Lyra's Pov My stomach grumbled loudly, the hungry sounds echoing hurting everyone of my intestines. And only then did I perceive the scent of the delicious meal my mother had prepared for Devlin. I had thought it was just fruits, but I was wrong. A flask was beneath the basket, and she carefully covered it up with fruits. It's delicious scent taunting me mercilessly. Tears welled up in my eyes as the reality of my hunger set in. I had been working tirelessly, completing my chores without complaint, yet there was nothing for me to eat. I mustered up the courage to approach my mother, my voice filled with desperation. "Mother, I've been working all day, and now there's nothing for me to eat. Please, I'm starving." She turned to me, her expression filled with disdain. "Starving? You dare complain after all the trouble you've caused? You should be grateful for the scraps that fall from the table of Devlin." "But Mother, I-" "Silence!" she bellowed, her voice cutting through th
Lyra's POV My heart was racing extremely fast, I could hardly think of anything at the moment other than the fear that Devlin might have shot me dead. But if I was actually dead, then how come I had my consciousness and how was I still breathing? I still could not move from where I was standing, however, I could only open my eyes and see for myself what was happening around me, if really Devlin's arrow was stuck in my stomach. My eyes opened and luckily for me, I was still alive and well, however, the wind was cold, especially against my arm that seemed to have been doused with liquid. The liquid was warm against my skin and I could feel goosebumps around the area where the liquid touched. My senses were running wild because I didn't have to think deeply into it to be certain that in fact, I had been injured there. Luckily for me, the arrow did not pierce my arm, but rather it gave it an unsightly graze. The skin was torn open and the flesh around it was hanging like it was mere p
Lyra's POV Somehow, Devlin succeeded in convincing Asher about the game that she thought would be especially fun. They didn't even bother to take us back into the mansion to continue this charade indoors but rather, we were told to kneel on the earth in the woods and apples from God knows where were placed on our heads.. It all happened so fast, minutes ago we were busy assisting those who were hunting and also, specifically, I was getting shot at but immediately we found ourselves on our knees as targets for Devlin to practice her aim. Just like me, there were four other servants who were on their knees and an apple on each of their heads. Devlin was standing in front of us and a few other people had gathered to watch the show. Asher was there and so was Steven and others that I was yet to get acquainted with. Devlin was busy conversing with Asher and Steven about something while the rest of us maintained our positions as target practice for the princess. "This is so inhumane,"
Lyra's POV I felt my heart take a dunk. I have read in books about the feeling of someone's heart falling. I have always felt that it was probably overrated and it wasn't how the artists made it out to be. However, standing there after hearing the words that came out of Asher's mouth without him reiterating it, I wanted to die. My heart felt so heavy, like a boulder I couldn't lift and so gravity brought it down to the earth. This time, my heart was the boulder that was too heavy for me to carry. From behind him, Devlin chuckled bitterly and swung an arm over Asher, "I cant believe there exists people who actually look like this. Is this why you're always wearing a mask?" I remained shut, my lips quivered and I felt tears fall from my eyes as I stared at the two of them. Asher wasn't saying anything but was only looking at me like I was such a phenomenal entity worth the proper scrutiny. He was looking at me like I was an alien and Devlin still wouldn't shut up even after she
Lyra's POV I couldn't stay asleep for obvious reasons and when I began to come to, the sound of fire cackling and the heat was what I could feel first and then there was the unusual hardness of the surface where I was laying on. It wasn't hard for me to put all of that together, we were still in the woods and I was lying on the ground. My hands were tied by a rope and I was considered powerless as my hands were restricted. I successfully opened my eyes and just like I had thought and felt, there was a fire in the middle of the gathering. There were at most four tents set up in the area and the rogues were busy going about their own thing while the ones I was laying in their presence were having dinner. Some sort of animal was tied and hung over the fire to be cooked and become edible. They were all talking, getting in one conversation or the other so that nobody noticed that I was awake. I cleared my throat to announce that I was finally up, however that sound was overpowered by t
Asher's Pov "Is this how you look?" I witnessed first hand how the expression that was on her face morphed into something else. She looked quite sad about what was going on. However, I couldn't stop looking at her face, there was something so different about it, it was weird and different and I've never seen pimples that looked that way, ever. Devlin was behind me, hand over my shoulder as she rested her chin on my shoulder. She looked at Lyra with the same curiosity but Devlin could not keep her thoughts to herself. She kept talking about how weird Lyra's face was but I couldn't blame her for talking so much because to me it was still very weird. I didn't know how it started but Steven and Devlin started arguing about something. But I was lost in Lyra's face, I was lost wondering if she had ever used anything to get rid of what was on her face. I equally wondered why such a thing would appear on her face, asking myself what she did wrong. I knew I was being very unreasonable by
Ch 15 Lyra's POV There was a vivid feeling in my limbs that I couldn't fathom. My eyes were heavy and my head was out of place. I could hear the conversation of people around me and I knew that I wasn't alone and from the pain in my joints, I could guess that I wasn't safe either. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was a group of people and from.my peripheral vision, it seemed that somehow I had become bigger than them. However, the truth was that I was tied to a tree. It was there that the weird feeling originated from. My hands were tied apart from each other around the trew and so were my legs. The group of men looked hostile and they stared at me with great killing intent. I was petrified, my heart was beating violently against my chest and I was in pain. The weird feeling was pain. I recognized them as rogues and I knew that they had an enmity towards me because that could explain the reason why I was tied up. "Please, let me go!" I cried. I didn't even realize t
Lyra's POV The smell of the person that walked in was the same one that was on the air of the room. Alpha Asher. He had come for some reason which could probably be to go to bed as it was his room and where he usually slept. However, he was quiet and made little to no movements like he was standing on a particular spot contemplating what to do next. Meanwhile I was wondering what he could probably be thinking about as he stood at a particular spot. My back was to him so I couldn't see his face but I could only hear and I heard nothing. Well, until he moved his feet and approached the bed where I was lying on under the sheets. I felt the bed sink beside me and I knew he just sat down. The mask was still on my face and I was pretty sure he had no clue that it wasn't Devlin the woman he loved but it was someone else. "Are you asleep, Devlin ?" He asked. His voice was soft like the fur on an animal, his voice sounded rich and melodious to my ears like he was singing a tone. I ha