The words came out easier than Lyra thought they would. Wyn and Theo started talking over each other, shocked andangry. Theo was more shocked than angry, Wyn the opposite. Calum said nothing. Lyra kept her eyes closed and kept talking.
“I was prepared to die after making the pact with Calum, to keep my sister safe.” She answered the next question she knew was on their minds. “But I don't want to do that to you, Theo.” She picked up her head, staring straight at him and ignoring the other two men. “I don't know what to do about my sister. She's all I have left in this world.” Lyra's voice cracked, and to her own personal horror, tears started dripping down her cheeks.
An awful silence took over the room, oppressive and tense. Calum hadn't moved at all, still staring at the screen as if it had personally offended him. Wyn had one hand on the knife at his belt, staring at Lyra with more contempt than she'd ever seen in a man's gaze before.
Theo's expression devastated her. He looked a little sad, but almost as though he had expected this, as if it were normal and commonplace for someone to want to trade his life for someone else's. Forget the fact they'd already shared a bed. Or a bedroll. His lips were pulled into a thin line, both upset and angry.
She could see Theo mentally lecturing himself on other people's motives and why it would only be fair for Lyra to do this. He was already making excuses for her in his head; she could see it.
It infuriated her.
“You should hate me!” Lyra nearly sqawked, pointing a finger at Theo. “Don't look at me like that. With pity in your eyes. You should want my head on a spike, Theo.”
Theo shook his head. “Don't talk like that. I could never want?—”
“No.” Wyn held up a hand and interrupted Theo. “She's on to something there.”
Lyra threw Wyn a defensive look.
“Well, I'm sorry?” Theo blushed, looking sheepish, “I don't want you dead. I don't know, I mean, no. I don't want that.” He looked around the room as if he were trying to find clues for how he should be reacting to this betrayal.
Wyn spared him the need to speak by turning towards the propped-up cellphone, where the grainy video of Calum was still silent.
“Anything to say here?”
The room was quiet. Lyra watched Theo lean forward, waiting for his brother's guidance on how to react. On anyone else, she would have found it cowardly or weak-spined. In Theo, it was endearing.
“I can't say I wasn't expecting this,” Calum said curtly, his tone clipped but not overly angry or hostile. “It was a risk working with anyone who calls the water home when Cliodhna was our threat.”
Wyn grunted something in Elvish under his breath that Lyra didn't catch.
“You want me to throw her overboard?” Wyn hooked his thumb in Lyra's direction.
“No!” Theo shouted, extending a hand out towards Lyra as if to protect her from Wyn. It was comical to think about, but the gesture touched Lyra. She cursed inwardly as a fresh round of tears tracked down her face. Theo was going to come for her heart at every turn. There would be nothing left by the time they were done with this entire fiasco.
“I can swim, Theo.” Lyra offered up a small, sad smile, feeling about three feet tall. Her usual bravado had been squashed, but she couldn’t find it within herself to try to find it.
“Calum?” Wyn asked again, still looking at Lyra from beneath a furrowed brow.
“Why are you telling us this now, Lyra?” Calum asked calmly, still the picture-perfect image of a prince.
“Because I...” Lyra trailed off, steadying herself again. The worst of it was over; what was one more admission?
“I can't do that to Theo.” She turned away from him, looking down at her feet. He would no doubt be surprised, but somehow fix her with some placating, pitying look that would only serve to devastate her even further. Lyra had never felt so small.
“Lyra,” Theo started, but Calum kept up his line of questioning.
“And you know for certain that Cliodhna has your sister?” Calum leaned forward slightly, his large shoulders taking up the entire frame of the phone screen. Even thousands of miles away, he was intimidating.
“Yes, I do,” Lyra informed them, her head hanging low. “She knew too many things about my sister's whereabouts, where she would be hanging out. If she weren't being held prisoner somewhere, I would have seen her by now. It's too much of a coincidence if she went missing by some other hand, the same week that Cliodhna claimed to have taken her.”
Wyn was still muttering in Elvish. Lyra refused to look at Theo's expression. Calum pressed on.
“Your pact with me is still secure, Lyra. If you hand Theo over to Cliodhna, you will die.” The words were even harsher now, even though Lyra had long agreed to their pact.
“I know.”
Calum didn't respond. The silence threatened to choke Lyra. No one in the room made a sound or said another word, waiting for Calum to pass judgment. When he finally spoke, Lyra nearly fell to the floor.
