Flames towered behind Lyra.
A second explosion shook the air.
People screamed.
Some ran away from the burning car, while others tried to find the source of the blast.
Lyra stood frozen.
She didn't even know how she had ended up somewhere else.
A few seconds earlier, she had still been standing beside Cassian.
Now the man was nowhere to be seen.
"Lyra!"
Seraphine's voice came from a distance.
Lyra turned.
Her mother was running toward her.
"Lyra, come with Mom!"
But before Lyra could move, someone grabbed her arm.
Cassian.
"Don't go over there."
"But my mother—"
"It's a trap."
Lyra stared at him in disbelief.
"That's my mother!"
"I know."
"Then let me go!"
Instead, Cassian pulled her farther away from the crowd.
Lyra struggled to free her arm.
"Cassian!"
"Listen to me."
"I don't want to!"
"If you approach Seraphine now, they'll get what they want."
Lyra stopped.
"Who are they?"
Cassian stared at the flames.
"The people who created the protocol."
Lyra gripped the necklace around her neck.
"The Last Night Protocol."
Cassian nodded.
"I've heard that name before."
"What does it mean?"
"An old program."
"What kind of program?"
Cassian looked at her.
"A program designed to erase someone's identity from every record in the world."
Lyra fell silent.
"Why?"
"So that person could disappear."
Lyra stared at him, confused.
"Like me?"
Cassian didn't answer.
But his expression was answer enough.
Lyra swallowed.
"So I was deliberately made to look dead?"
"Yes."
"Who did it?"
"I don't know yet."
"And now?"
Cassian looked at the small object he had found earlier.
"Someone activated the protocol again."
A chill ran through Lyra's body.
"For me?"
"Looks like it."
Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind them.
Cassian spun around.
A man emerged from behind the trees.
He wasn't one of Edmund's men.
The man wore a dark jacket and carried a small bag.
Cassian immediately raised his gun.
"Stop."
The man stopped.
He smiled.
"Still carrying the same weapon."
Cassian glared at him.
"Who are you?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Lyra.
"So this is Adrian's daughter."
Lyra stepped back.
"How do you know my father?"
The man gave a soft laugh.
"I knew him."
Cassian stepped forward.
"Who do you work for?"
"The same people who killed him."
Lyra felt the blood drain from her veins.
"Who?"
The man opened the bag.
Cassian immediately prepared to fire.
But the man only took out an envelope.
He tossed it onto the ground.
"For you."
Lyra stared at the envelope.
Her name was written on it.
LYRA VESPER
The handwriting made her heart pound.
She recognized it.
It was Mara's handwriting.
The handwriting of the mother who had raised her.
"That's impossible."
Lyra picked up the envelope.
"She died three days ago."
The man smiled.
"The letter was written before she died."
Cassian stared at the man.
"Why give it to her now?"
"Because she asked for it to reach her after the protocol was activated."
Lyra opened the envelope.
Her hands trembled.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Only a few lines.
Lyra,
If this letter has reached you, it means they've found you.
Don't trust anyone from the Vesper family.
Including the person who claims to be your mother.
And above all, don't trust Cassian Ardent.
Lyra slowly lowered the letter.
Her gaze shifted to Cassian.
He noticed the change in her expression.
"What does it say?"
Lyra didn't answer.
Cassian stepped closer.
"Lyra."
She handed him the letter.
Cassian read it.
His face remained calm.
But his eyes changed.
"She knew."
"Knew what?"
"She knew about this protocol."
"And she told me not to trust you."
Cassian handed the letter back.
"She's right."
Lyra stared at him.
"So?"
"I won't force you to trust me."
That answer only confused Lyra more.
"You're not going to explain?"
"There are things I can't tell you yet."
Lyra gave a bitter laugh.
"Secrets again."
Cassian looked at her.
"If I tell you now, you might not survive until morning."
"And if I don't know?"
"You might not survive either."
"Then what choice do I have?"
Cassian fell silent.
The stranger who had delivered the letter suddenly stepped back.
"I've done my part."
Cassian aimed his gun at him.
"Wait."
The man smiled.
"Relax. I didn't come to kill her."
"What's your name?"
The man looked at Lyra.
"Names don't matter."
Then he disappeared into the trees.
Lyra watched until his shadow vanished.
"Cassian."
"Hm?"
