Chapter 24
Lyra
Lyra knew something was wrong the moment Malaya stepped outside away from the guards stationed around her cottage. While not her first choice, after the attempted attack they had decided it best for guards to escort them home.
She watched Malaya’s face as she lifted her phone toward her ear with the kind of expression people wore when bracing themselves for bad news.
Beckett still trembled violently in Lyra’s arms while she sat holding him on the sofa with his face buried against her shoulder. He believed letting go of her for even a second might allow the strangers to come back and drag him away.
And honestly? Lyra felt exactly the same.
Malaya listened silently for several moments and then spoke to one of the guards before she came back inside.
“We’re leaving.” She spoke quietly but in a tone that left no room for argument.
Lyra blinked. “Leaving?”
“We’re going back to the castle.”
The words hit like ice water down her spine.
“No.”
Malaya crouched beside her. “Lyra, we need to go.”
“No,” she repeated more sharply this time and clutched Beckett tighter. “I can’t take him there.”
“You can’t keep him here anymore either.”
The words hit home and even in her denial, Lyra knew it was the best option. She stared out the window at her life that was now slipping away, maybe permanently.
“I don’t belong in a castle,” she whispered.
Malaya’s expression softened unexpectedly. “Neither do I, or half the people currently living there.”
Beckett finally lifted his tearstained face slightly. “Are the bad men gonna come back?”
The fear in his voice nearly broke her. Lyra brushed trembling fingers through his curls. “Not if I can help it.”
Even as she said it, she knew the truth. She couldn’t protect him alone anymore.
Every room suddenly felt unbearably personal once she began packing bags, as though the walls themselves knew she might not be coming back for a very long time. The go-bag she had prepared seemed inadequate when it might be a long time before they returned.
Beckett quietly gathered clothes and stuffed animals into a backpack near his bedroom. Lyra stood in the kitchen staring helplessly at the half-finished bouquet still sitting on the table from her normal life that was now gone in a single afternoon.
Her hands shook badly when she finally picked up her phone and called Sherrell.
The older woman answered immediately. “Honey? What happened? Meren said there was some kind of attack.”
Lyra’s composure shattered the second she heard the concern in Sherrell’s voice. “They tried to take him.”
“Oh my God.”
Lyra pressed trembling fingers against her forehead while she paced the kitchen. “They grabbed Beckett right off the road, Sherrell. If Malaya hadn’t shown up—” Her voice cracked hard enough she had to stop speaking for a second. “I almost lost him.”
“Honey…”
“They’re sending us to the castle now.”
Another pause followed. “The royal castle?”
“Yep, the only castle I know of.”
Sherrell exhaled heavily. “Well. That’s certainly not where I expected this story to end.”
Lyra laughed shakily despite herself before sinking into one of the kitchen chairs. “I don’t want to leave. I know it’s the safest option right now, but…” Her eyes drifted helplessly around the cottage. “This is my home.”
“I know. ”
“I finally built something peaceful here.”
Sherrell’s voice was gentle. “And you’ll build peace again somewhere else if you have to. But until we find Boden, you don’t have the luxury to just wait around. We have every department at our disposal looking for him, but we have nothing as of right now.”
Lyra swallowed hard. “I’m scared.”
“Of the castle?”
“Yes.” A bitter laugh escaped her. “And maybe of Mikael too.” That part felt dangerous to admit aloud.
Sherrell, unfortunately, noticed immediately. “Oh sweetheart.”
Lyra groaned. “Don’t.”
“You’re in trouble with that one. I’ve known you a long time, and no other man has ever affected you the way he does.”
“I am absolutely not discussing this with you.”
“Mmhm.”
Lyra rubbed both hands over her face. “He’s not the same person he used to be.”
“People change.”
“Yes,” Lyra whispered softly, remembering the way he had held her on the mountain, the fierce protectiveness in his voice whenever he spoke about Beckett, the raw guilt in his eyes when apologizing for the past. “They do.”
After ending the call, she finished packing quickly while anxiety coiled tighter and tighter inside her chest. By the time their ride arrived outside the cottage after dark, Lyra felt physically ill from nerves.
The ride to the castle was awful. The guards were polite almost to a fault and Malaya tried to lighten the mood, but the entire journey felt like being escorted toward a life she had spent so much time escaping.
Three black vehicles surrounded them the entire drive while headlights cut through the darkness as armed guards monitored every stretch of forest they passed. Beckett eventually fell asleep against Lyra’s shoulder midway through the trip while she sat rigidly tense beside Malaya in the backseat.
“You’re shaking,” Malaya observed quietly.
“I hate this.”
“I know.”
“I feel like…” Lyra struggled for words. “Like I’m leaving myself behind somehow.”
Malaya was silent for a moment before speaking softly. “Mikael’s been feeling something similar.”
Lyra glanced toward her.
“The poisoning changed things. Not just physically. He’s remembering things differently now. Seeing people differently.” She hesitated. “Seeing himself differently too.”
That unsettled Lyra more than she wanted to admit.
The castle finally emerged through the storm sometime near midnight. It towered black against the mountainside with hundreds of glowing windows burning through the snow like watchful eyes.
Lyra’s stomach dropped immediately. There were too many memories tied to royalty and power and people like Dag.
As if summoned by the thought itself, the very first person she saw when the vehicles stopped beneath the main entrance was her worst nightmare.
Dag stood near the stairs speaking with several guards, broad shoulders silhouetted beneath the castle lights while snow dusted dark hair already damp from the storm.
