The Agony of the Shift

POV: Lyra

I don't know how much more of this I can take.

The freezing rain batters my skin like tiny, stinging blades, punishing me for my very existence. Deafening thunder claps overhead, shaking the massive tree pressing tight against my spine. Each gust of the howling wind bites through my soaked clothes, chilling my bruised body right down to the marrow. The thick, rough ropes bind my wrists