Lyra sat on the edge of the bed, her bare feet brushing the plush rug, the oversized sweater Xander had thrown over her shoulders hanging off one shoulder. The fabric smelled faintly like him—cedarwood and rain—and though she would never admit it out loud, the scent grounded her.
Her fingers dug into the blanket beside her, chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. The pain had dulled, but it hadn’t vanished. Every movement reminded her she wasn’t the same.
Not just emotionally—but physically. Her body ached in strange places, places she’d never felt soreness before. And there was something… deeper. A pressure beneath her skin. A strength that didn't belong.
She remembered the moment she shifted—how her bones had cracked, her heart had screamed, and the world blurred into red and sil
