Lyra's POV
I was humming as I pushed open the door to the room I shared with Sera.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd hummed. Couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this strange combination of hope and terror and genuine excitement about…
I stopped dead.
Sera was already awake, standing in front of our shared mirror in nothing but her shift, hair partially pinned, examining her reflection with the critical eye of a general surveying a battlefield.
"Where are you going this early?" I asked, moving toward the small trunk where I'd stored my traveling things.
"None of your business," Sera replied without looking at me, her attention focused on adjusting a pin. "Father wants me presentable for…"
She turned.
Her eyes went comically wide.
Her jaw literally dropped.
