Lyra’s POV
The shockwave hit harder than anything I’d ever felt. I was flung backwards, my body slamming into the ground as if the earth itself rejected me.
Pain sliced through my chest, my limbs burning with a thousand needles. My heart thudded in my ears, pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird.
I could barely catch my breath, the air around me felt thick and suffocating, the weight of the curse pressing down like a thousand tons of stone.
I couldn’t focus—my vision was a blur of dark shapes and swirling shadows. I could feel them closing in, suffocating me, drowning me in their malevolent presence.
The whispers were there again, faint at first, like the wind rustling through dead leaves. You are mine now, Lyra. There is no escape. It echoed through my mind, a hollow promise
