Chapter 45

Lyra’s POV

I stood at the edge of the marble foyer, watching him stride away into the night, and suddenly I felt as if something inside me had snapped. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was—perhaps it was the sudden hush he left behind, or the urgent way he’d dashed out, as though summoned by some unseen crisis. All I could do was swallow hard and whisper a wish: please, come back safely.

Three hours after dusk now, and I’ve barely moved from this spot beside the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Outside, the city pulses with light and life, but here in my chest there’s only this relentless knot that tightens with every tick of the clock. Inside the house, several bodyguards are posted—tall men in dark suits with watchful eyes—stationed at each entrance and by every corridor, guarding against a threat I can’t even begin to imagine. Moments before he left, I’d overheard him speaking in calm yet firm tones to his chief protector, instructing him to keep me safe at all