Valtira.
If there had been a hole in the ground large enough for Lyssandra to crawl into and vanish, she would have done so long ago.
The way she avoided me made that painfully clear.
She never stood near me anymore. Never allowed even the smallest distance to shrink between us.
Whenever I entered a room, she shifted away like a shadow retreating from flame. When she sat, she chose the farthest seat possible. When she walked through the corridors of the priestess’ quarters, she made sure to keep several careful steps between us—as though she believed that if she came any closer, I would lunge forward and sink my claws straight into her flesh.
And truthfully?
The goddess herself knew my heart well enough to understand that the thought had crossed my mind more than once.
Lyssandra wo
