The Sound of Surrender

He imagined the look on her face when she saw it all. The tremble in her fingers. The disbelief. The cautious hope. The quiet panic of realizing there was no turning back.

He could practically feel it through the screen.

She would be stunned, he knew. Lyra was sharp, determined—but she’d spent too long surviving on too little. She wasn’t used to abundance. To security. To being chosen.

And now