Rhyker’s POV
The dim hotel room was engulfed in silence, broken only by the steady ticking of the clock on the wall and the occasional sounds of the city beyond our window.
Lyra was resting, her breathing soft and even as she slept, and for a brief moment, peace settled over me as I watched her. But it was a fragile peace, one that felt as though it could shatter with a single thought. And it did.
In the quiet hours of the night, the memories always returned. Colin—my brother, my sworn enemy, a dark shadow that lurked at the edges of my mind, tainting every moment of joy, every fleeting glimpse of the life I wanted to build with Lyra.
My stomach twisted with anger and disgust churning within me as I thought of him, of what he had done. The thought of him laying a hand on Lyra, or hur
