keep him here. “Wake up,” I begged, my voice raw. “Please… just say something. You can argue with me, you can annoy me, you can say something stupid, just… don’
LyraThe healer’s voice cut through the air behind me, loud and unrestrained. “You did it!” he shouted, rushing forward so fast his robe dragged against the ground. “You actually did it.”My hand was still locked around the dagger.I could feel it. The resistance of flesh. The warmth spreading against my fingers. The slight tremor still running through Damien’s body as the life in him began to break apart.Then it happened, his body gave out and he dropped.His knees hit the ground first, then the rest of him followed, his weight hitting the earth with a dull, heavy sound. Blood spilled from his mouth as he coughed, the sound rough and wet, like his lungs were tearing themselves apart from the inside.I stepped back without thinking, my chest rising and falling too fast, for a second, I just stared at him at what I had done and what he had become.Damien let out a strained laugh, the sound broken and uneven. Blood stained his lips, dripping down his chin as he looked up at me. “Wow…”
LyraMy fingers tightened around the dagger.The weight of it felt heavier than it should, like it carried every choice I had ever made… and every consequence waiting on the other side of this moment.My body trembled as I stepped forward.One step……then another.The ground beneath my boots felt uneven, like it might give way at any second, but I didn’t stop. Damien saw me coming and for the first time since I had known him, the arrogance on his face cracked.His lips parted slightly, his brows pulling together just enough to betray him, and something cold slid through my chest at the sight.My grip tightened.Do it.The healer’s voice cut through my head, sharp and unyielding.Go ahead, don’t hesitate to end it now.My heartbeat pounded in my ears, loud, uneven.If you stop now… everything we’ve done will mean nothing.The words echoed, over and over, pressing into me, pushing me forward.Drive it into his chest.My hand lifted slightly. The blade caught the light.Damien’s eyes fl
LyraWhat's Nick doing here? I hope nothing bad happens to him tonight...... he's not supposed to be here in his current state right now.“Good,” Damien's voice snapped me from my thoughts. “That makes this more fun.”The words barely settled before his expression shifted. He tightened his grip around my throat just enough to make my breath hitch, just enough to remind me I was still in his hand.Then his gaze slid past me….straight to Nick.A smile crept back onto his face, thinner this time, sharper.“Well,” he said, voice smooth as glass. “It’s good to have you all here.”My stomach twisted. “All of you,” he repeated, glancing briefly toward where Jay and the healer stood, unmoving, watching.Then his eyes returned to Nick.“And now…” His fingers flexed slightly against my throat, making my pulse spike. “…I can finish this. Right here and right now.”Nick didn’t react immediately. That scared me more than if he had shouted. He just stood there.“What are you doing?” Damien added,
Lyra“How dare you—!” The words tore out of me before I could stop them. I barely registered moving. One second I was standing in the clearing, staring at Damien with my heart clawing against my ribs, and the next I was lunging forward, straight toward him, straight into his space, straight into his trap.The healer’s grip snapped out too late. Something invisible hit me mid-step, hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. My feet left the ground. My body jerked upward like I’d been yanked by unseen chains.A strangled gasp escaped me as I hung there….suspended.“What the—?”My limbs jerked instinctively, trying to find balance, something to push against, anything. There was nothing. Just emptiness under my boots and a pressure wrapping around my body, tightening like a fist.Below me, Damien didn’t even flinch. He didn’t look surprised, instead he looked… entertained.A slow, amused laugh rolled out of him, low and rich, like he’d been waiting for this exact moment.“Oh,” he sai
LyraMy pulse pounded so hard it felt like it might burst through my chest.The forest had gone completely silent except for Damien’s voice echoing through the trees and the faint rustle of wind against the leaves.“I know you’re here!” Damien shouted again.His voice carried easily through the night, sharp and confident, like a hunter who already knew where his prey was hiding.I stood frozen behind the thick trunk of a tree, my breath shallow. My eyes stayed locked on the scene in front of us.Rixa lay crumpled on the stone steps.Blood soaked the sleeve of her shirt and dripped slowly onto the ground beneath her. One side of her face was swollen badly, her lip split open. Her chest moved weakly with shallow breaths.Jay’s body stiffened beside me. “Damn it…” he muttered under his breath.The healer stood on my other side, completely still, his hands folded behind his back like he was observing a lecture instead of a nightmare.Damien rolled his neck slowly, like he had all the pati
Lyra“Who’s that from?”Mirae’s voice snapped me out of my daze. I flinched. My fingers instinctively tried to lock my phone screen, but it was too late. She was already leaning over, eyes squinting like a detective sniffing out a secret.“No one,” I said quickly, voice too sharp, too defensive.Sh
Lyra“This is absurd!” I burst out, folding my arms across my chest like armor. “I’m not going to your house. That doesn’t have to be the only option.”Mirae turned to look at me like I’d grown two heads. Her brows shot up, mouth slightly agape, as if she couldn’t believe I had the audacity to spea
NickI didn’t answer the question she had asked earlier. My mind wasn’t even on the words ,it was on her.On the way she looked so pale against the bedding. On the way her lips trembled like she was fighting to stay strong. On the way her breathing came too shallow, too quick.I was worried.Worrie
Lyra“Get her!”His voice roared like thunder behind me.I didn’t look back.I just ran.My heart pounded against my ribs, thudding so loud I could barely hear my own breath. My legs ached, my lungs screamed for air, but I couldn’t stop. Not when I could almost taste the air of freedom.I had to g







