Lyra Dracorider's Arc

Chapter 14 of 15

Lyra walked across the hospital grounds toward the stone den, her satchel empty and her three wyverns waiting inside. She'd proven she could heal a wing without supplies, but now she had to do it three more times. The air was cold enough to sting her lungs, and the snow crunched under her boots as she passed the outdoor enclosure where Carson's creature had stood just hours ago. She reached the den's entrance and stopped, listening to the soft shifting sounds from within. One of them would need an hour of sitting before she could even begin. Another would panic if she moved too fast. The third was the one she'd been losing sleep over, the one whose wing had the least time left before the damage became permanent. She started humming, low and steady, and stepped inside. But the wyverns were already healed. Their wings were extended fully, testing the air, and when she approached, none of them flinched. She checked each one carefully, running her hands along bone that had set correctly and tissue that was no longer swollen. The critical wyvern—the one she'd feared losing—stretched its wings and held them steady without trembling. She hadn't done this. Someone else had come while she was treating Carson's creature, someone with supplies or magic she didn't have. She should have felt relief, but instead she felt hollow. The work she'd prepared herself to finish was already done, and she didn't know who to thank or whether they'd return. Lyra led the wyverns outside to the snowy path that split near the hospital's edge, where the forest opened into two directions. The Magi who owned two of them were already waiting there, standing in the untouched snow with their hands outstretched. The wyverns went to them without hesitation, and Lyra watched them disappear into the trees. The third wyvern spread its wings and launched itself into the sky, heading south toward the cliffs where it had been found. She stood alone at the split in the path, her work complete but not by her hands. Brighton emerged from behind her and settled onto the golden couch she'd placed near the hospital's outer wall, his scales catching the afternoon light. He'd stayed when the others left, and that choice meant more than she'd expected it to. Lyra returned to her hospital and pulled open the golden filing cabinet she kept near the entrance. She recorded each wyvern's release in careful handwriting, noting their wing injuries and the fact that they'd healed without her final intervention. She added Brighton's name at the bottom of a new page, marking him as permanent rather than temporary. The cabinet held every creature she'd treated and released, but Brighton's entry was different—it had no release date, only the word "stayed" written beside his name. She closed the drawer and looked out at the couch where he rested. The work of letting go was finished, but the work of keeping one creature close had just begun.