Lyra’s POV
The hand reached farther out of the darkness.
It looked exactly like mine.
Same fingers.
Same silver crescent-shaped scar beside the thumb.
Even the same tiny mark beneath the index finger.
For one terrible second, I couldn’t move.
Then the hand curled toward me.
“Come closer.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
The voice laughed softly.
“You’ve always been stubborn.”
My stomach dropped.
Always?
The crypt stretched before me like a buried kingdom.
Silver flames burned along the walls without producing heat. Ancient symbols covered the pillars, twisting into shapes I couldn’t understand. At the far end stood a massive stone throne.
And sitting on it was a woman.
She wore a veil of translucent silver.
Her hair fell around her like moonlight.
Her face was hidden.
But I
