Awakening Fire

They sat in silence for a moment longer, the sound of the ocean filling the space between them, until Kira gently nudged Lyra’s shoulder.

“Be honest with me,” she said softly. “Do you love him?”

Lyra let out a shaky breath, her eyes flicking toward the stars before falling back to the ground. “Maybe… How would I even know?”

Her voice was raw—honest, defensive, mostly… lost.

“It’s still so new.