The coldness in the cavern seeped into Lyra's bones, making her limbs feel heavy and weak. Her wrists throbbed where the iron chains bit into her skin, and despite the physical pain, it was Marcus's words that stung the most.
He's using you.
The accusation echoed in her mind, twisting through her thoughts like a poison. Marcus had tried to convince her that Kael's intentions were dark, that every tender touch, every heated kiss was part of a calculated game to control her power. But Lyra couldn't—wouldn't—believe it. She couldn't let herself fall into Marcus's trap, no matter how convincing his words had sounded.
But the doubt lingered, gnawing at the edges of her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to summon Kael's face in her thoughts—the way his eyes softened when he looked at her, the way his voice had trembled with something unspoken when he promised to protect her. Those moments felt real, didn't they? They couldn't all be lies.
