Lyra's POV:
"No one moves."
Kael's voice cut through the silence like a blade.
It wasn't loud, it didn't need to be.
Everything obeyed it anyway.
Even me.
I didn't realize I had taken a step forward until I forced myself to stop.
The thing was still kneeling in front of me.
Head lowered, waiting for me.
My chest tightened.
"I didn't tell it to do that," I said.
No one responded.
That was worse than if they argued.
Dain let out a quiet breath.
Not relief, not anger. It was in between.
"Yeah," he muttered. "That's the problem."
I swallowed.
My gaze flickered to Rowan. He was already looking at me.
Not shocked, not confused. He was thinking.
Always thinking. Like he was putting pieces together faster than the rest of us and I didn't like that.
"Say it," I snapped.
His expression didn't change.
"You're not reacting to them," he said calmly. "They're reacting to you."
My stomach dropped.
"I already know that."
"Do you?" Dain cut in.
Sharp and impatient.
"You stopped me mid strike. You didn't even know you did it."
"I said I didn't do it on purpose."
"That doesn't make it better."
His words hit harder than they should have because he wasn't wrong.
Kael finally moved.
But there was nothing calm about him. Not anymore.
He stepped closer to the kneeling creature.
It didn't react, didn't look up, didn't move.
Kael's gaze shifted slightly.
Then he spoke.
"Get up."
Nothing happened.
A beat of silence.
Then I felt it.
That pull again.
Soft and persistent like a thread being tugged from inside me.
The creature lifted its head.
Not to Kael. To me.
Waiting.
My throat went dry.
"Lyra."
Kael didn't raise his voice but there was something in it now.
A warning. A line I was about to cross.
"I'm not controlling it," I said.
"Then prove it."
My heart skipped.
"What?"
"Tell it to leave."
The words landed heavy.
It was both simple and impossible.
I stared at him.
"You're serious."
"Yes."
Dain crossed his arms.
Watching. Waiting for me to do something.
Rowan said nothing but his eyes stayed on me.
I hated that.
Because now I had to do it or prove them right.
I turned back to the creature.
It was still watching me. Still waiting.
My chest tightened.
"Go," I said.
Nothing.
I clenched my jaw.
"I said go."
Still nothing.
The pull shifted.
Not resisting, not disobeying. Just…waiting for something else.
Something deeper. Something I didn't understand.
My frustration spiked.
"I don't know what you want from me!" I snapped.
The creature tilted its head slightly.
And then spoke.
"…you never ask like that…"
The words hit harder than anything else.
My breath caught.
"What does that mean?"
No answer. Of course.
Dain let out a low laugh obviously not amused.
"This just keeps getting better."
Kael stepped in front of me.
Done with this.
His presence blocked the creature completely.
"We're leaving."
My head snapped up.
"What?"
"We're not staying here."
My chest tightened.
"You're just going to walk away from this?"
"Yes."
Just like that. No hesitation. No explanation.
Dain pushed off the tree he had been leaning on.
"Finally."
Rowan didn't move.
His gaze shifted once more to the creature, then to me, then back again.
Like he was memorizing something. That made my stomach twist.
"Rowan," Kael said.
A warning.
Rowan exhaled softly.
Then stepped back.
"Fine."
The moment he did, the creature moved toward me. Fast.
Instinct kicked in.
Kael's hand caught my arm instantly, pulling me back behind him.
"Don't."
The word came out sharper than before.
The creature froze mid step. Like it had hit an invisible wall.
My heart was racing again.
"What is wrong with it?"
"No," Rowan said quietly.
"What's wrong is you."
I stared at him.
He didn't look away.
"Whatever you were," he continued, "it's obvious you're not done being it."
The words settled deep.
I looked away first.
"Can we just leave?"
Dain scoffed.
"That's the first smart thing you've said."
Kael didn't comment, he just started moving.
And this time, no one argued.
We didn't run.
That was the strange part.
After everything that just happened, we walked.
Fast, alert, but controlled.
Like running would mean admitting something was chasing us.
I stayed between them.
Not by choice, by instinct.
Dain moved ahead. Always slightly in front. Rowan stayed to the side watching everything.
Kael stayed closest to me.
Not touching but close enough that I could feel him.
That was worse because I was starting to notice it.
The heat. The pull. The way that strange connection still lingered under my skin.
I hated it.
I focused on something else.
"Where are we going?"
"The Dominion," Dain answered.
Just like that like it was obvious.
My steps faltered slightly.
"The what?"
Rowan glanced at me.
"You wanted answers."
I did.
I just didn't expect that.
Kael's voice came low.
"You're getting them."
My chest tightened.
"Why do I feel like I won't like them?"
Dain smirked slightly.
"You won't."
Great.
We walked in silence for a while.
Not comfortable, not tense, just…heavy.
Too many thoughts. Too many questions. Too many things no one was saying.
"You're hiding something."
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Kael didn't respond, Dain didn't turn but Rowan did.
"Of course we are."
I frowned.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting right now."
