Lyra's POV
Nortman let go of my hand, his grip loosening as I tore away from him. I ran as fast as I could, my heart pounding in my chest, desperate to find Ranio. The look on his face when he saw Nortman and me hugging... It haunted me. I needed to explain. I needed him to understand it wasn’t what it looked like.
But when I burst through the palace doors, he was nowhere to be found. My breathing was ragged as I scanned the hallways, my mind racing. I started asking the guards if they’d seen him.
“He just passed through,” one of them said, his brow furrowed. “He was with Asher, but we don’t know where they went.”
My heart sank. If Ranio was with Asher, there was no way I could get to him right now. Asher had been furious with me ever since... well, since I made decisions that didn’t
