The world narrowed to a single point.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCzjJsjgjj
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Everything else - the stone walls, the mark above the altar, the dusty light filtering through narrow windows - dissolved into nothing. Only his sister remained, kneeling before the statue with her head bowed in prayer.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTh4fwq7Bh
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Lyra.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JNMn4GUZU
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His feet moved without permission, carrying him forward across worn stone. Each step echoed in the empty church - too loud, too present. He should stop. Should turn around and leave before she noticed him. Before whatever fragile peace she'd found here shattered beneath the weight of his existence.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHy0ZE9lZ4
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But he couldn't.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlzaGXcNMx
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She'd grown. Only one year had reshaped the child he remembered into something older - shoulders less round, features more defined. Her bluish-black hair fell past her shoulders in waves he didn't recognize. But the way she held herself, the curve of her spine as she knelt…102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUbxCNbIWF
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJ5PMSA6oA
He knew her.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEJ5LEnLZB
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His shadow fell across her. The movement was small - just the shift of darkness against stone - but her prayer stuttered to a halt. Her shoulders tensed. She lifted her head slowly, turning.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJiFIKLMAT
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Their eyes met.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tYzbZqPEk
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Hers were the same icy blue-gray he remembered - matte blue that caught the light without reflecting it. But there was something different now. Something worn at the edges, like sea-glass tumbled smooth by years of waves.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgWODOv0ZT
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She blinked. Once. Twice. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound emerged.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkuLyfmhI3
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Then her expression shifted - surprise melting into something warm and genuine. A smile spread across her face.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8X69g3o0pz
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"Oh!" The word burst out bright and delighted. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in." She rose quickly, brushing dust from her dress with practiced movements. "It's so rare to meet another believer here."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTI4rDrOnp
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lHIKq309y
Her gaze tracked across his face - the white hair, the features that should have been familiar but weren't quite right anymore. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQ8Wh2wXUV
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She didn't know him.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3qK4HwuO1
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The realization hit like a blade between his ribs. Of course she didn't. He'd been fifteen the last time she saw him - brown-haired, desperate, still clinging to the delusion that his family might care. Now he stood before her transformed, marked by powers she'd never seen and trauma she couldn't imagine.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10TsUzzf06
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He was a stranger to his own sister.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkycVrUpUO
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"I..." he started.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKQsFjHzD0
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The word fell between them like a stone into still water. She waited, polite and patient, for him to continue. But what could he possibly say?102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldzuXH6Xcd
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MTigtwg0V
‘I'm your brother.’ The words screamed through his mind but refused to travel to his lips.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5Tasja27P
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzB0qrxjmjA
"I'm a Moon Chosen," he finally managed.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfjhTJObcg
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Safe. Simple. True.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkCciGajaE
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Her eyes widened. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2LAehG1qy
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"Really?" The word carried genuine interest. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWeSWff44M
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"I've never met one before." The words tumbled out faster now, excitement replacing hesitation. "I mean—I've seen Chosen from other clans, but never someone blessed by her. What's it like? Is it—"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspVhTSF9oN
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She caught herself. Her hands clasped together at her waist - a gesture he remembered from childhood, something she did when uncertain.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKGHoI5Scu
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"I'm sorry. That's probably rude. You came here to pray, not to be interrogated by a stranger."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0GY49qUgu
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrc6Zf23hU9
"It's fine." His voice came steadier this time. "I don't mind."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCPY8Cr6Wt
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A lie. He minded everything - the distance between them, the false name he should give, the truth he couldn't speak. But the alternative was worse.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56ryS6Esk4
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbnodRMojP
Silence settled between them, not quite comfortable but not hostile either. Lyra's gaze drifted back toward the altar, toward the mark of the Moon Goddess carved into pale stone.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj95fqKIWey
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"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Her voice softened. "Most people never visit. The other churches are always full. But here..." She gestured at the empty benches, the dust motes drifting through shafts of light. "It's just quiet."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszbJPno3Ro
