~RYLAND'S POV~
I carried her up myself.
Cade offered. I didn't answer him. I just lifted her out of the carriage and walked through the packhouse doors with her weight in my arms, and the staff who were still awake had the sense to get out of the way without being told.
I laid her down on her bed, pulled the blanket over her, and stood there for a moment looking at her face. Completely still. Completely spent. The blue tips of her hair dark against the pillow, something about them that still didn't make full sense to me yet.
"Cade," I said, without turning around.
He was already in the doorway. "I've got her."
"Don't leave this room," I said. "Not for anything. I don't care what you hear, I don't care who knocks. You stay here."
"Understood,"
I looked at Lyra one more moment. Then I went to call the emergency council meeting.
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