The afternoon sun slowly drifted toward the horizon, casting a deep golden glow across the settlement sky. Inside the warm timber cabin in the Inner Sector, the joyful atmosphere from earlier had gradually given way to anxious tension.
Lyra sat on the edge of the wooden bed, her clouded, film-covered eyes fixed straight toward the cracked front door. Hours had passed since Doran left for the market with the gold coins given by Ryker. Yet, as the shadows of the trees outside stretched longer and longer, her son was nowhere to be seen.
"Lilia, do you see your brother out there yet?" Lyra asked, her voice tight with worry.
Lilia, who had been pacing back and forth across the doorway, shook her head. Her tiny membranous wings drooped weakly behind her back. "Not yet, Mommy. I don't see Dora
