Whispers in the Labyrinth
The smell of ozone and stale coffee filled the Architect's command center. Lyra sat at a terminal, pretending to analyze data feeds, but her mind kept returning to the scene in Marcus's bunker. She remembered the tremor in her hand as she lowered the gun and her decision to wound instead of kill. The Architect thought mercy had no place in his war. Yet, she found it hard to completely remove it from herself. Not yet.
"Miss Thorne, may I have a moment?"
Lyra turned to see the Architect standing a few feet away, watching her with his unsettling, calm eyes. Beside him stood a woman with sharp features and hair pulled back tightly—a Dr. Aris, his chief analyst, as Lyra recalled from Thomas’s confession. Dr. Aris held a tablet, glancing at Lyra before returnin
