Lyra woke up with a scream caught in her throat the same pain shot through her chest so sharp it felt like someone had shoved a blade straight through her ribs. She gasped, clutching her heart, her fingers trembling as her body convulsed. The air around her was heavy and she couldn’t breathe. Every breath came jagged, broken.

Something was wrong.

The room was cold, colder than usual. The fire had died sometime in the night, and she could feel the frost seeping through the walls. But that ...