Lyra stumbled back, staring at the boy in shock.
"What did you just say? Brother? Who?" she whispered.
But before the boy could speak again, the red-eyed man returned, stepping out of the shadows like a nightmare made flesh. His cloak billowed behind him as if caught in a wind only he could feel. Lyra instinctively moved in front of the boy.
"Who is he? What happened to his brother?" she asked, a little bit worried.
The man ignored her. Instead, his gaze softened, something Lyra did not think was possible, as he knelt and picked the boy up gently, as if he were glass.
"You…care about him?" Lyra asked, confused.
"Whether I care about him or not is none of your business, and he is not for your eyes," the man said, voice deeper now, tinged with something ancient. "And also, you will stay away from him."
Then he vanished into the cave with the boy in his arms, leaving Lyra staring after them, the wind whispering secrets around her.
Aria's eyes fluttered open.
