Lyra POV

The trip back to the Sunken Grove was like a funeral without a body. The man being carried between Jake and Elara was a walking corpse. He was a shell with a scary absence that made the air around him feel thin and fragile. Every step away from SwiftRun territory took me deeper into a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from.

Kenny didn't say anything, and a small, scared ghost held on to my hand. He wouldn't look at Kael. That painful, searing rejection was a new scar on his young ...