Lyra didn’t expect the quiet to feel this heavy.
It had been hours since Daniel left.
Hours since everything changed.
And still—
It didn’t settle.
Kael stood beside her, not too close, not pushing, just there. A steady presence against the storm she couldn’t seem to calm.
“You’re still thinking about him,” he said.
Lyra didn’t deny it. “I’m trying not to.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
She exhaled softly, her gaze fixed ahead. “I know.”
Silence followed.
But it didn’t last.
Footsteps approached quickly from behind, urgent, uneven.
“Lyra!”
She turned, her chest tightening as one of the pack members rushed toward her, slightly out of breath.
“What is it?” she asked.
“They’re preparing to leave,” he said.
Her brows furrowed. “They?”
A pause.
Then—
“Daniel… and the envoy fro
