Chapter Seventy
* Poisoned Words*
Lyra had agreed to meet at the quiet, dimly-lit restaurant with a knot of dread in her stomach. It was a neutral place, chosen by Axel. She arrived first, choosing a table in the back corner.
When he walked in, leaning on his cane, his smile was all wrong. It was too wide, too friendly. He slid into the seat across from her.
“Lyra. So good of you to come. I know we haven’t had the… warmest start.”
“What do you want, Axel?” Lyra asked, her voice flat. She would not play his games.
“A chance to talk. To be understood,” he said, his voice dropping into a practiced, wounded tone. He swirled the water in his glass. “You know, after my mother died, that big house was so quiet. So empty. Just me and my father. Julian was always working. Then… Regina came.”
