We didn't stop moving.
Not after the inn.
Not after the hunters.
Not even because Lyra was weak, we had to move faster more so. To get to safety faster
The forest swallowed us whole the moment we crossed into it—dark branches stretching overhead like claws, the ground uneven beneath our feet as we pushed forward through shadows and silence.
No one suggested resting nor slowing down.
"We need to reach the city before dawn," Alistair said, his voice low but steady beside me. "It's safer that way."
Cassian, walking ahead with Lyra, nodded. "And once we're in, we lay low during the day."
He glanced back briefly. "I can get my car. It'll cut the journey down. Without it, we're looking at nearly two days before we reach the Blood Dominion."
Two days. That suddenly felt like a lifetime.
Alistair gave a short nod. "Do it."
Lyra didn't say anything, but I noticed how carefully she moved.
How Cassian stayed just slightly closer to her than before
