y ribcage like an omen-one I am unable to understand but am powerless to disobey. He is the other half of your soul. I force out a breath, trying to catch my breath. "You're saying th

. Finding him might just spoil everything. I don't know I'm gripping the book too hard until Eadric retrieves my fingers from the cover with a light prying motion. His hand is firm but gentle, pressure of his gaze unrelenting as I return his stare. "You're afraid." I don't answer. Because of course I am. I've spent my entire life with the feeling that I don't belong, that something beneath the surface of my existence is just a little. wrong. The dreams were the only thing that ever made sense of the fact that everything else never did. And now I know why. It's real. He's real. But if that's real, then so is the rest of it. I swallow hard, my mouth parched. "What happens if I find him? Eadric does not respond right away. Instead, he leans back in his chair, lacing his fingers together. The fire casts shadows on his face. "The bond of souls in common is strong, Lyra. Far too strong. The harder you seek each other, the more the worlds dissolve.". I shake my head. "That doesn't make any sense. If we weren't meant to find each other, then why are the dreams there? Why is the bond there at all?" His lips press into a thin line. "Because some things won't ever be undone." His words weigh in my chest, bringing up something I can't quite identify. I don't want to believe him. But the thing is, I already do. The moment I laid eyes on Kairos in the dream-the moment our eyes met-I knew. It wasn't recognition. It was relief. Like I'd been waiting for something without even realizing it. Like I'd spent my whole life missing a piece of myself I never even realized was missing. And now I'm being informed that finding him will untangle everything. I force a breath into my lungs. "Can you stop it?" Eadric's eyes darken. "There is but one way." The silence between us becomes long. I don't ask what it is. I already know. Forget him. Let the bond break. It is the logical choice. The safe one. But even as I think of it, my chest tightens. My hands tremble. I can't. I don't know why, but the very suggestion of it lances a sharp, throbbing pain through my ribs. As if something inside me is already fighting it. Eadric looks at me cautiously. "I see you've already made your decision." I try to open my mouth-to protest, to say I need time-but nothing comes out. Because he's right. The book could warn me. The universe itself could be trying to keep us apart. But I will find him. At the expense of destroying me. Eadric