Lyra’s POV

The sound I made tore the sky open.

It ripped out of my chest like the world itself had reached inside me and demanded proof that I still belonged to it. The breath burned. It scraped my throat raw as it forced its way out, violent and uncontrollable, and for a heartbeat I thought I was dying all over again.

Then the ground caught me hard.

My palms hit first, my knees slammed down next. My chest followed, and the air punched out of my lungs so fast my vision went white. I choked, ...