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"You come here often?"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKG0GNb8x2D
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The question slipped out before he could stop it. Too personal. Too soon. But Lyra didn't seem to notice.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBm9D88iEI4
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSYdxTm9dX
"When I can." Her fingers twisted together. "When I need to think. Or remember. Or just..." She trailed off, searching for words that wouldn't come.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4BSi0FBcO
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqxGPpfpJf
Cel waited. Every instinct screamed at him to press, to ask, to know everything she'd experienced while he rotted in a cell. But he forced himself to stillness.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrOVs5S2Ec
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNDMWh9EKL
"Would you like to sit?" Lyra gestured toward the benches. "Unless you'd prefer to pray alone. I understand if—"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnYQhfERFD
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJRNVVCBPy
"No." Too quick. Too sharp. He softened it. "I'd like to sit."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCcjPBKwVV
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5x8SYEHBC2
They settled on one of the wooden benches, several feet of careful distance maintained between them. Lyra smoothed her dress - another nervous habit - while her gaze kept drifting to his face, then away, as if trying to solve a puzzle she couldn't quite name.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwUt9h9MzC
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"I'm Lyra," she offered.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLcMT2ouCc
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Just Lyra. No clan name attached.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfX0ANSF6N
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The omission struck him immediately. Had she abandoned the Solmar name? Been stripped of it? The questions crowded his throat, but he couldn't ask without revealing too much.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJtF4uQ9Xy
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOeSetKCO2
"I'm..." He hesitated. A false name should come easily - something simple, forgettable. But his mind went blank, scrambling for anything that wouldn't sound absurd. "Heir to the Moon."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fSGiQExlk
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ui9OilKwj
The words fell flat even as he spoke them. Not a name - a title. His paragon's designation, stripped of creativity or thought. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXb1y8HEALH
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Heat crept up his neck.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVn5adba9my
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Lyra blinked. Her expression shifted - not suspicious, but puzzled. "Oh. That's…"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UcKXet4Uy
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUauWEeRnj
"It's what I'm called," he said quickly. The embarrassment burned hotter. He sounded like a fool. Like someone who couldn't manage the basic deception of inventing a name.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6MSfXFkoI
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She nodded slowly, clearly uncertain what to make of it. "It's... distinctive."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYQFaLa4mT
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Distinctive. A polite way of saying strange.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1qyGECmZV
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2uEukw33T
An awkward silence settled between them. Lyra's fingers twisted harder around each other. Her gaze drifted to the altar, lingered there, then returned to her lap. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlcuODrPYp
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Cel kept his eyes fixed on the goddess's mark, refusing to acknowledge the mortification still burning through him. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRHyv6vl1C
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Finally, Lyra cleared her throat softly. "Do you live in the capital?" The question came tentative, as if she was trying to fill the quiet without overstepping.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYi5UJM7L6
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"Recently." Not quite a lie. "I'm enrolled at the Academy."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EVMCiWSee
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"Oh!" Her face brightened. "So am I. I mean—I will be. Once I receive my Divine Calling." The brightness dimmed slightly. "I'm still waiting. Training in the meantime, but..."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhECLCC6ya
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She didn't finish. Didn't need to. The weight of waiting - of hoping and fearing in equal measure - hung in the words she didn't say.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhb4cCzsUsj
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"You'll be chosen," Cel said quietly.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgAwhIvR2x
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"You think so?"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXratF1ovT
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"I do." He glanced at her - the careful way she held herself, the quiet determination beneath the nervousness. "The gods don't ignore people who seek them with genuine faith. They'll see you."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiNsh6Cjqi
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyorCi1jE9w
Something in her expression cracked - just a hairline fracture in the composure she'd maintained. Her eyes glistened slightly before she blinked it away.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFYSIrYZAN
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCc4GHTSuc0
"Thank you," she whispered. "That's... that's kind of you to say."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyp7qgDmRBn
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBRRX7fgDZ
They sat in silence again. This time it felt less awkward, more like two people sharing space without demanding anything from each other.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZlwTprnF1
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Minutes passed. Maybe longer. Time moved strangely in this forgotten corner of the city.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsYaXnnAAM
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbEcSp9zqg
