Day 2: Lyra’s Journal

The rain stopped just as I reached the riverbank. Vex was already there, his face pale under the pale light of the moon. I didn’t say anything at first—just watched how his hands shook as he tried to steady the edge of the water. Then he spoke, voice low: ‘You don’t have to go back. Not tonight.’ But I knew he meant something else. The words hung in the air like the last drops of rain, heavy and unspoken. I think he’s afraid of what I’ll say next.