It can’t be much later than six a.m. Why is she in such a hurry?
Oh. Right.
Bread baking with Neeve.
Her bed is empty, so she must already be there. Reya’s bed is empty too. I could have sworn I heard her come back at some point during the night, but strangely, I never heard her leave again.
Must have slept right through it.
Running a hand down my face, I swing my legs over the side of the bed, groaning as the movement pulls at battered muscles, then shove myself upright.
I’m fucking wrecked, and the bed looks far too tempting to climb back into. But I only have nine weeks until the Blood Moon Ceremony and if this bond is going to take, if I’m going to find a way to take down Serrane, to make him pay for Ashvale, for Finn, for Rowan, I need to keep moving forward and keep some sense of control.
That way I don’t have to sit with the fear. I don’t have to sit with the guilt, the choices I can’t take back, and I can prove—to Ahria, to myself—that I’m stronger than she thinks I am. That I’m not just a backup plan, that I can be more. That I can be like my mum.
Leaving the Letter-threader and Talen’s note from last night beneath the bed, I grab some clothes and clean up as quickly as I can, before heading after Ahria.
“Hey, Lyra!” Neeve chirps as I step into the Food Tent. Smiling, she drops a large metal bowl onto the table with a loud clang. “Did you sleep better?”
Rolling out my shoulders, I try to hide the wince that follows. “Yeah, thanks.” I actually slept like a log, but I’m still paying for yesterday’s sessions with Dave. “You?”
A blush floods her cheeks. “Uh, not much sleeping, but yeah. It was a good night.”
My brows pinch, but then I remember she spent the night in Darren’s tent, and my confusion turns into a smile.
“Anyway.” She smiles back, far too pleased with herself. “Let me show you what to do, and then we can talk about more important things.” She leans across, passing me the bowl. “Like dragon dreams.”
Nodding, I take it and for the next hour, we knead dough and talk until I’m not sure what’s more tired—my arms or my mouth. Between all my questions about the camp, what she knows about Serrane, the Census, Blood Moon—and filling her in on the dreams I had about Ahria while giving her a few tips on unknotting her Threads—we completely lose track of time. Which means Reya is already waiting when I finally step outside with Ahria.
“You’re late.” She snaps. Her stunning grey eyes slice right through me.
“Sorry.” I mutter through clenched teeth, dusting flour from my top. The old me would have told her to go fuck herself, but I'm not Ashvale Lyra anymore, and I've learnt that I'm not going to survive what's coming if I try to face it alone.
“Well, are you ready now?”
Ready to visit my overweight, sausage-loving red buddy with rage issues? No fucking way. But I smile and nod.
“Any updates from the Citadel?" I ask as we leave the camp.
Reya murmurs something under her breath that I don’t catch, so I repeat the question in case she didn’t hear me.
“I said no.” This time, her answer comes out flat and loud, killing the conversation before it can even start.
After that, we spend the rest of the walk to Dave in silence, with nothing but my rising heartbeat to fill it. Each step closer makes it worse, until by the time we reach him, I’m so fucking scared of what’s coming that I don’t even last ten seconds before everything goes black.
Reya is gone when I finally come around, so I hurry back to camp to grab some food before Lucien shows up.
I hope flying will be better, but JC doesn’t even get me off the ground before panic takes over and my lunch makes an unwelcome reappearance.
Still, I get back on and try again. Then again. And again. Until Lucien either has somewhere else to be or has simply had enough of watching me throw up.
After dinner, with every muscle spent, I stagger over to the Healer’s Tent to check on Ezzy, then drag myself back to Neeve’s wonky one and fall onto my bed.
My hand instantly reaches beneath it for the Letter-threader. When I open it, the central stem ignites, and a new note rises from the flame before drifting down into the petals below. I read it, smile, then place it with the others, and fall asleep before the sun has even set.
I hope you’ve had the chance to meet Magda by now. While Merrin was more of a mentor to me growing up, Magda was always the one who felt like family.
Living with the Veirmonts wasn’t easy, but Merrin managed to convince them to let me train with him over the summer months.
