(Lyra POV)
The dream always started the same way.
There was no ground beneath my feet, only endless darkness that stretched forever in every direction. It wasn't the comforting kind of shadow I knew — the one that danced with my light and curled protectively around my fingers when I practiced with Father. This darkness was hungry. It breathed. It watched.
I floated in the middle of it, my silver light flickering uncertainly like a candle in a storm. The faint wisps of shadow that lived in my hair and under my skin tried to rise, but they trembled and shrank back, as if afraid.
Then the voice came.
Soft. Ancient. Female. Like silk wrapped around a blade.
"Daughter of balance…"
The words slid through the dark and wrapped around me like cold fingers. I spun, trying to find the source, but there was nothing — only more blackness.
"Who are you?" I called. My voice sounded small, swallowed by the void.
