“Why would you go home? You just ran away.”

“Because I should have never come here.” I jerk away again, and once I’m free, I start to run.

“Lyra!” Chase calls. Then closer, “Lyra!”

That’s when he grabs me and something sharp digs into my neck.

His breath, hot against my ear, threatens, “I can’t let you leave. We’ve been waiting for you for too long.”

My heart races in my chest, and adrenaline rushes through me as he starts to drag me back to his car. I can feel the thread rising to the surface of my palm. It’s not painful, but the feeling is distinct, like holding a sharp rock tight in my palm.

“Stop!” I scream at both Chase and the thread, but it’s too late. The blade loosens around my neck, and his weight eases off me as he falls to his knees. I twist to find my thread skewering his eyes, erupting through his nose, and entering his mouth. It continues to lance his body until he’s consumed in golden light, and when it fades, a glittering gold coin lies a few feet from the body.

Chase Lockwood is dead.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Shy and the Lake

My chest aches.

But this is unlike the feeling that connects me to Anora. This is something angry and primal and raw. Halfway through her story, I can’t sit still anymore. When I get to my feet, Anora’s eyes meet mine, her gaze like an arrow through my heart. Her eyes are haunted, her face pale.

Even Natalie is affected by Anora’s story, leaning forward in her chair with her fingers pressed to her lips. Jacobi’s set aside his computer and can’t even look at her. None of us expected this. It’s a betrayal of our oath as shadow knights. We’re supposed to protect humans; we’re supposed to protect the Eurydice. The only explanation is not only had Chase gone rogue, but he was connected with the occult.

I’ve never wanted to comfort someone so much in all my life, and yet I’m sure that’s the last thing she wants—comfort from a Valryn, comfort from me. There’s an ugly feeling associated with that thought as I observe Thane standing behind Anora like some dark guardian, and I stuff it down quick. I’m no better than Chase if I act on this…connection I have with Anora.

I pace, hating Chase with every word she speaks.

“After Chase died, it felt like eyes were always on me. Like I was being hunted. Maybe I was. I stayed at Mount St. Mary’s for one more month before Mom got a brochure about Nacoma Knight Academy. She thought I could start over in a place where people wouldn’t recognize me, wouldn’t be suspicious of me.”