Lyra’s POVBy the second morning after the claws, my skin felt too tight. Every sound scraped, every scent pressed, every step pulled me closer to something I couldn’t control.And of course, she summoned me.Lady Seraphina lounged in her chamber like a queen without a crown. Her robe spilled across the couch, silk pale as bone. Freya stood at her side, tray in hand, eyes steady but careful.“Shadow,” Lady Seraphina cooed. “Come closer.”I obeyed. My feet carried me to the edge of the rug though my heart wanted to bolt.“You walk differently,” she said.“I didn’t notice,” I replied.“You never do.” Her lips curved. “Others do.”Her gaze flicked between me and Freya, lingering like a knife that couldn’t decide where to press.“I’ve been thinking,” she said, stretching like a cat. “One of you is useful. One of you is decoration. But which?”Her eyes found mine. “Which are you, little shadow?”I swallowed. “Whatever you require, my lady.”“A clever answer. Safe. Predictable.” She turned
Lyra’s POVThe night pressed down heavily. My body throbbed, restless beneath my skin. Every sound carved too deep, every scent crowded too close.I whispered to myself, “Hold it. Choose one sound.”The drip from the roof. Steady, slow. I clung to it.But the moment I closed my eyes, the drip broke into a roar. My veins burned. My nails dug into my palms until they cut.Something inside me wanted out.By dawn, my hands shook so badly I could barely fasten my dress. I pushed myself into the corridor anyway. The air smelled too sharp, too alive: meat cooking two floors away, wet stone on the walls, sweat on a guard who passed without looking at me. I turned and ran out into the lavender fields, going as far away from the palace as possible.My stomach clenched, not from hunger, but from need. I pressed a hand to my chest.“What’s happening to me?”“Lyra?”I turned. Freya. Her eyes swept me once, and she frowned walking towards me.“You look… worse.”“I feel worse.”She took my hand and
Lyra’s POVThe morning began with confidence I didn’t own. I carried the tray steady, the cups polished, the bread warm. My body hummed with a new rhythm, but I told myself I could hold it together.Kieran sat at the head of the table. Lady Seraphina beside him.Her laughter lilted like perfume, soft and practiced. His eyes lingered on her as she leaned in, speaking low, every gesture polished.I stood at the corner, invisible, clutching the tray. My throat dried.Look at me, I begged silently. See me.He didn’t.The sound hit me before the words. A thought—not mine—heavy and scornful.‘She doesn’t belong here. A shadow, nothing more. Too fragile. Too weak.’My chest seized. The voice wasn’t Seraphina’s. It was his. Alpha Kieran.The tray slipped. Metal clattered. Plates shattered against the marble, the sound too loud, too final.The room fell still.Seraphina’s lips curved. “How clumsy!” She sucked her teeth in heavy disappointment.Heat scalded my face. “Forgive me,” I whispered, k
Lyra’s POVBy morning, my body hummed with sounds that weren’t mine. I woke to footsteps echoing above me, though the floor should have muffled them. I tasted bitterness in the air from spilled ink. Every sense felt raw, stretched too thin. I wanted to hide it. But hiding felt impossible when even silence seemed too loud.No one was in the room when I woke up. I washed my face and headed out into the hallway. Freya caught me outside the corridor leading to Lady Seraphina’s chambers. Her face was calm, but her voice dropped to a whisper.“She’s testing you.”I blinked. “Who?”“Don’t play stupid.” She glanced toward the double doors. “Lady Seraphina.”“She’s always testing me.”“Not like this. She’s watching for cracks. She wants to see what breaks first—your body or your mind.”I bit the inside of my cheek. “Then I’ll give her neither.”Freya’s eyes searched mine. “Wherever you're getting the courage from, I think I like it. I only hope it doesn't endanger us both.”“What do you mean?
Kieran’s POVMornings should have been quiet. But for me, they never were. Elder Mordecai’s voice carried too much weight for dawn.“You gave her to Seraphina. A girl like that will not survive it.”“She has,” I said.“For now. But you see it, don’t you?” His eyes narrowed. “Sooner or later, she'll ruin you.” I closed my hands into fists.“Enough!”“Do you know what she is?”“She is under my command.”“Command,” he repeated softly. “Or protection?”The word cut deeper than I wanted to admit. I turned from him, ending the conversation. “Leave now!”But the elder’s warning clung to me. Not because he was wrong—but because he was right.***Lyra’s POVBy midmorning, the palace grounds were alive with the clang of steel. The training yard echoed with grunts and sharp laughter. I should have walked past. Instead, I stopped at the archway, half-hidden by stone, because he was there.Alpha Kieran.He sparred against two guards at once, his cloak tossed aside, his chest rising steady, never
Lyra’s POVI woke to the sound of my own breath. Too sharp. Too fast. It wasn’t fear this time—it was something else. My body felt different, tight beneath the skin, like a bowstring pulled and waiting to snap.When I opened the door to step into the corridor, the palace was quiet. Yet not silent. I could hear the faint thud of footsteps several rooms away, the creak of doors opening, even the low rumble of voices where I should have heard nothing.I stopped, pressing a hand against the wall. What is happening to me?Two servants walked past carrying linens. Their voices hissed beneath their breath.“That’s her,” one whispered, lips barely moving.“She looks sick,” the other muttered.They thought I couldn’t hear. But I did. Every syllable landed sharp in my ears. I clenched my jaw and kept walking, though my legs shook.In the hall, I caught the scent of smoke from the kitchens though they were floors away. The sweetness of wine lingered in the air though the casks hadn’t been opened