Lyra's POV
My head felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. Everything around me blurred together in a hazy mess of shapes and shadows. I tried to speak, but only managed a weak groan.
"What happened to me?" The words came out slurred and barely recognizable.
Silence stretched between us before a deep voice answered.
"There was a situation," the voice said, steady and unmistakably male. "You're safe now. Everything's going to be fine."
"Ash?" His name escaped my lips like a whisper.
The shadowy figure beside me nodded slowly. As my vision cleared, Ash's face came into sharp focus. He was slumped in his desk chair, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his usually perfectly styled hair stuck out at odd angles like he'd been running his fingers through it obsessively. Despite his exhaustion, relief flooded his features when our eyes met.
"Hey there," he said softly.
