The night was unnervingly quiet, the kind of silence that settled over everything like a suffocating blanket. Lyra sat against the rough bark of a tree, staring blankly at the stars above, her mind a tangled web of fear, doubt, and exhaustion. She could still feel Marcus's cold presence nearby, watching her like a predator waiting to pounce.
His words echoed in her mind, cruel and sharp, gnawing at her defenses. You're nothing to him. Just a tool.
Lyra clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. She wanted to believe that Kael cared about her—that he had fought for her because of something real between them. But Marcus's voice, slick with malice, kept pulling her back into doubt.
Why had Kael changed so suddenly? Why had he gone from tormenting her to protecting her, from treating her like a prisoner to something more? Was it all part of a plan she couldn't see?
Had she been naive to trust him?
