“Lyra? It's me.”
Lyra wished it was Wyn. She took a deep breath, steadied herself as best as she could, and slowly dragged her feet to the door. When Lyra tried to open it, she realized it was still locked. She could only jiggle the handle aimlessly.
“Umm,” her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Theo knew everything, but somehow being presented with the locked door made Lyra even more self conscious then she already was. Feeling like a shell of her former self, Lyra choked out a self-deprecating laugh.
“I don't suppose you want to slide a note under the door, huh?”
“Oh, let me try…” Theo swung the door open without hesitation. Lyra’s heart jumped at the sight of him. He stood in front of her, having to duck under the door frame.
“Can I come in?” he asked quietly, his eyes wide and almost optimistic. Theo looked like a deer, and Lyra thought she was going to be sick.
“I’m not sure I can leave,” Lyra forced a bit of humor and edge in her voice, but it only sounded sad. “So, of course.”
She tried to give him a casual smirk, but she only managed to look pained. Theo shut the door, and the sound of it locking again echoed ominously throughout the bedroom.
Lyra motioned for Theo to sit down on the edge of the bed as she went to go stand in the corner, wrapping her arms around herself.
Theo didn't sit, his brow furrowed at her submissive posture.
“I’m not mad at you,” he insisted, firm but quiet.
Lyra snapped her head up so quickly, she almost gave herself whiplash. “You should be!” The stirrings of frustration and anger started to ebb alongside her self-hatred. “Theo,” she spoke slowly, as though she was spelling this out for him for the first time, “I was going to hand you over to Cliodhna. I made a deal tokill you.”
The last two words hung in the air. He only shrugged.
Lyra shrieked in frustration, “You have zero self preservation skills, Theo. This is insane. I don't understand how Wyn is angrier than you are!”
Theo looked puzzled, as if this was a great mystery he couldn't figure out, either.
“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his head. “He was rather angry about it, wasn't he?”
“You should be too!” Lyra snapped, looking around the room as if there was something in the bedroom that might provide clarity or insight into Theo's confusing acceptance of the entire situation.
“I don't understand how you don't hate me right now,” Lyra admitted, a little softer.
Theo didn't say anything for a minute, and Lyra thought he was about to admit that he did hate her on some level. It would be easier if he did.
“If Cliodhna didn't have your sister, would you have made a deal with her?” Theo pressed.
Lyra shook her head, refusing to answer his question. “That's not important. There are too many 'what if's' in this world. What matters is what I did. And Ididmake a deal with her. For you.”
Theo moved closer to her, his tall frame taking up almost the entire room, drowning out Lyra's senses with nothing else but Theo. The tension in the tiny space thickened, and there was nowhere else for her to look but at him. His cheeks were flushed, and he'd started to look upset. Lyra would've been relieved, but she didn't think he was upset about the right things.
“Butdid,” Theo mocked her emphasis, “you do it for your sister?”
Lyra tried to look at her feet, but Theo caught her chin. He gently held it between two fingers, tilting it up to meet his eyes. His voice was even, but his eyes were ablaze, a churning, bright blue color that reminded Lyra of the sea. And now, he looked like the sea during a storm.
Let it be known that no matter how even-keeled Theo was on the surface, like the ocean itself, he had more depth than people could even begin to fathom. And Theo was furious.
“Yes,” Lyra admitted on an exhale, her entire body vibrating with Theo's intensity.
Without warning, Theo shifted his grip, cupping her cheek and kissing her. Lyra didn't think; she acted instinctively. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his, relishing in the safe heat of him. The kiss was anything but gentle. It was punishing, extracting, all teeth and tongue as Theo bit at Lyra's lip until she let him in.
His thumb was rubbing soothing motions on her cheek, in contradiction to the near violence of his kiss, while his other hand gripped her waist. He held her so tightly, Lyra knew the skin would bruise, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
Time blurred, and everything faded away, until all Lyra was left with was the feel of Theo, invading her senses and proving all of her defenses irrelevant. Finally, he pulled back with a gasp, heat in his eyes as his thumb gently rolled over her swollen lips.
