The kitchen smelled like warm bread and something burnt.
Lyra was at the counter with flour on her hands and a tray of something golden-brown cooling on the stovetop. She looked up when the portal split the air behind him and didn't even flinch because at this point the portal opening in the kitchen was basically a doorbell.
"You're back early." She wiped her hands on a towel. Then she looked at his face and stopped wiping. "Is that blood?"
He touched his upper lip and felt the dried crust still there. He'd wiped most of it in the forest but apparently not well enough.
"Nosebleed. It's fine."
"A nosebleed from what?" She put the towel down and came closer with her eyes going from his nose to his shirt collar where a few brown drops had dried into the fabric.
