Harper
By the time the dust settled, there was nothing left of them. No engine, no light, just the dead cars and the wind moving through them and the cold creeping back in now that the fighting was done.
My feet had already taken half a step toward the trees.
Vane's hand landed on my shoulder. Not pulling. Just there.
"I know," I said, before he could. Flat and furious. "I know. That's the whole point. He wants me chasing. Come alone, come find me. He gift-wrapped it."
I let the half-step die.
Behind us, Lyra's legs gave out. She folded down into the broken glass beside the car and let out a breath that sounded like it had been stuck in her chest since the stairwell.
"He's gone," she said, to the sky. Then she looked up, raw and hopeful. "Does that mean it's over? For me?"
I crouch
