Chapter 4

The click of the lock sounded like a gunshot in the cavernous, freezing room.

Lyra sat frozen on the massive bed for a long moment, staring at the thick oak door. Her breath plumed in the frigid air, a pale mist that quickly vanished into the shadows. The reality of the lock, the fortre

Chapter 5

"You," Lyra breathed.

Before her rational mind could catch up with her survival instinct, she whipped her hand out of her pocket and hurled the crushed mixture of snow-poppy root and ash-cap directly into Vane’s face.

A cloud of pale gray dust exploded between them. The Mad King inhal

Chapter 6

Vane did not lead her back up to the gilded prison in the tower. Instead, he marched her across the snow-covered courtyard and toward a heavy, reinforced iron door set into the base of the mountain.

"Where are we going?" Lyra demanded, wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the bi