Chapter 26
Elder Varyn had been watching Kaelen, not the crowd.
He had learned long ago that rooms were dangerous only in how they affected the Alpha standing inside them. People could be managed but power could not.
Kaelen had been holding himself together but barely.
Varyn saw it in the way his shoulders had gone rigid, the way his breathing had slowed into something forced and deliberate.
The curse had been pressing hard, tightening like a noose drawn inch by inch.
Then it stopped.
Not eased, not weakened but stopped.
Varyn’s sharp gaze flicked to Kaelen’s face. The tension there hadn’t vanished, but something else had replaced it, like shock and disbelief.
That alone was enough to alarm him.
Kaelen had lived with the curse his entire life and relief was not an expression Varyn had ever seen on him.
Varyn followed Kaelen’s line of sight and found her.
A young woman standing among the Operations team, pale beneath the lights, her posture stiff as if she were bracing against something unseen.
Her discomfort mirrored Kaelen’s strain so precisely it made Varyn’s chest tighten.
Then she lifted her head.
The moment their eyes met, Varyn felt it.
A shift, not magic flaring, not power surging but balance snapping into place.
The curse did not resist, it yielded.
Varyn’s fingers tightened around his cane.
“Moon-touched,” he whispered.
Kaelen’s wolf had gone utterly still.
Varyn had never felt that presence. It was something he had only heard that existed.
“Riven,” he said quietly.
Riven turned, already tense. “I don’t understand p>
“Neither do I,” Varyn replied with his gaze fixed on Lyra.
The room tilted.
Lyra didn’t know when the noise faded, only that suddenly everything felt too bright, too loud and too close.
The warmth she had been ignoring surged upward, rushing through her chest and into her head like a wave breaking too fast.
Her breath stuttered.
The man on the stage, dark-haired and impossibly still was looking directly at her.
She didn’t know why that mattered.
She only knew that the moment their eyes met, the pressure vanished so completely it left her hollow.
Relief hit first then a sudden wave of weakness consumed her.
Her fingers slipped from the glass in her hand, shattered against the floor and the sharp sound cut through the room like a gunshot.
“Lyra?” Mira’s voice sounded distant.
Lyra tried to answer but her knees buckled instead.
The world narrowed to fragments, faces started blurring, voices overlapped and the floor rushing up far too fast.
Strong hands reached for her but they were too late.
And the last thing Lyra saw before darkness took her was the man on the stage stepping forward—
And the sudden, violent stillness that followed her fall.
[A couple of hours later]
Lyra woke to silence.
Not the muffled quiet of sleep but the kind that pressed in on her ears, heavy and deliberate.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar, too high, too smooth, faintly illuminated by recessed lights she didn’t recognize.
For a moment, she didn’t move. She lay still, letting the awareness settle slowly into her body.
She wasn’t on the floor, she was on a bed.
The sheets were cool, impossibly soft beneath her fingers. Her head rested against pillows that smelled faintly of cedar and something darker she couldn’t place.
Her heart skipped.
Lyra pushed herself upright too quickly and the room swayed.
“Easy p>
The voice came from her left.
She turned sharply.
Seraphina stood near the foot of the bed, her presence calm and grounding, silver threaded through her dark hair catching the light.
Relief washed through Lyra before she even realized she had been holding her breath.
“You fainted,” Seraphina continued softly, already moving closer. “Don’t try to sit up yet p>
Lyra obeyed without thinking.
Her gaze drifted instead past Seraphina, to the rest of the room.
Riven stood near the windows with his posture composed and expression unreadable.
An older man who she had never seen before sat quietly in a chair nearby, watching her.
Lyra’s brows knit faintly, confusion stirring but not strong enough to form into questions.
Seraphina noticed.
“You are safe,” she said simply, as if reading Lyra’s thoughts. “You pushed yourself too hard p>
Lyra swallowed. Her throat felt dry. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble p>
Riven spoke then. “You didn’t p>
Seraphina shot him a look, a brief warning.
She reached out, resting two fingers lightly against Lyra’s wrist. The contact was warm, reassuring.
Lyra felt herself relax without understanding why.
“You are exhausted,” Seraphina murmured. “Your body needed rest p>
Lyra nodded faintly. “I felt strange p>
“I know,” Seraphina replied, her tone steady. “That happens sometimes when stress builds too fast p>
She didn’t elaborate and Lyra didn’t ask.
Her gaze drifted again, this time to the empty space near the door.
Something tugged at the edge of her awareness, an absence she couldn’t explain.
Seraphina followed her line of sight.
“He is not here,” she said quietly.
Lyra blinked. “Oh p>
Seraphina straightened and glanced at Riven. “I will take her home p>
Riven hesitated. “She should rest here p>
“She needs familiarity,” Seraphina cut in gently but firmly. “And her uncle p>
Elder Varyn inclined his head in agreement. “That would be wise p>
Riven exhaled once, then nodded. “I will have the car prepared p>
Seraphina turned back to Lyra, smiling softly. “Close your eyes for a moment. We will leave soon p>
Lyra did as told.
Seraphina had just reached for Lyra’s coat when Elder Varyn spoke.
“Seraphina p>
She paused.
“May I have a word?” he asked, his tone polite but leaving no room for refusal. “Privately p>
Her fingers tightened briefly around the fabric before she released it.
She turned back, offering Lyra a reassuring smile. “I will be right back p>
Lyra nodded, already too drained to question it.
Seraphina followed Elder Varyn toward the far end of the penthouse, stopping near a tall divider that cut the room into shadow and light.
Riven hesitated, then followed them, positioning himself just close enough to hear.
Varyn didn’t waste time.
“Tell me about Lyra Hale’s heritage p>