They walked together in silence. The streets, empty at this hour, were softly lit by the lanterns. Their pace seemed slower to her than usual. Maybe it was just her imagination. Maybe she didn't want this walk to end at all.

Curses! I shouldn't feel like this... I mustn't...

Lyra didn't realize when they reached the imposing stone building, nor when they stood before the wooden door of the library. There was no guard in the main hall at this hour.

"You don't have to come..." she began to tell him awkwardly when he stepped forward to open the door. "I can go..."

But he didn't let her continue. Without facing her, he opened the wooden door quite abruptly, making the handle protest with a sharp sound from the force it had received.

Valir's strong and stern voice shattered the fragile silence of the dark library.

"Seris!"

No answer came. No sound was heard, no movement to catch their attention. Only dust was floating gracefully in the soft light.

This place seemed darker and more alien to her now. The familiar smell of old books and dry ink couldn't soothe her heart. The warmth of the room did not reach her, and her limbs were as cold as ice.

"Is she really here?" she mumbled.

Valir moved forward without saying a thing.

Didn't he hear me?

"Seris," he called again, louder and more commandingly this time.

Is he ignoring me?

"Hey..." she began to say, touching his arm to draw his attention. He turned slightly toward her, but before they could say anything, Seris's voice interrupted them.

"I heard you the first time," she said, annoyed. "There is no need to shout."

Her remark made his jaw tighten, and his lips were pressed into a line.

The woman emerged from the corner of the corridor, holding a book, looking at them from beneath her monocle. Lyra recognized the book immediately. It was the one she had been reading when she first met the witch.

"What has happened? Where's the fire?" she asked them, her gaze falling between them. She noticed how Lyra's hand was touching his arm and smirked.

"Oh.. Here's the fire..." she murmured. Valir ignored the slight remark, gestured for Lyra to continue, and took a step back, resting his back against a shelf, his arms crossed over his chest, waiting.

Once again, he hadn't said anything to her, and yes, that made her feel a sting she didn't want to feel.

"There is something I want to ask."

"Well? What are you waiting for? Ask!" Seris answered, lifting her eyebrows slightly.

"Is there a way for me to go back... to my world?" Her voice did not sound certain at all. At this point, everyone in this room knew the situation, but that didn't make it any easier. Seris sighed quietly, closing the heavy book, and placed it on the shelf beside her.

"It is possible," she said, after thinking about it for a moment.

"But? Is it not certain?" Lyra

"Hmm... It's... complicated..." She paused, approaching her. "What the...? Have you been drinking?" The witch's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I am fine..."

"Come tomorrow..." she said sternly and turned to leave.

"I am not drunk."

"Seris!" Valir's warning voice sounded at the same time as Lyra's.

The witch's gaze wandered between them, her eyes narrowing...

"I would expect it from you..." she said to Valir. "From you, however, no..." she turned to Lyra.

"Seris, I am fine."

"Ugh... Anyway... Come with me." She exhaled tiredly and turned the other way.

Lyra turned briefly to Valir, and he approached her. His expression wasn't angry or upset. He felt distant, yes, but the moment she met his eyes, she could see something else entirely... Concern.

Why? Why are you being like this?

"Let's go." It was the only thing he said, and Lyra followed him.

The three of them passed through a narrow corridor that led to a staircase hidden behind a bookcase. She had never been to this part of the library before.

They descended the wide steps and found themselves in a small open space with a table and a large comfy armchair. The walls were covered with shelves filled with dusty books, and on the table were open manuscripts, papers with drawn magical circles, alchemical symbols, books... Seris stood in front of it and took one of the papers in her hands.

"I will explain this once, and once only. So listen carefully to what I am about to say, because there is no way I will repeat it," she said sharply.

"Yes, Ma'am," Lyra replied.

"Our universe consists of different dimensions... It's like there are multiple different realities, connected through space and time." She paused for a moment, waiting for a question that never came, and then continued.

"You came from one of them, but there is no trace. If you had come here using magic, it would be easy to find it and open a portal to your world... But now..." She lifted her shoulders...

"Now what?" Lyra did not know what she wanted to hear. On one hand, she hoped a portal would open immediately before her, and she would hop back into her world. On the other hand, however, his presence behind her made her heart drop.

"If we do it blindly, we might be creating an opening to anywhere..." she replied. "You may end up in yours, or somewhere completely different..."

"And if she wants to stay? Can she?" Valir asked, who had been standing silent all this time. Lyra's heart lost its rhythm, and turned to him. His expression remained serious, looking at the witch and avoiding Lyr'a's questioning eyes.

