Lyra’s POV
My body shot upright, my heart pounding like a drumbeat in my chest. The sheets were twisted around me like the strands of moist clinging to my forehead.
I could still feel the darkness pressing in, the faint whisper of a voice I couldn’t seem to decipher but still I knew all too well.
Every night, the dreams grew sharper, more real.
I could feel the linen of reality tear with each thread snapping. And this time, waking up didn’t make things any better.
I rolled over, reaching instinctively for the other side of the bed. But it was empty. Just crumpled sheets where Rhyker should’ve been, the space already cool, letting me know that he’d been gone for hours.
The feeling was strange. I hadn’t realized how quickly I’d come to rely on the quiet comfort of him lying beside m
