All Chapters of The Hollow Moon Awakens: Chapter 21 - Chapter 24

Lyra's POVOn the last morning, I ride into the capital on the Alpha Prince's own horse.The trap we outsmarted never comes, and somehow, that frightens me more than the trap ever could.At dawn, Cassian announces the change of route in a bored voice."We're using the north gate. The rear wagon's axle can't be trusted. Miss Thorne will ride with me. I need to keep an eye on my father's property."He says it like the decision means nothing.But I see Bray's face, and just for a second, something changes in his expression.A tiny flicker, and then it is gone.He looks like a man rebuilding a plan inside his head. So I spend the entire morning waiting for the counterattack.I ride in front of Cassian, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist like an iron bar. His heartbeat is steady against my back.But through the bond, I know the truth.He isn't calm, not even close. He is tense and ready to strike.Together, we watch everything, and nothing happens.The north gate swallows us into a ri

Lyra's POVForty girls live on the servants’ floor of the east wing, but thirty-one of them are like empty shells. Their bodies are there, but they are no longer truly themselves.“I know the exact number because I am the only person in this palace who can tell when something inside someone is missing.”To everyone else, the girls in gray uniforms are perfect servants. They are quiet, never complain, never miss home, and never laugh or have fun. They can even work at midnight without needing a candle.The stewards like them because they never cause trouble.The other servants, like the maids, know something is strange about them. But they have learned not to talk about it. Instead, they avoid those girls and use a different staircase.But I'm the Heart. I learned what that means the night I fed a starving wraith from my own chest.I can sense the bonds between people as easily as other people can sense changes in the weather. When I walk through the east wing, I can sense that somethi