Lyra's POV
I should’ve known the quiet wouldn’t last.
The moment I felt peace: actual, terrifying peace, the kind you only get when your brain is too fried to scream anymore,I should’ve braced for impact.
Because the thing about Adrian Blackwood?
He doesn’t just strike.
He waits until your back is turned, until your guard is down, until you’re sitting in silk pajamas convincing yourself maybe you can survive this, and maybe Leo isn’t a complete monster, and maybe you’re not a total i***t for wanting to believe any of it.
Then he tears the floor out from under you.
And smiles while you fall.
It started with a phone call.
Leo’s.
From the other side of the house, where I wasn’t supposed to be. His voice was low. Clipped. The kind of tone that made men piss themselves and women run.
