The room felt frozen. Maybe everyone had moved, maybe time had shifted—but I couldn’t tell. My breath hitched, caught somewhere between my lungs and throat, like the very air had gone still.
“My daughter.”
Those two words echoed like a bell in my skull. Over and over again. I couldn’t stop them from repeating. What does this mean for me now?
I had a mother. I had people waiting for me. The realization didn’t land softly. It cracked me open, splitting the foundation I thought I stood on.
Lyra… My mother.
Even thinking the word felt foreign. My grip tightened on the journal and I let out a slow, shaking breath. I wasn’t just a girl with strange powers, glowing eyes, and dreams that never made sense. I wasn’t just lost. I had a root. I had a legacy. I had a family.
I thought learning th
