Lyra's POV
The night air was cool against my skin as I slipped out of Leo’s estate, the chill biting through the thin fabric of my dress. But the fire inside me? That refused to cool. It burned hot and furious, a raging inferno that no amount of distance could extinguish.
Promised to him.
The words echoed in my mind, sharp as a blade, carving into me like a brand I’d never escape. My father had done this. He had handed me over like a transaction, sealing my fate without hesitation, without concern for what I wanted. I was a pawn, a piece to be moved across a board in a game I had never agreed to play.
No matter where I turned, no matter how much I fought, the walls of my cage only seemed to close in tighter. There was no way out. No escape.
And yet, even as I put distance between mys
