"Luna, did I hear that right?" Penny asked, her voice tinged with disbelief. "You're making Miranda one of your attendants?"
Her heart sank as doubt crept in. Had she done something wrong? Had she failed Lyra somehow?
But then Lyra turned, her soft smile gentle but unreadable, and the sting deepened.
Lyra reached for her notepad and scribbled quickly before showing it to Penny:
"She'll work for me, yes. But you, Penny, will always be my first. My trust lies with you—not her."
Penny read the words slowly, the knot in her chest easing only slightly. Still, suspicion lingered.
Why bring Miranda in at all?
Lyra could see the hesitation in her eyes. She wrote again, more urgently this time:
"There's something I need to uncover, and you're the only one I can trust with this."
Penny's brows knit together. She didn't understand, but as Lyra's most loyal attendant, she didn't need to. She only nodded, ready to serve.
Lyra hesitated, then added:
