Lyra had always believed that running was a perfectly respectable life choice.
It became significantly harder to maintain that belief when the floor vanished beneath her feet.
She screamed—not heroically, but honestly—as the glowing sigils flared and the world dropped away. Kael grabbed her wrist at the last second, his grip iron-strong.
"Do not let go!" he shouted.
"I wasn't planning on it!" she yelled back, dangling over a chasm of swirling light that smelled faintly like lightning and bad decisions.
Seraphine stood calmly amid the chaos, silver cloak fluttering as if untouched by gravity.
"You're overreacting," she said. "It's just a short displacement."
Kael snarled. "You shattered an inn!"
Mara's voice echoed from somewhere behind them. "I'll bill the crown!"
The sigils surged again. Kael yanked Lyra upward just as the spell collapsed inward, flinging them both across the room. They hit the floor hard, rolling into a table that promptly gave up on being a table.
Lyra lay there for a second, staring at the ceiling. "Next time," she gasped, "I vote we listen to the rule about not touching ancient things."
Kael groaned. "You didn't touch it."
"That's worse."
The front windows shattered inward.
Figures poured through—armored, masked, moving with terrifying coordination.
Seraphine sighed. "Right on time."
"You brought friends?" Lyra squeaked.
"Colleagues," Seraphine corrected. "The Crown does like efficiency."
Kael was already on his feet, sword drawn. "We're leaving."
"Yes," Seraphine said. "That is the plan."
"No," Kael snapped. "Our plan."
He grabbed Lyra's hand and ran.
They burst through the back of the inn into a narrow alley just as a blast of magic scorched the doorway behind them. Bricks crumbled. Dust filled the air.
Lyra coughed. "Aerendell is going to be mad at us."
Kael vaulted over a cart. "Aerendell will survive."
They sprinted through winding streets, Kael navigating by instinct as alarms rang behind them. The city no longer felt playful—it felt awake.
"Where are we going?" Lyra shouted.
"Out," Kael replied. "Preferably alive."
They reached the outer wall as guards scrambled above, shouting conflicting orders.
Lyra's satchel burned against her side.
"Kael," she panted. "The map is doing something."
"I don't like that tone."
The satchel burst open.
The map unfurled mid-run, floating ahead of them. Lines stretched outward, sketching a door in the air—glowing, unstable.
Kael skidded to a halt. "Lyra, no."
"I'm not doing this on purpose!"
The door finished forming.
Behind them, footsteps thundered closer.
Seraphine's voice carried through the chaos. "Step through, Lyra! It's the only way you survive!"
Kael turned to her, eyes wild. "This could tear you apart."
Lyra stared at the door. Then at the soldiers. Then at Kael.
"I trust you," she said softly. "But I think the map trusts me."
She grabbed his hand.
"Together," she said.
Kael swore.
Then they stepped through.
The world folded.
Lyra felt herself stretched, compressed, flipped inside out like a sock by a very angry god. Colors screamed. Sound vanished.
And then—
They landed hard on cold, glassy ground.
Lyra rolled onto her back, gasping. Above her stretched a sky like shattered mirrors, reflecting endless versions of herself.
Kael groaned beside her. "I officially hate maps."
She laughed weakly. "Still with me?"
"Unfortunately."
They sat up.
The land around them shimmered—vast, silent, beautiful and wrong. The ground was translucent, showing shifting light beneath. In the distance, jagged structures rose like frozen waves.
Lyra's heart sank. "This is…"
Kael stared ahead, grim.
"The Glass Expanse," he said.
Lyra hugged her knees. "The place nobody comes back from."
Something moved beneath the glass.
A shadow passed under their feet.
Then another.
Kael stood slowly, drawing his sword.
"Well," he said, forcing a grin. "At least we beat the kings here."
The map floated between them, glowing brighter than ever.
And far away, something ancient opened its eyes.
---