Mira's POV.

I woke to Kael's empty bed and the bond pulling me outside. He stood at the eastern perimeter, staring at the path Lyra had taken. "She's been gone twelve hours," he said without turning.

"I know."

"The bond, it's different. Lighter."

He was right. The weight we'd carried for Lyra had lifted. Not disappeared. Transformed. "She's free now," I said. "Really free."

"And we let her go."

"We did."

Cara appeared, breathless. "We have a problem. The refugees, the ones who stayed, are ...