Chapter 78

My heart felt like it was hammering against my ribs, a relentless drum of fear I couldn’t silence. Every shadow in this room looked like it was waiting to swallow me whole. Lyra’s presence was suffocating. Her smile wasn’t a smile, it was a blade, sharp and cold, slicing the air between us. My hands trembled, fingers clutching the edge of the table as if it were a lifeline. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think beyond the terrifying thought that she might actually kill me.

She raised her phone with such casual precision, tapping her screen, her eyes glinting with that familiar dangerous spark. I froze when I realized she was calling someone. The idea that she could be summoning anyone to this room made my chest tighten. But then I saw the name flash

Lucian?

He… he would come, right? He had to. I wanted to believe that no matter what, he would come for me. But doubt slithered in, whispering that maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he would hesitate. Maybe he wouldn’t even know I nee