Lyra's gaze didn't waver as she answered Petne's question, her voice filled with a calm determination. "Because I don't trust them," she said, nodding toward the shadows where Seren and Elion's groups had already disappeared. "They're here for glory, fame, and whatever treasures the Labyrinth holds. But me?" She paused, her eyes flashing with a strange light.
"I have something to find. And not something to prove."
Petne felt a tingle of curiosity ripple down his spine. There was something in her tone—an urgency, a desperation she was trying to hide behind that composed exterior. She wasn't telling him the full story, but whatever secret she was guarding, it intrigued him.
"Interesting," Zara said, folding her arms and looking Lyra up and down. "But we don't need dead weight. We have enough to worry about without babysitting someone who's out of their depth and shrouded in mysteries."
