Lyra POV
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Alice's house. Every step I’d taken here was fueled by confusion and disbelief. Alice, James’s sister, had called me out of nowhere with a message that “urgency” didn’t even begin to describe.
The door swung open almost immediately, and Alice stood there, looking like a cat who’d just caught the canary.
“Come in, Lyra,” she said, motioning me inside with that ever-present smirk.
I followed her, my stomach churning as we stepped into the dimly lit living room. I took a seat on the couch, nerves stretching thin. The room felt cold and ominous, as though every piece of furniture had been placed deliberately to unsettle me.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Alice began, her voice smooth as silk. “I thought it was best you
