The night after the meeting with Alpha Ronan stretched long and quiet, but the tension inside Ravenguard felt like a storm waiting to break. The air was thick with unspoken fears, sharpened instincts, and mistrust brewing beneath the surface.
Lyra lay awake in her room, staring at the ceiling as shadows danced across it. She kept replaying Ronan's words, the challenge in his voice, the threat behind his charm. There had been something else there too, an unsettling sense of familiarity. As if he knew more about her than he should.
A chill rolled down her spine.
Something was wrong.
Downstairs, hushed voices crept through the packhouse halls. She threw on a jacket and padded silently to the stairwell, following the sound.
Cassian stood with two guards near the war room, speaking in low tones. When Lyra stepped into the hallway, they stopped immediately.
"You shouldn't be up," Cassian said.
She crossed her arms. "That's not your call to make."
He exchanged glances with the others. "There's been... a breach."
Her stomach turned. "What kind of breach?"
"One of the messengers stationed at the western patrol post was found unconscious. Someone had gone through the records room." His jaw clenched. "The intruder knew what they were looking for: maps, patrol shifts, Bloodbond logs."
Lyra's breath hitched. "They're planning something."
"Or they already have," he muttered.
She frowned. "You think it was Ronan?"
Cassian hesitated. "If he planted a spy, they'd have been inside the walls longer than we realized."
By sunrise, paranoia had spread like wildfire. Warriors doubled their rounds, borderlines were reinforced, and even the kitchen staff was under scrutiny. No one was above suspicion.
Alaric called an emergency council meeting.
Inside the great hall, the elders murmured nervously. Lyra sat beside Cassian, trying to quiet the thrum in her chest. Alaric stood at the head of the room, arms crossed, eyes scanning every face.
"Someone has been feeding information to Ronan," he said. "They accessed classified documents and tried to cover their tracks. Poorly."
A murmur rippled through the room.
"We'll run background checks," one elder said.
"Pointless," another snapped. "Ronan's not stupid. He'd use someone we'd never suspect. Someone we trust."
Alaric nodded. "Exactly. Which is why I've appointed Cassian to conduct a silent internal investigation. No one is exempt. Until we find the traitor, trust no one."
Lyra felt the weight of every gaze. Even now, some still questioned her loyalty.
She clenched her fists beneath the table.
That evening, Lyra found herself avoiding the common areas. Too many eyes. Too much tension.
She slipped outside for air, heading to the quiet woods behind the training grounds. The scent of pine and frost grounded her nerves until she heard the soft crunch of footsteps behind her.
She turned swiftly.
"Relax," Cassian said, stepping into view. "Just me."
She sighed. "You're following me now?"
"Protecting you," he corrected, falling into step beside her. "You're still a target. Especially now."
They walked in silence for a moment, the quiet between them strangely comforting.
"Do you believe me?" she asked finally.
He frowned. "About what?"
"That I'm not a spy."
Cassian stopped walking. "If I thought it was you, you'd be locked in the dungeon already."
She managed a thin smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
They sat on a fallen log near the edge of the clearing.
Cassian's expression darkened. "There's something else. We traced the records tampering to one of the council assistants, Eira."
Lyra blinked. "The girl who brings the elders tea?"
He nodded grimly. "She vanished last night. We think she left through the eastern gate. The same route used by Ronan's former scouts."
"But why her?"
Cassian looked at Lyra, a shadow passing over his face. "Because Eira was your assigned handler the first week you arrived. She had access to your files... and to you."
Lyra's heart sank.
"Are you saying... she's been feeding Ronan details about me?"
"Or trying to find a way to sever the Bloodbond," Cassian said.
The possibility made her stomach twist.
"What would Ronan gain from breaking the bond?" she whispered.
"Freedom," Cassian said. "Or power. Maybe both."
Later that night, Lyra went to the training yard to clear her head, running through drills until sweat coated her skin. She couldn't stop thinking about Eira how kind she'd been. Soft-spoken. Helpful. It didn't make sense.
Unless it had all been an act.
"Pushing yourself won't help," came a familiar voice.
She turned to see Alaric approaching, arms crossed, watching her with those stormy eyes.
"Neither will silence," she shot back, panting slightly.
He didn't rise to the bait.
"I should have seen it," he said. "She was right under my nose."
Lyra tilted her head. "Why didn't you?"
He looked away, jaw tightening. "Because I was too focused on you."
The words hit her like a wave. She dropped her gaze.
"We need to stay sharp," she said.
He stepped closer, his voice low. "And if I told you I don't want to stay sharp around you? That every time I look at you, I forget we're at war?"
Lyra's breath hitched.
"I didn't ask for this bond, Alaric," she whispered.
"Neither did I," he replied. "But it's there. And it's real."
Their eyes locked. The air between them buzzed with electricity. She could feel that dangerous pull.
But before she could respond, a horn blared from the gate tower.
A warning.
Cassian's voice rang through the packhouse courtyard: "Intruders at the western line!"
Alaric's expression hardened instantly. "They're testing us."
Lyra grabbed her blades. "Let them try."
Side by side, they ran into the chaos together.
But neither saw the shadow watching from the trees behind them, slipping away as the gate alarms rang.
The spy hadn't fled.
They had simply changed faces.