Chapter 19
Lyra stood in the middle of the destroyed council corridor, staring at the soldiers scattered across the floor.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
The strange darkness that had surrounded her was slowly disappearing, but she could still feel it.
It was inside her.
Waiting.
Listening.
Almost as if it had a mind of its own.
Lucien stepped closer.
“Lyra.”
She didn’t answer.
Her eyes were fixed on the doorway.
More soldiers were coming.
She could hear their footsteps getting louder.
Dozens of them.
Maybe hundreds.
“We need to move,” Lucien said.
Lyra shook her head.
“No.”
Lucien frowned.
“What do you mean, no?”
“My grandmother.”
He immediately understood.
“Lyra—”
“They took her.”
She turned toward him.
“I left her there.”
“You didn’t leave her. They took her
