[Lyra]

"Damian," my father's voice broke the silence, hollow and defeated. He wouldn't lift his eyes to look at me, keeping his gaze anchored to the smooth, swept stone near his boots. "You brought her."

"I brought her," Damian confirmed, his voice echoing off the fractured stone walls like a death knell. He stepped into the light of the fire, his golden eyes locking onto me. "Let's begin."

The sheer weight of his finality broke the invisible chokehold on my throat. I looked frantically from ...