Lyra's POV
"Oh," I whispered, my breath catching in my throat. How much did he actually know about me? Did he understand who I really was? Who my mother was? Was this the moment my carefully guarded secret would finally be exposed?
"No," he said, shaking his head vigorously. His piercing gaze tore away from mine. "No, this wasn't meant to happen like this."
"Killian—" I reached out desperately for him. He jerked backward, putting distance between us. The sheer panic radiating from his eyes sank deep into my bones like poison. Every fiber of my being screamed for his touch. I craved it more desperately than my next breath. But he retreated further from me.
My chest constricted as if someone had dropped a boulder on it.
"No," he said again, continuing to shake his head in complete denial. "I cannot do this."
"What?" The word barely escaped my lips as a broken whisper. I felt the devastating truth of our situation crushing me into the ground beneath my feet.