"Can I ask you something?" Lyra's voice came so quiet he almost missed it.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpEV77jgKS
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"Of course."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMH0Xhcpi99
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"What's she like? The Moon Goddess, I mean." Her fingers wouldn't stop moving, twisting and untwisting in her lap. "Is she... kind?"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4wFeChQPQ
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQtqkyuVmT
The question settled between them, weightier than it seemed. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4XCSplPe0
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Cel thought of the frozen sea. Of the trial that had torn him apart - the maze, the mirrors, the creature that killed him. She hadn't made it easy. Hadn't granted power freely or softened the path because he'd already suffered enough. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCmnyoGfDc
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReIJpq6UDu
But she'd been honest about it. No false promises. No deception. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO87utH34qa
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And when he'd completed the trial - when he'd earned what she offered - she'd kept her word. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YxWFcflVi
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"Honest," he said finally. "She's honest. She doesn't promise easy things or pretend the path won't hurt." His voice dropped lower. "But she doesn't lie to you either. What she offers, she gives. And when you've earned your place..." 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hlpqvozXC
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He paused, remembering moonlight flooding the cavern, cold and true. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5OKvMLksJ
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"She doesn't abandon you. Even when everyone else does." 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1xLMJGqY5
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The words came raw, unfiltered. More truth than he'd intended to give.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5ryufoZRP
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Lyra's breath caught. Fresh tears gathered at the corners of her eyes - held back by sheer force of will but threatening to spill.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOXKE0BHDe
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"That's good." Her voice barely held together. "That's really good."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VgdteGznt
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Cel's chest constricted. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EPwdgiFU2
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"I'm sorry," he started. "I didn't mean to—"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡug8NNF19kx
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"No." She shook her head quickly, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just..."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn13uOO1Tn
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She drew a shaking breath.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rPq09AOQH
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"I had a brother." Each word came slow and careful, like she was walking across ice that might crack beneath her weight. "He was chosen by the Moon Goddess too. Just like you."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2K38nKpJMh
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Had.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QZhWQK0a7
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The past tense landed like a stone in his stomach.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukVdcIQG2S
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"I come here to pray for him. To ask that she takes good care of him." Her fingers gripped each other so hard her knuckles went white. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7JgJ3fyDi
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Cel's throat closed around words that wouldn't form. Every breath felt like swallowing broken glass. She believed him dead. She'd spent two years mourning a ghost, praying to a goddess for a brother who sat beside her right now.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MGUoyokp6
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYP1JKFRQT
‘Tell her.’ The command screamed through his mind. ‘Tell her you're alive. Tell her it's you.’102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5imLvmJko6
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But the words wouldn't come.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5KF1Y9B7X
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Because what would he say? That the brother she remembered was dead - transformed into something else entirely? That the boy she'd known had been torn apart in a cell, piece by piece, until nothing remained but rage?102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiC2ONMHjZz
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She mourned someone who no longer existed.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmTHBK9UG9
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"I'm sorry," he managed.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygDbu7vvlb
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Lyra shook her head quickly, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—you came here to pray, not to listen to me—"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIj79oXSQRd
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFYfGgVU2C
"Your brother," Cel interrupted gently. "The Moon Goddess doesn't forget her Chosen. If he bore her mark... she won't have left him alone. Not in life. Not after."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lRGY311eg
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“He’s in good hands, I promise.”102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0czS2Yb7S8
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The words felt strange in his mouth - speaking about himself in past tense, offering comfort with truths only he could know. But they were true. The Moon Goddess had answered when he screamed into the void. Had given him resurrection when he'd died alone and forgotten. Had forged him a new body when the old one had been broken beyond repair. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetbHemrKQy
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She hadn't left him.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FdHtRiE1R
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If anyone deserved that reassurance, it was Lyra.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpj7yO5UUtS
