Lyra POV
My magic shield works—and then it doesn’t.
I know what the problem is. It’s obvious. I can’t focus. I could hardly manage to keep my focus when it was just me and Milo in the woods, when we were just practicing and the threat to my life was completely hypothetical. Now that it’s real, now that I’m looking my enemies in the eyes, it’s much harder.
I feel my shield dissipate. It feels like tissue paper blowing away in the wind. Without it, I feel naked, and it feels like everyone can see that, even though I know the shield was never visible.
The wolf who’s stalking me draws closer and closer, leering at me.
I glance over at Milo. He’s holding his own.
But Cassian is in trouble. He’s fighting off two of them, and even though he’s doing better than I would have done in that sit
