Soren POV
I couldn’t stop moving. Back and forth across Lyra’s room, my mind cycling through every worst-case scenario it could produce. She was never late — that was just who she was. And she would never go quiet without sending word. I had tried to convince myself it was nothing, just a delay, just a small thing. But the hours had kept passing and the room had stayed empty, and the knot in my stomach had only pulled tighter.
I checked with Thorian and Vaelin. Neither of them had seen her. The knot became something worse. Had she been ambushed on her way to the grounds? Had someone gotten to her?
Every instinct I had was telling me to move, to search, to do something — but I didn’t know where to point myself. I had already covered the surrounding areas, asked everyone I could find, sen
