Lyra stayed in her room because Kieran told her to rest, but she did not lie down. She sat on the edge of the bed with her hands on her knees and her eyes on the door. Her heart refused to calm down. Every sound in the hallway made her jump a little. She kept looking at the window even though there was nothing there except the morning light.

Her stomach tightened again and again like it was trying to warn her of something she could not see yet. She rubbed her belly slowly and whispered, “It ...