Lyra's POV
The training field was exactly as I remembered—sprawling and suffocating. The place where I'd once been broken piece by piece. Now I was back, not by choice, but because Adrian's twisted authority demanded it.
I had no option but to comply. Adrian was watching, and there was no mistaking the madness in his eyes. He was worse than our father. Cunning, unpredictable, and far more dangerous. If I wanted to survive and eventually escape, I had to play his game.
I stood on the field, the others circling like wolves around prey, waiting for me to shift. My heart pounded, my wolf, Hope, pacing in my mind, hesitant but awake.
"We have to," I whispered to her. "Just this once."
