Lyra’s POV
In the afternoon
I was standing in the hallway thinking of how I will go see my parents. I know they must be looking for me.
“Lyra!” Zane’s voice rang out. “You planning to starve to death and haunt the hallway?”
I can say from the time Zane arrived, he is freindly. His words brighten my day.
I forced a smile and stepped in.
Lillian’s face lit up. “Mommy, sit by me!”
Lucian didn’t look at me, didn’t acknowledge my existence beyond the tension that immediately settled over the room like a cold fog.
Zane patted the chair beside him. “Right here, bride of doom.”
I sat quietly, hands in my lap. The scent of roasted vegetables and buttered rice turned my empty stomach, but I couldn’t eat.
“Something wrong?” Zane asked after a few minutes. He’d stopped mid-bite, his sharp ey
