All Chapters of The Howl of Blood and Fire : Chapter 11 - Chapter 17

Lyra POVI woke up before I opened my eyes.That was the first thing I noticed.Usually, I woke up suddenly—heart beating fast, body tight, like something was about to happen. Like I had to be ready to run even before I knew why.But this time…I was just awake.Lying still.Breathing slowly.It felt strange.I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds longer, listening.Nothing.No footsteps outside the door.No voices.No metal sounds.No shouting.Just quiet.Real quiet.My eyes opened slowly.The ceiling came into view.Same as before.Plain.Still.Not moving.I turned my head slightly.The room was exactly how I saw it before I slept.Nothing had changed.No one had entered.No one had touched anything.I sat up slowly.The blanket slid off my shoulder, and I paused for a second, looking down at it.I wasn’t used to this.Sleeping without holding my bag.

Lyra POVI started noticing her habits.Not because I was trying to spy.Just… because I didn’t know what else to do.She didn’t stay in one place for too long.In the morning, she moved around the house quietly, doing small things—arranging, cleaning, checking things I didn’t understand. Then she would leave.Not for a short time.For hours.The first time she left after I came, I sat by the door.I didn’t touch it.I just sat there.Listening.Waiting.Like if I stayed close enough, I would hear her coming back sooner.I didn’t.Time moved slowly in that house.Too slowly.So I started walking around.Carefully.Like I didn’t want to break anything.Or make her regret bringing me.I didn’t go back into that room with the books.Even though I thought about it.A lot.Instead, I stayed in the main space.Sometimes I sat on the chair.Sometimes on the floor.Sometimes I just st

Lyra POVI didn’t stop running.My legs just kept moving even when I didn’t tell them to.The house blurred behind me.The sound stayed in my head.That one sharp moment.Then nothing after it.I reached the wall near the hallway corner and collapsed there.My hands were shaking too much to hold still.“No…” I whispered.It didn’t feel real.Not yet.Not fully.I pressed my fists into my eyes like I could push the memory out.But it stayed.Him.That small smile.Then gone.My throat tightened.“I told him not to go,” I said quietly.My voice didn’t sound like mine.I stayed there, curled against the wall, not knowing how long passed.Then—Footsteps.I froze.Evelyn.She stopped when she saw me.“What happened?” she asked.I tried to speak.Nothing came out.“They came,” I finally said.Her eyes sharpened.“Where is Kieran?”That name broke something i

Lyra POVI learned something about this place.Silence was different here.At home, silence meant peace.It meant my mother was probably in the kitchen humming while she cooked.It meant my father was somewhere nearby reading or fixing something while pretending he wasn't listening to me.This silence was different.It felt like everyone was waiting for something.Even the walls felt like they knew something I didn't.I sat on the small bed Evelyn had brought for me, staring at the food tray from earlier.I had finished most of it.I was proud of myself for that.Mom always said I was stubborn when it came to eating vegetables, but she would have been happy seeing me eat now.I wished she was here.I wished she could tell me what to do.Everything was confusing.Everywhere I went, people knew things I didn't.They had answers.They had plans.And I was always the person standing in the middle, trying to understand.A knock came.I froze.For a second, I thought about the dungeon again