Lyra's POV
I stepped out of the hall, still catching my breath. My legs felt like they didn’t belong to me, and my heart was thudding like I’d just finished a fight instead of whatever that was with Orion.
The air on the other side of the hall was different, but it was not much assistance.
Keto was nowhere to be seen.
Thank the gods.
I lacked the strength to lie, or to explain why I had the appearance of a naked man just crawling out of a battlefield. If he pressed too many questions, I did not know if I could pretend, particularly not with the guilt biting at my chest.
I took the long way, ducking behind a pillar and then slipping quietly into the corridor going upstairs.
But I reached the stairs and hesitated.
Kate.
She stood at the bottom of the stairs, arms folded as if she ha
