Chapter 16 — The Betrayal
Lyra's POV
The morning started wrong.
Not a little wrong — wrong.
I was half-asleep, my star necklace cold against my skin, brushing my collarbone like a reminder of normalcy. The sky was gray, and a sharp wind swept through the streets of Lumera as I walked to school.
I didn't see the car until it was almost on me.
My heart jumped. I stumbled back, scraping my knee against the curb. Pain flared sharp and immediate, and my backpack went flying as the car screeched past, horn blaring. My hands shook. My stomach felt like it had fallen to the sidewalk.
Just my luck, I muttered, wincing as I rubbed the sting from my knee.
I limped the rest of the way to school, forcing myself to ignore the throbbing in my leg, forcing myself to act normal. But a heaviness settled over my chest, a weird, unfamiliar tension crawling through my limbs. Something was off.
Classes dragged by. My friends weren't around. I noticed empty desks where they usually sat. No notes, no whispers, no teasing smiles.
Where are they? I thought. My stomach tightened. Maybe it's just… the day. Maybe they had something to do.
But I couldn't shake the feeling. I wanted to scare them. To find them. To figure out what was happening before it got worse.
The music room.
Our secret place. The room where we'd laughed, planned, and shared our late afternoons. I hadn't been there in months. It was abandoned now, forgotten by everyone except us.
I crept along the hallways, pressing myself against the walls, footsteps soft, breath shallow. Every door I passed made my heart jump. And then I heard it.
Whispers.
"Oh, please… not her," a familiar voice murmured.
My pulse spiked. I froze.
"I feel so guilty… hiding something this big from her," another voice said.
I pressed closer, heart hammering. What are they talking about? About me?
"Maybe… when we tell her, she'll forgive us if we explain it right?"
A third voice scoffed. "Forgive us? You think she will forgive us when she finds out the last four years were built on a dumb, stupid bet?"
My chest tightened. I couldn't breathe. I felt hollow, like all the air had been sucked from the room.
"Now pointing fingers… who started the bet to replace Elaine? We just wanted him to be happy…"
"If she ever finds out… it'll be horrible. Even worse for Evan."
My legs gave way a little. I pressed my palm to the wall, trembling. My chest ached.
I felt like the floor had dropped beneath me.
I stepped forward.
And in a single collective gasp:
"Lyra???"
Their faces — wide-eyed, guilty, terrified — burned into me. The laughter, the fun, the festivals, the glow of everything I thought was safe… it collapsed in an instant.
I couldn't speak. My lips trembled. I couldn't even let tears fall yet. I just… walked.
Step by step, away from them. Away from the whispers, the lies, the betrayal that stretched back four years. Away from the people I loved most in the world.
They called my name. Searched for me. Ran after me. Pleaded.
But I was already gone.
I wasn't running away forever. Not yet. Not like that.
I was leaving for the month. Going home. Going back to my old city, my old life. I had come to school today only to say goodbye in person. To see their faces one last time before leaving.
Tears threatened to fall, but I refused them. I refused to give them the satisfaction.
I walked out into the cool autumn air. The streets were bright and bustling, but my world had narrowed to a single, sharp point of hurt. Every memory, every laugh, every festival and party, felt tainted now.
The wind whipped at my hair, the star necklace heavy against my chest, and I realized… the life I thought was golden, perfect, safe… was built on a lie.
I didn't look back. Not once.
And for the first time in years, my heart felt fragile in a way it had never felt before.