I clenched my jaw.
"Then give me something else."
Silence.
"You're not supposed to exist like this."
That came from Rowan.
It landed like a blow.
I stopped walking.
"What does that mean?"
They stopped too.
Slowly.
Dain turned this time. His expression wasn't mocking anymore. Not even annoyed, he was serious.
"That thing said you died," he said. "You didn't react like it was impossible."
My stomach dropped.
"What? I did."
"No," he said. "You denied it. That's different."
I opened my mouth then closed it again because I didn't have a response.
Rowan stepped closer.
Not too close. Just enough.
"You saw something," he said.
Not a question. A statement.
I hesitated.
That was enough to prove him right.
Dain exhaled.
"Unbelievable."
Kael's gaze stayed on me.
"What did you see?"
I swallowed.
"I don't know."
"Try."
I looked away.
The memory flickered again.
That corridor. The voice. The feeling.
"I saw…somewhere else," I said slowly. "Stone. Blood. And someone said I came back wrong."
Dain ran a hand through his hair.
"That's not good."
"No," Rowan agreed quietly. "It's not."
Kael didn't react immediately, but I saw it.
The shift. The way his jaw tightened slightly like something just confirmed what he didn't want to believe.
"What aren't you telling me?" I asked.
No answer again.
I let out a frustrated breath.
"Okay, no. You don't get to do that. Not after everything that just happened."
Dain looked like he was about to say something but Rowan cut in first.
"There are records," he said.
Kael's head turned sharply.
"Rowan."
A warning.
Rowan ignored it.
"Old ones. About bonds that shouldn't exist. Power that shouldn't return."
My chest tightened.
"And?"
"And they never end well."
That silence again.
But this time…it felt final.
I laughed.
"Great. Love that for me."
Dain huffed.
"You think this is a joke?"
"I think none of you are telling me enough to take this seriously in the right way."
That shut him up.
Good because I was tired.
Not physically. Mentally, emotionally, everything.
Kael finally spoke.
"We move now. We talk later."
I stared at him.
Then nodded once.
"Fine."
Because what else could I do?
Night came faster than it should have. Or maybe it just felt that way.
We stopped eventually.
Not in the open. Somewhere more hidden. Safer or at least…less exposed.
Dain disappeared first.
"Scouting," he said.
Rowan and Kael stayed.
That alone felt like a mistake.
The silence stretched.
Uncomfortable and heavy.
"You should sleep."
Kael's voice.
I let out a quiet laugh.
"After all that?"
"Yes."
I looked at him. Really looked this time.
"You're acting like none of this affects you."
His gaze didn't shift.
"It does."
"Could've fooled me."
"I don't show it."
That…felt honest.
I didn't know why but it did.
Rowan moved slightly. Leaning back against a tree. Watching both of us. Always watching, it was starting to get on my nerves.
"You two are weird," I muttered.
That got a reaction.
Dain's voice came from the dark as he returned.
"You have no idea."
My head turned toward him.
"What does that mean?"
He smirked.
"Nothing you need to worry about."
Rowan didn't look at him.
But something passed between them.
And suddenly the tension wasn't just around me, it was between them too.
I filed that away for later.
I didn't sleep.
Not really.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again.
The corridor. The blood. The voice.
And something else. Something new. A figure at the end of the hall.
Watching me. Waiting. Not moving. Not speaking.
But I knew that one was real.
Not a memory, not fully.
Something else. Something ahead.
My eyes snapped open.
My heart was racing.
And before I could stop myself, I said it out loud.
"…there are four of you."
I froze.
Because I didn't mean to say that.
I didn't even know where it came from.
I looked up slowly and all three of them were staring at me.
Dain's expression was sharp.
Rowan's was unreadable.
Kael's expression felt dangerous.
"Say that again," he said quietly.
My throat went dry.
"I…"
But the words wouldn't come.
Because I didn't know how I knew.
I just did.
And that was the problem.
Kael stepped closer.
Slow.
Measured.
"Who told you that?"
"I don't know."
"Lyra."
"I said I don't know!" I repeated.
This time louder and more desperate because it was the truth and somehow that made it worse.
Rowan pushed off the tree. Now fully alert.
Dain's smirk was gone completely.
And in that moment, I realized something.
They weren't just surprised. They were worried. About him. The one who wasn't here yet.
The one I had seen.
The one waiting at the end of that corridor.
And then before anyone could say anything else, something in the distance shifted.
All three of them turned at the same time.
Instinct. Recognition. Fear. Real fear.
Dain's voice came low.
"…no way."
Rowan's expression darkened.
"He's already here."
My chest tightened.
"Who?"
Kael didn't look at me.
His gaze fixed on the darkness ahead.
And for the first time…I heard it.
Not in the forest, not around us. In my head.
A voice.
Low and familiar.
"Welcome back, Lyra."
My heart stopped because I knew that voice.
I had heard it before in that corridor. At the end, waiting for me.
And now, he wasn't a memory anymore.
He was here.