"Why does everyone know something about me while I know nothing?"
Cassian didn't answer right away.
"Because someone spent twenty-three years making sure you'd never remember it."
Lyra frowned.
"Remember what?"
Cassian looked at the necklace around her neck.
"This place."
"This place?"
Cassian pointed to an old building almost completely covered by trees.
Lyra only just noticed it.
An iron door stood among the ruins.
Above it was the same constellation symbol.
Lyra approached it.
"Why is this symbol here?"
Cassian followed her.
"Because this place once belonged to your father."
Lyra touched the door.
Suddenly, her head began to ache.
It hurt terribly.
She closed her eyes.
Then a voice appeared inside her mind.
The voice of a little girl.
Her own voice.
"Don't go, Dad."
Lyra jerked back.
Her hand slipped from the door.
Cassian immediately caught her by the shoulders.
"What happened?"
Lyra gasped for breath.
"I..."
She stared at the door.
"I've been here before."
Cassian fell silent.
"That's impossible."
"I remember."
"Lyra."
"I remember this place."
Fragments of images surfaced in her mind.
A man carrying her.
Fire.
Someone screaming.
Her mother crying.
And an underground room.
Lyra clutched her head.
"There's someone..."
"Who?"
"My father."
Cassian froze.
"I saw my father."
Lyra opened her eyes.
"He gave me something."
"What?"
Lyra looked at her hands.
There was nothing in her palms.
But then she touched her necklace.
"This necklace."
Cassian looked at the pendant.
"What did he say?"
Lyra closed her eyes.
Trying to remember.
Then a sentence surfaced.
Perfectly clear.
"If one day you forget who you are, find the place where the stars cannot be seen."
Lyra opened her eyes.
"Where the stars cannot be seen..."
Cassian looked at the building before them.
"No."
"What?"
Cassian walked toward the iron door.
Behind the building stood a tall hill that blocked out the entire sky.
Not a single star was visible.
He looked at Lyra.
"This place."
Lyra nodded.
"We have to go inside."
Cassian searched his pocket.
He pulled out a small key.
Lyra stared at him.
"You already have the key?"
Cassian didn't answer.
He inserted the key into the lock.
Click.
The door opened.
Cold air spilled out from inside.
Beyond the door was a long staircase leading underground.
Lyra stared into the darkness.
For some reason, her body seemed to recognize the place.
As if she had stood there before.
As if someone had once been waiting for her.
Cassian turned on his flashlight.
"We're going down."
Lyra followed.
They made their way through a narrow corridor.
Old photographs covered the walls.
Photographs of Adrian.
Seraphine.
Edmund.
And several other people Lyra didn't recognize.
But at the end of the corridor, one photograph brought her to a stop.
A photograph of a little girl.
Lyra.
A man stood beside her.
Her father.
But something was different.
A woman stood behind them.
Her face was hidden in shadow.
Lyra moved closer.
Written beneath the photograph were the words:
SUBJECT L-23 — PRIMARY GUARDIAN: CASSIAN ARDENT
Lyra slowly turned around.
Cassian stood several steps behind her.
"How long have you been protecting me?"
Cassian was silent.
Lyra shot him a sharp look.
"Since I was a baby?"
Cassian finally answered.
"Since the night your father died."
Lyra shook her head.
"That's not true."
Cassian fell silent.
"Because in this photograph..."
Lyra pointed at the image.
"...you look much younger."
Cassian didn't deny it.
Lyra noticed the date beneath the photograph.
August 20, 2003.
The same date as her birthday.
Lyra felt her blood rush.
She looked at Cassian.
"Then..."
Her voice trembled.
"...you've known me since the day I was born."
Cassian looked at her.
And for the first time since they'd met, the man looked genuinely afraid.
"Lyra..."
"What really happened on the day I was born?"
Cassian looked at the photograph.
Then he said quietly,
"On the day you were born..."
He stopped.
"...your father discovered who was going to kill him."
Lyra held her breath.
"Who?"
Cassian raised his head.
"That person is in this photograph."
Lyra looked at the image again.
Her eyes moved from her father's face...
to her own...
then stopped on the mysterious woman behind them.
The woman's face was still hidden in shadow.
But in her hand, she clutched an object.
A constellation-shaped necklace.
Exactly like Lyra's.
To be continued...