The second his eyes landed on Lyra, something cruel lit inside them.
“Oh,” he drawled softly as they stepped from the vehicle. “This should be interesting.”
Every muscle in Lyra’s body tightened instinctively. Dag descended the stairs slowly while his gaze dragged across her with open contempt. “Still hanging around where you’re not wanted, I see.”
Lyra’s pulse thundered painfully. Beside her, Beckett pressed closer immediately.
Dag stepped nearer. “You know, Mikael always did have a habit of rescuing strays.”
“Stop it, Dag,” Malaya warned sharply.
Dag barely acknowledged her. His attention remained fixed entirely on Lyra now, and the smile spreading across his face looked exactly the same as it had back in school before he destroyed someone publicly for sport.
“You really think you belong here?” he asked softly.
Something inside Lyra began shrinking automatically despite how hard she fought it. Luckily, Malaya stepped directly between them.
“I said,” the princess repeated, “shut up.”
The command in her voice visibly surprised several nearby guards. Dag finally looked at her then before laughing quietly beneath his breath. It was the exact same cruel laugh Lyra remembered hearing echo through crowded hallways while other students avoided looking at her directly.
Dag shook his head once before turning away. “This is going to end badly,” he said almost conversationally. Then he walked back into the castle still laughing softly to himself.
Lyra realized only afterward that her hands were shaking again.
“Hey,” Malaya said quietly.
Lyra swallowed hard.
“He doesn’t get to do that anymore,” Malaya murmured firmly. “You understand me?”
Lyra nodded even though part of her wasn’t entirely sure she believed it yet. The castle doors opened again moments later and then Mikael appeared. Somehow everything inside Lyra eased slightly at the sight of him.
He crossed the snowy courtyard immediately toward them. Concern sharpened his expression the moment he noticed how pale she looked.
“What happened?” he asked softly.
“Dag happened,” Malaya muttered.
Mikael’s jaw tightened instantly. “Did he say something to you?”
Lyra hesitated. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
The quiet intensity in his voice made her chest ache unexpectedly. Mikael glanced once toward the castle entrance where Dag had disappeared before clearly forcing himself to let it go for now.
“You’re safe here,” he said instead.
Lyra desperately wanted to believe him. He picked up Beckett and led them to the door.
Once inside, the castle felt overwhelmingly enormous.
Servants moved silently through endless corridors while guards stood posted at nearly every entrance.
Although everyone treated Lyra politely, she still felt painfully aware of how out of place she looked walking through polished marble halls carrying two duffel bags and Beckett’s stuffed fox.
Mikael personally escorted them upstairs.
“I’ve arranged rooms near mine,” he explained quietly.
Lyra blinked. “Near yours?”
“It’s safer.”
Something warm fluttered through her chest despite the fear that still lingered there. Her eyes widened in surprise when he opened a door and flipped on a light. “This is your room.”
The suite itself stunned her speechless.
Soft gold lighting glowed across elegant furniture while thick blankets covered an enormous bed near the fireplace, and through another doorway sat a smaller connected bedroom already prepared for Beckett with warm quilts and toys waiting on the neatly made bed.
“This is too much,” Lyra whispered.
“No,” Mikael said softly. “It isn’t enough after today.”
Their eyes held for one long dangerous moment before Beckett suddenly yawned dramatically beside them.
Mikael smiled faintly. “You should both try to sleep.”
After deciding it was okay to skip a bath for one night, Lyra got the little boy settled and got ready for bed herself. Sleep, unfortunately, didn’t last long.
Sometime deep in the night, Beckett cried out sharply from the next room. Lyra bolted upright instantly.
“NO!”
She ran into the connected bedroom just as Beckett jerked awake. He sobbed as he tried to untangle himself from the blankets. Panic flooded his small face while he gasped desperately for breath.
“It’s okay,” Lyra whispered immediately, climbing onto the bed and pulling him against her chest. “You’re okay.”
A knock sounded sharply at the suite door before it swung open and Mikael entered only seconds later, barefoot and bare chested. “I heard him yelling.”
Beckett immediately reached toward him too. That alone nearly shattered Lyra emotionally. Mikael crossed the room without hesitation and sat beside them on the bed while Beckett clung tightly to both of them now. He still trembled from the nightmare.
“They almost took me.”
Mikael’s expression tightened painfully. “But they didn’t,” he said firmly. “And nobody ever will.”
The certainty in his voice felt immovable, like a mountain. Eventually Beckett drifted back asleep curled against Lyra’s side while Mikael remained sitting beside them quietly in the dim light.
Neither adult spoke for a while.
Finally Lyra whispered tiredly, “I don’t know how to do this anymore.”
Mikael looked toward her immediately. “Do what?”
“Keep him safe.”
Emotion cracked painfully through the words. Mikael reached for her hand without hesitation.
“You’re not alone now.” The sincerity in his voice undid something inside her completely.
Later, after making sure Beckett remained asleep beneath the blankets, Mikael walked Lyra to her room in silence. Neither of them wanted the distance and that truth hung between them almost visibly.
When Mikael finally paused near the door connecting their rooms, Lyra looked up at him helplessly. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”
Something fierce and tender flickered across his face at once. Without a word, he followed her into bed.
He wrapped his arms around her in the darkness and held her against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and she raised her face to give him a butterfly kiss before she settled with her arm around him.
Lyra slept more peacefully than she had since the nightmare began.