Was he real this time?
She could not be sure.
Then she heard his voice.
“There. You’re all better now. When Lyra wakes up, you’ll be the first thing she sees.”
The moment he turned, shock filled her.
He looked at her as if he had caught her seeing something she was never meant to witness.
“Lyra…”
Her lips parted slightly at the sound of her name.
It was the same voice.
The voice from her dreams.
Even through the haze in her mind, she knew she had seen his face before. Maybe sleeping for too long had blurred her memories. Or maybe the nightmares had made her want to forget everything.
But this man— this man was worried about her.
She noticed him covering the flowers by the window just as he spoke her name again.
“Lyra…”
That voice pulled her back to her dream.
And suddenly, s
