A Quiet Promise

The words drifted into the silence like a prayer—gravel-soft and gut-deep.

A promise not just to the night, but to her.

And on the other side of the wall, Lyra felt it. Not in sound, but in instinct. In the quiet press of something unspoken blooming inside her chest.

Inside her room, Lyra moved slowly, as if afraid too much motion might break the spell of the night.

She walked to the bathroom,