Lyra’s POV
The next morning arrived like a slow bruise, its pain spreading through my chest—faint at first, then steadily spreading.
I barely slept. When I did, it was dreamless, the kind of sleep that leaves you more tired than before.
Across the room, Saana’s bed was empty again. But her boots were by the frame this time, and her nightrobe folded neatly on her trunk. A gesture of her presence. Or something of the sort.
I didn’t know what it meant anymore.
Outside, the palace stirred to life. Chores. Gossip. Footsteps in corridors, too narrow for this much deception.
I kept my head low during breakfast. Suzanne didn’t speak to me, though she made sure I saw her smile. Her usual calculated one that never quite reached her eyes.
I thought again of the two crests. Identical. Undenia