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Her breath hitched. Fresh tears spilled over, tracking down her cheeks. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrLWARLlIK
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"Thank you," she whispered. "You don't know how much I needed to hear that."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuiCQQ9GEN
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeHYzl1CjQ
She wiped at her face again, trying to compose herself. A small, broken laugh escaped her. "I’m sorry. This is embarrassing. We just met and I'm crying all over you."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ468axLkduD
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboX3PBjMnC
"It's not embarrassing," Cel said quietly.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ciLKSlSGS
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He hesitated, then added, "I did the same thing, actually. With my priestess. After I received my blessing." A faint, self-deprecating smile tugged at his lips. "Completely broke down crying in her arms." 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDyZVVAleu
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Lyra's eyes widened slightly, then something in her expression softened - relief mixed with gratitude. "Really?" 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCUveQPueY
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhshk0DVfW
"Really." The admission came easier than expected. "She told me that there's no shame in acknowledging your pain." 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctyLYlbuMM
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMn9qfOix7
A small, genuine smile broke through Lyra's tears. "Your priestess sounds wise." 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaLO4kSrhV
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"She is." The words carried more weight than Lyra could know. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHY5puX009c
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They sat in silence for a moment. The church's stillness wrapped around them - not oppressive, but sheltering.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2mIdIElrv
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Lyra's smile faded slowly, her gaze drifting back to the altar. The ease between them remained, but something heavier settled underneath it - the weight of the grief she'd been carrying alone. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpeIdoomHM
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Cel watched her profile, the way her fingers had gone still in her lap for the first time since they'd sat down. Questions burned in his throat. Dangerous questions. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yMor7VhRs
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He shouldn't ask. Shouldn't make her relive it. But he needed to know what story they'd told her. What lie his father had constructed to hide the truth.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21RaIyZN7w
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"Can I ask..." Cel's voice came carefully. "How did he die?"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjw8Ej4OFdD
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The stillness shattered. 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Tr5XXOWjR
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Lyra's hands clenched in her lap. Her breathing changed - slower, deeper, like she was preparing to dive underwater. When she spoke, each word was measured, controlled, barely holding back something raw beneath the surface.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCm7WzgVC8x
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"My father..." She paused. Swallowed. Started again. "My father was not a good man."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0Yonrs0S0
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZ6oJrBjC7
The words came slow and painful, like pulling arrows from a wound.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCYuIowcid
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0dxxxnNdu
"He was obsessed. With power. With legacy. With being remembered as something great." Her voice hardened, edges sharpening with barely restrained fury. "When the Moon Goddess chose my brother instead of the Sun God... Father couldn't accept it…"102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5pOxISDXG
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She drew a shaking breath.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ppcBccXou
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"He exiled him. Just... threw him out.” 102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyJfvTNA0k
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECahMtqGfo
"Mother searched everywhere - spent weeks trying to find him, desperate to bring him home. And then..."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hbOot5Wzb
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jJH5Zb2Ju
She drew a shaking breath.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzW6NIFwfmE
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"We got word. There'd been an accident. A carriage." Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "They said he died instantly. That he didn't suffer."102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hT0g72x4a
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGY9wJyCYz2
The lie dissolved into silence.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWx3YOb79l
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Cel's jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. A carriage accident. Such a clean explanation. So easy for people to accept. No questions asked. No investigation needed. Just another tragic death on dangerous roads.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyH2zYYQd26
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His father had sold him to cultists and covered it with a convenient lie.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZLfvRv2dt
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Lyra pressed her palms against her eyes, shoulders shaking with silent tears.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhhmzcqqFt
102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCcz5Lu56k
His hand moved before thought could stop it. He reached out and patted her head gently - the same gesture he used to make when she was small and sad about something. A reflex from another life.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGiigPU65r
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Lyra froze.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FCnKgqK5c
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Her breath caught. Her eyes went wide, staring at nothing as something clicked behind them - recognition struggling to break through confusion.102Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0v1r5oM2L
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