Chapter 16
Lyra
Lyra froze and stared at Sherrell as she tried to force her legs to carry her to the phone.
“Who knows you’re here?”
“I have no idea,” Lyra replied as she stood. “Maybe Mikael?”
“The king?”
Meren shook her head and waggled the phone. “Come on, come on.”
Somehow, Lyra managed to grasp the phone. “Hello?”
“Miss Lyra,” came a woman’s voice, “this is Lovisa Odeck.”
“I’m sorry, who?”
“My husband and I own the candy store. We saw you at the farmer’s market.”
“Oh, yes,” Lyra responded as she struggled to put two and two together. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, we saw what happened to you, and we saw that beautiful little boy run away. My husband went out looking for him and he’s with us.”
Lyra’s pulse stumbled and a pause followed before her shoulders loosened with relief. “Oh, thank God.”
Sherrell rose from the table, her eyes wide. “What?”
Lyra held out the phone at once. “She says she has Beckett.”
As she said it out loud, relief hit so strongly it crashed through her body hard enough to leave her dizzy. Her knees weakened beneath her as she gripped the receiver with trembling fingers.
“Lovisa?” Her voice cracked. “Is he alright?”
The older woman’s voice came softly through the line, careful and soothing in the way people spoke around frightened animals and grieving mothers. “He’s safe, sweetheart. And I’m sorry that you were worried, but we knew you’d come back when it was safe. We saw you go into the bakery.”
Lyra pressed her eyes shut. Safe. The word alone nearly undid her.
“We found him hiding behind the storage shed beside the candy shop shortly after the soldiers took you away,” Lovisa continued gently. “Poor thing was terrified to come out. He thought they were coming back for him too.”
A sharp ache tore through Lyra’s chest so fiercely she had to brace herself against the counter.
“He watched them drag me away,” she whispered.
“Yes.” Lovisa hesitated sadly. “And I think he believed he’d never see you again.”
Lyra covered her mouth hard with her free hand as emotion surged dangerously close to breaking her apart entirely.
Sherrell moved beside her and rested a steadying hand against her shoulder.
Lovisa quietly explained that Beckett had refused to leave the upstairs apartment over the candy shop despite repeated reassurance that he was safe.
He had barely spoken at first, only cried himself sick and kept asking whether Lyra had been hurt.
The image alone made Lyra feel physically ill.
“We’re coming now,” she said quickly, already reaching for her coat. “Please tell him I’m coming.”
“He won’t believe it until he sees you,” Lovisa replied softly.
They ran down the block until they reached the little candy shop, its warmly lit windows glowing like tiny lanterns against the faint dawn light and deepening snow clouds.
The bell above the candy shop door rang sharply as she rushed inside. Warm sugary air immediately surrounded her with familiar scents of cinnamon candy, melted caramel, and peppermint bark, yet none of it fully registered because her eyes were already searching frantically.
“Over here.”
A woman she assumed was Lovisa stood at the bottom of a flight of stairs. She led Lyra and Sherrell to the apartment upstairs. She squeezed Lyra’s shoulder and pointed.
And there he was.
Beckett lay curled tightly on a small chair near the front window wrapped in one of Lovisa’s knitted blankets. His little face pale and blotchy from crying, and the instant his eyes lifted toward the doorway the entire room changed.
“Lyra?” His voice broke before he launched himself toward her.
Lyra dropped to her knees just as he collided with her hard enough to nearly knock her backward. He clung to her with desperate force while sobs tore violently from his tiny chest.
“You came back,” he cried against her shoulder. “You came back.”
The words shattered something inside her.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she whispered brokenly and wrapped both arms around him so tightly she almost feared hurting him. “Of course I came back. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Beckett buried his face against her neck while she held him there on the floor as though she could somehow shield him from every terrible thing in the world simply by refusing to let go.
For several long minutes neither of them moved.
“I saw the guards again yesterday. They were here, Lyra. They were here again.”
She kissed his forehead. “They were here to look for you, sweetheart. Remember the king? He sent them to make sure you were safe.”
