MasukLyra’s POVFor a moment, I stood there staring at Princess Elara. Her last question remained hanging between us, heavier than I expected a single sentence could be.“What did you see?”I looked at her. Then I looked toward the door where Adrian had disappeared, half hoping he might reappear and explain everything so I wouldn’t have to decide what to say on my own. There were so many questions in my mind, but somehow I didn’t have the strength to ask any of them. Maybe whatever I had walked in on was something she wasn’t ready to explain. And perhaps I wasn’t ready to hear it either.I took a small breath. “Nothing.”Elara blinked. “Nothing?”I nodded. “It’s fine.” I forced a small smile. “I’ll leave it to settle down. I’ll come back later.”I turned toward the door. Before I could take another step, Elara called my name.“Lyra.”I stopped. She walked closer.“Promise me you won’t tell anyone what you saw.”I looked back at her. Her expression was serious now. There was no trace of the
Lyra’s POVPrince Luca and I were still dancing. The music continued softly around us, and for a few seconds, I tried to forget everything else happening around me. I could feel his hand resting around my waist while mine remained on his shoulder. His movements were calm and controlled, and strangely enough, I had stopped feeling nervous.I didn’t understand what was happening between us anymore. One moment, Luca was the cold and terrifying prince who could make everyone tremble with just one look. The next, he was standing here with me as though there was nowhere else he wanted to be.I looked up at him. His eyes were fixed on me. I quickly looked away.Maybe I was thinking too much. Maybe this dance meant nothing to him. After all, I was still his personal slave.That thought alone was enough to bring me back to reality.Before I could say anything, a familiar voice came from behind us.“Oh.”I immediately knew who it was. “Wendy”.I turned slightly and saw her walking toward us. S
Lyra’s POV“Rowan, stop, please.”My voice came out quieter than I intended, but I knew he heard me.I glanced around us and immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere. The music was still playing, people were still laughing, and servants were still moving around with trays of drinks, but several guests had already begun turning their heads toward us.Whispers were starting. Eyes were beginning to watch.I didn’t want another scene. Not tonight. Not after everything that had happened recently.“People are slowly drawing attention to us,” I whispered, giving Rowan a pleading look. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”Rowan looked at me for a moment. He seemed to understand what I was trying to say.But before he could respond, Prince Luca stepped forward. His expression had hardened.“I gave you permission to be around Lyra,” he said, his voice low enough that only those closest to us could hear. “But it seems you’ve started crossing boundaries.”Rowan’s smile disappeared. “I’m not tr
Lyra’s POVI couldn’t help smiling after Princess Elara’s teasing. “My fated mate?” I laughed softly, shaking my head, though the sound came out a touch too quick, a touch too eager to end the conversation. “I don’t think the Moon Goddess has someone like that waiting for me.”Elara folded her arms, clearly unconvinced, studying me with the patient scrutiny of someone who had caught far too many people in far too many lies to be fooled by mine. “You’re avoiding the question.”“I’m serious. I’ve never felt a mate bond. Maybe the Moon Goddess simply forgot about me.”For a brief moment, silence settled between us before Princess Elara chuckled. “No. I don’t believe that.” She leaned closer, a mischievous smile spreading across her face, the kind that always preceded one of her more pointed observations. “I think you like my brother.”I nearly choked. “What?”“You heard me.” Her eyes glimmered with the particular delight of someone who had been sitting on an observation for weeks, waitin
Lyra’s POVThe soft evening light filtered through the tall windows of the guest chamber as Princess Elara carefully adjusted the final ribbon at the back of my gown, her fingers moving with the practiced patience of someone who had done this a hundred times before. The elegant golden fabric shimmered every time it caught the light, making me feel, absurdly, as though I were wearing a piece of the sunset itself, wrapped carefully around my shoulders, warm and impossibly out of place against skin that had known far more calluses than silk.“There,” Elara said, stepping back to admire her work with a satisfied smile. “Perfect.”I lowered my eyes to the gown, still not entirely able to believe what I was seeing. Never in my life had I imagined wearing something so beautiful, let alone standing inside it myself. The delicate embroidery glistened like scattered stars whenever I moved, and the necklace, bracelet, and earrings completed the look so thoroughly that I barely recognized the gi
Lyra’s POV For several long seconds, I remained rooted to the spot, unable to move. My trembling fingers rose slowly before my face, and I stared at them in disbelief, as though they belonged to someone else entirely, as though the hands trembling in the hospital light couldn’t possibly be my own. The warmth that had surged through my body only moments ago was gone now, vanished as completely as the strange wind that had torn through the room and disappeared without leaving so much as a stirred curtain behind. The invisible force that had burst from me as if it possessed a will entirely separate from my own had left no trace at all. It was as though nothing had happened. And yet something had. I lifted my head slowly and let my gaze drift toward the mirror hanging on the far wall of the hospital room. A pale young woman stared back at me, her hair slightly disheveled, her cheeks flushed with the last traces of fear, loose strands framing a face that looked more fragile to me now







