Lyra's POV
The violent glow that burst from the seal on my chest still throbbed beneath my skin long after the Fallen King lowered his hand, and the memory of that searing sensation lingered inside me like a bruise that refused to fade. I could still feel the way the power had surged, almost as if something ancient and forgotten in me had awakened for the first time, and the echo of that awakening spread through every corner of my mind and body. The chamber stood frozen in the shock of what had just happened, and yet my heart beat with such frantic force that I was certain everyone could hear it.
