LYRA

Everything slowed.

The collapsing mountain.

The falling stone.

The screams echoing through the tunnels above us.

All of it faded beneath the violent pulse of the bond.

Lucian stood beside me, not ahead of me, not shielding me from the darkness anymore. The silver light surrounding us spiraled together like living flame, wrapping around our bodies in sharp waves that cracked through the cavern floor beneath our feet.

The Hollowed struggled against the chains.

For the first time since we ...