Lyra woke before dawn, already exhausted.
Not the clean exhaustion of battle or travel. This was the kind that lived behind the eyes, the kind that came from knowing every decision now carried a witness.
Ronan had done that.
He hadn’t chained Tyler.
He’d chained her.
She dressed quickly and went to the records room before the compound was thoroughly stirred. The ledgers were already waiting. New forms. New seals. A thin stack of permissions stamped with her name at the top.
Authorization Required: Lyra Vale.
She stared at the words longer than she should have.
This was the price of proximity.
The first request arrived with the morning bell.
Routine patrol extension. Low risk. Necessary.
Lyra signed it without hesitation.
The second came an hour later.
Supply reroute through th
