his place, about his duty to me. He was telling him that I

d shoulder. My heart had hammered in my chest. It w

fatuated, to see the sh

ed him to do it again. I re

or another woman. For Lyra. He looked up at her

in, sharp and unbearable. I

im faster and faster, the wind whipping past my face, temporarily chasing away the st

with high jumps and tight turns. I guided Sh

Shadowfax gathered himsel

second, I hear

e cinch h

A searing pain shot through my leg. Shadowfax, spooked and riderles

his back to me, completely oblivious to my plight. He was supposed to

He was too busy

, my voice raw with d

was at my side. He grabbed Shadowfax's reins, his voice a low command that instantly c

e had been so focused on Lyra

, I was in a hospital

etaker. He was a perfect nurse, attentive and gentle. He brough

sliver of hope to grow. Maybe he did care. Mayb

Lyra visited, the secret smiles they shared when they

restroom. The cast made it awkward, and I hobbled slowly d

a small alcove near the nurses'

hiss, showing a rare crack in his calm facade. "Cutting her s

d myself against the wall,

that. My calculations showed a 97% probability of a minor fall, maybe a sprain. Enough to scare her, to make her more

fall. It wasn't an ac

sked, his voice laced with disgust

d. "Then this will all be over. Sh

ead from my chest through my entire body, a chill that

. On purpose. To "scar

in. The agony in my heart was so much greater, it eclipsed ev