Lyra's POV
Following Alaric's explosive confrontation, he retreated into near-complete silence throughout the remaining training sessions of the week. The few words he did utter were strictly business - correcting my stance during combat drills or intervening when Ash and Killian's mutual hatred threatened to boil over into actual violence. Those two could barely exist in the same space without hurling verbal daggers at each other.
Strangely enough, neither of them ever directed their venom toward Alaric or me. We seemed to occupy some untouchable territory in their war of words.
The constant tension made those final days of our second week absolutely draining. By the time Saturday rolled around, I surrendered to exhaustion and didn't crawl out of bed until nearly eleven in the morning. Even then, it took considerable effort to motivate both Poppy and myself to trudge to the library for what was supposed to be a productive study session.