Why are you asking that?

"That... would be difficult..."

"So I can't go back, and I can't stay either?" Lyra's mumbled thought interrupted them. A new fear began to take hold of her, because this was a possibility she had not considered.

"I do not have a ready answer to give you right now." This time, she didn't sound so sarcastic or ironic.

"So you can't do it," Valir said sharply.

The witch seemed particularly annoyed at his remark.

"If it were so simple to open and close portals to other worlds, we wouldn't be standing here right now," she glared at him. "Specific conditions are needed, prerequisites." She lifted her hands.

"What do you need, then?" Valir pressed.

"Reports. Old records. Journals. Anything that could give us a clue... For months here I have been trying to make sense of whatever existed in your library, but it is very... limited..." She was losing patience, you could feel it in her voice now, touching the spines of the books beside her.

"If it is not here... then where?" Lyra asked.

"In Veiranthes?" Valir asked.

"If we had such records in the Spire, don't you think I would know? If, and I repeat if, there is something that might help, then it is in the old Outpost, in the Northern Pass, in Bolvunnieve," she answered.

"In the old Outpost?" Lyra looked at Valir for a moment.

"In Bolvunnieve? Seris, do you understand what you are asking?" His question came almost at the same time as Lyra's. His shoulders tightened. There was a tension he was trying to restrain, but his frowning face did not make it easy.

"Of course I understand... I know it is dangerous... But it is also the only place that could have answers."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Many of the records considered dangerous, heretical, or fairy tales ended up there precisely because it is difficult to reach..."

"Fine," Lyra, who until that moment had been watching the conversation, cut them off. "Can I be absent from the infirmary for a few days?" She turned toward him, asking him for permission to go alone. She had no intention of asking anyone to follow her. It was something that concerned her and no one else. Or at least that was what she believed, because as soon as she asked him for permission, his surprised gaze darkened.

"You are not going up there alone," he argued, almost abruptly, his stern voice made her take a step back. It had nothing to do with the way she was used to hearing him.

She gulped without understanding what had made him so angry. Yes, he was holding it back. But not enough for her not to understand that something was going on.

"And what will happen then?" she countered him, without backing down. On one hand, she felt hurt by his abrupt manner, but on the other, she had begun to get irritated. Since the moment they had left the tavern, he had not said a word.

Now what? What do you want? She glared at him.

"I will go alone," he responded, calmer now, as if he were trying to restrain his voice.

"No." Her answer came faster than he expected, catching him unprepared. "This concerns me. I will come."

"Good!" Seris interrupted them, clapping her hands together in one loud clap. "You will both go."

They both turned toward her at the same time, full of tension, having momentarily forgotten she was still there.

"Now that this is settled too, may I return to my peace?" The witch seemed to be enjoying their irritation.

"Ah, and Valir?" she continued. "Stop looking at her as if she is a problem you can solve with a sword." She smiled crookedly at his annoyance and left the room, leaving them alone. Her footsteps sounded softly on the stairs as she moved away from the small underground basement.

The first to speak was Lyra.

"I need to prepare my things," she said, starting to leave.

"No," Valir snapped abruptly, catching her by the hand before she could move away.

"I will come!" she argued back, turning sharply toward him. Her gaze fell in surprise first on his hand over hers and then rose to his face. His eyes opened slightly. It looked as if he had moved before he even realized it.

"I didn't say otherwise. But we are not leaving yet," he said, loosening his grip gently. His voice lowered, and his eyes softened. Her pulse was beating so wildly in her wrist that it was impossible for him not to feel it in his hold, and from his gaze she understood that it had already betrayed her. With her lips pressed together, she calmly pulled her hand from his and held it to her chest.

"We can't waste time," she insisted, pulling her eyes away from him. All the frustration she had felt earlier was replaced by turmoil from a small touch. A turmoil so warm and sweet that it hurt her. The longer they delayed, the more she feared that everything she felt would make her change her mind.

"The Northern Pass is not safe right now." He made a small pause. "After the bad weather, reports came in about landslides and avalanches. We should prepare first," he said, gathering all his composure and patience in his gaze.

"When do we leave, then?" She returned, wanting to sound certain and determined, but the voice that reached her ears was clearly anxious.

"In two days."

"All right," she said and quickly passed by him. She passed him by with her head held high and her shoulders tense, avoiding his gaze, and clenching her palms so tightly that she felt her nails leaving marks on her skin.

I mustn't feel like this!