(Lyra’s POV)
I woke up with my heart already racing.
I turned my head toward the window. Morning light spilled in, thin and pale, washing the room in gray. I blinked against it, groggy, heavy, but something inside me was restless—like my body already knew what today was before my mind caught up.
I rolled to the side and squinted at the clock on my nightstand.
8:12 a.m.
My stomach dropped.
For a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe.
I sat up so fast the blanket slid off me to the floor. My hand pressed against my chest, trying to slow the pounding there, but it only got worse.
8:12.
Forty-eight minutes until nine.
The number pulsed in my head again, louder than the dream, louder than my own thoughts.
Tomorrow. Nine a.m.
Cassian’s voice was right there, as clear as if he were standing i