“I was safe before they came and took you away!” Fresh tears ran down his cheeks.
She crushed him in another hug. Lovisa quietly turned away to give them privacy while Sherrell wiped discreetly at her eyes near the doorway.
Lyra could feel Beckett tremble beneath her hands even after his crying finally softened into shaky breaths.
Every small frightened sound he made carved deeper guilt into her chest because she had promised him safety.
Promised he would never be alone again and yet soldiers had still dragged her away while he watched helplessly from the crowd.
Eventually Beckett pulled back just enough to look up at her, his eyes still red and swollen. “They said bad things about you.”
Lyra forced herself to smooth damp curls back from his forehead. “People say foolish things when they’re scared.”
“But they said the king almost died.” His voice lowered nervously. “And they said his soldiers were looking for you.”
Her stomach tightened painfully. “That’s true. There was a misunderstanding about how the king got hurt.”
Beckett hesitated and then his expression changed in a way that instantly filled her with dread. “And…” His fingers tightened in her coat. “They said he’s been asking about me again.”
Lovisa sat down on the sofa. “A lot can be heard up here when people talk down in the shop. I tried to protect him from gossip, but…”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” Lyra slowly lifted her gaze toward Sherrell. “We really need to be sure he doesn’t find Beckett.” Somehow not saying his name made it less scary.
Sherrell exhaled heavily before stepping closer. “I didn’t want to discuss it in front of him earlier.” Her eyes softened sadly. “But I warned you about this a week ago.”
Now horror began settling into place piece by piece.
Sherrell nodded grimly. “Boden’s been asking questions in nearby villages. Offering money. Giving descriptions. He’s looking for a child about Beckett’s age.”
Beckett pressed closer immediately at the unfamiliar name.
Lyra’s heartbeat thundered painfully now because suddenly everything felt far larger and far more dangerous than accusations or old resentment from people like Dag.
A threat was actively searching for Beckett. Not out of curiosity, but hunting. And if Boden truly discovered where Beckett was, the threat would explode.
Lyra’s stomach turned violently. “He can’t find him.”
“He won’t,” Sherrell said firmly, though concern still shadowed her voice.
But Lyra was no longer certain of anything. Not after everything that had happened. Fear crawled steadily higher through her chest as possibilities multiplied because if Boden had been searching nearby when the royal guards took her away, Beckett would not have been safe with the confectioner.
“We need to go home,” Lyra said quietly at last.
Sherrell frowned immediately. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“No,” Lyra admitted honestly. “But it’s the only place I can think of where no one else knows to look.”
The cottage sat beyond the village boundaries and was hidden deep within the forested slopes where even most locals rarely traveled during winter. Supplies had to be hauled in carefully, paths disappeared beneath snowstorms, and visitors almost never came unless invited directly.
For years the isolation had protected her. She could only pray it still would.
Sherrell hugged her. “I’m going to head back to my office and see if there’s anything I can do on my end.”
They thanked Lovisa and parted ways with Sherrell. The trip home passed beneath heavy silence while Beckett remained against her side with one small hand clutching her sleeve as though afraid she might vanish again if he let go.
Once safely back in the cottage, Lyra watched snow whip past the windows while she drank a hot mug of coffee. The familiar warmth of the little home should have comforted her. Instead it suddenly felt frighteningly fragile.
After Beckett finally fell asleep tucked beneath layers of quilts, Lyra remained awake long after midnight. She moved quietly through the cottage with growing urgency tightening every movement.
She packed emergency go-bags first that included blankets, dried food, medicine, and extra clothing, along with money hidden in secret pockets. Enough to keep them going but still light enough to carry while moving fast.
She mapped escape routes again in her head while she packed. She knew all the forest paths, river crossings, and mountain caves. All the places no one else would think to search during winter, especially a stranger to the area.
She fought hard against the fear that carried the name Boden and tried to focus on the anger. She also wondered about Mikael.
Had he come to the village to help her look?
And somewhere beneath all of it lingered the terrifying certainty that whatever storm was closing around them had only just begun.