Nur pulled Lyra by the sleeve. Despite her fragile appearance, the young girl held on firmly. Lyra followed her, excited and impatient. She hoped with all her heart to finally find Pantalaimon. In her mind, everything was racing. Was he okay? Was he healthy? What was really the reason for his departure? Did he think of her as much as she thought of him? She almost forgot the pain of the long hours of walking, the fatigue accumulated from the miles covered. With Nur, she moved quickly through the deserted streets, the sound of their footsteps echoing against the dusty walls. They arrived at a large wooden door. Nur put her finger to her lips, silent, she opened the door and pulled Lyra inside.
" Follow me ", whispered the young girl.
They walked along an unadorned corridor. Nur stopped in front of a white door.
" It's here ", she said. " If you need me, I'll be in the next room "
Lyra remained motionless for a moment. She placed a trembling hand on the handle.
What if all of this was a trap set by the Magisterium? How, after all she had endured, could she blindly follow a young girl in rags who had come out of nowhere? Deep down, the Church still was after for her and what she represented in their eyes.
Despite everything, her curiosity remained stronger. It was it, with her intrepid character, who determined her choices, who led her into dangerous or incongruous situations from a young age. It was she who had taken her to the North, who had introduced her to Iorek, Will, Mary... So Lyra opened the door. She had to wait a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The room seemed small and poorly furnished, far from the splendor of the halls of Jordan College or St. Sophia's. In the center was a low table on which sat a candle that, despite all its efforts, weakly lit the place, and behind it, a bed, simple and covered with crumpled linen. On it, a pine marten with disheveled fur looked at Lyra, feverishly. The young woman's eyes lit up.
" Pantalaimon! Pan !" she exclaimed, rushing towards her dæmon and kneeling beside the bed.
She hesitated, nervous. After all, he had left in anger, so it would be normal for him to reject her.
" Lyra ", said Pan softly.
" Oh Pan... I'm sorry... I was so worried…"
Pantalaimon approached her. He reached his nose towards Lyra's face, then gently snuggled against her neck. Lyra held him tightly and breathed deeply into his fur. All of her muscles relaxed and she felt as though her heart was beating again.
" Where were you? How did you get here? And who is this young girl?" she asked him.
Pan moved away and put his paws on Lyra's forearm to look at her with excitement.
" I will explain all of it to you very soon, but first, you absolutely need to listen to me!"
He seemed restless and began to pace back and forth on the bed.
" I found them, Lyra! I found them! Actually, I should say they found me. It was about an hour ago or more, I'm not sure. It was a complete coincidence for me, but our meeting seemed expected for them, as if they were looking for me. They're here! And they'll be arriving any minute now! They also told me that you would be here soon and that they were waiting for you! Oh Lyra..."
Lyra was taken aback by Pantalaimon's behavior. She had rarely seen him so excited.
" Pan, what are you talking about? Explain to me!"
Before Pantalaimon could say more, a voice echoed in the hallway.
" Lyra?"
Lyra froze at the sound of that voice. Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest. She turned around slowly, petrified with apprehension. She didn't have time to see who it was before two arms embraced her with force.
" It's you, it's you", whispered the voice, emotionally, "I knew it was you."
Under this powerful embrace, Lyra was suffocating, her heart beating violently in her chest. She managed to free herself from the arms that encircled her to step back and observe for a moment the man who had appeared. He was there, under the weak rays of the moon, the candlelight gradually revealing his features. Instinctively, Lyra took his hands to examine them more closely. Five fingers on one, three on the other... She shook her head. What if it was her imagination playing tricks on her? Had she had a heatstroke after these long hours of walking? From the corner of her eye, she saw a feline approach Pan and sniff him. Then the dæmon rubbed his head against the cat's. She looked up, stunned, a shiver running through her body, her heart beating harder.
" Will... " she said in a whisper.
Each of the young man's limbs seemed tense, waiting for her reaction. He looked taller than she remembered; stronger too; more tired in his dark and dusty tunic. She approached and placed her hands on Will's cheeks, who kept his eyes on her. The young man's stubble tickled her palms. He closed his eyes as she ran her fingers over his face.
" It's you... It's impossible…"
Tears were welling up in Will's eyes as he drew her close to him again. He took a deep breath in her hair and then put his hands around her neck and pressed his forehead against hers. He plunged his ebony gaze into Lyra's. Her mouth was dry, emotions and questions jostling intp her heart and throat.
" I missed you", he murmured.
The words seemed futile, yet Lyra could sense all the sincerity. Will sighed and, lowering his head, let out a small laugh. Lyra looked at him, incredulous. He hesitated:
" It's just that... I have... I don't know... It seems stupid, but... I really want to kiss you right now, but who's to say you do too? After all these years…"
If she wanted to as well? Of course she wanted to as well. During all these years, she had devised plans to find him, to open a window somewhere, to find a way. During all this time, she dreamed of these reunions, raging when the cruel truth appeared again. In the darkest moments, she let herself think that all this was trivial, that it was better to move on, to keep the midsummer ritual and grow. So in response, Lyra pulled him towards her and kissed him fiercely. A kiss as impatient and awkward as the first. She had known men, a few, more or less sincerely, believing she loved them, but she had never found the internal explosion that had occurred during their first kiss, by the river, in the Mulefa's world. She never thought she would relive such an intense moment. It was before tonight. Clinging to each other, they kept kissing, again and again, rediscovering the sensations of finally being reunited. Out of breath, Lyra felt dizzy. She needed to step back for a moment to catch some air and sat down on the bed. Will did the same, never stopping kissing the young woman's face. Her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her lips, everything, absolutely everything about her had been missed. Lyra let out a clear laugh as he took her face in his hands.
" At the port, they talked about a Silvertongue who was looking for her dæmon." said Will. "I immediately knew it was you. And then we found Pan."
His voice was soft, almost imperceptible, as if he was afraid that a louder word could disrupt the magic of their reunion. They wanted this moment to last indefinitely. By their sides, their dæmons played, intertwined, and nibbled each other with pleasure.
" There hasn't been a single day when I haven't thought about you..." he whispered.
Resuming their kisses, Lyra felt a new kind of desire growing within her, lurking inside her for so long, powerful, deep. She buried her fingers in the young man's thick hair as he pressed her against him even harder, always harder.
" Doc?" raspy voice called behind them, "Doc, we have to leave."
Will froze. He loosened his grip. The charm had suddenly broken, time resumed its inevitable rhythm and plunged them into a terrible reality. Will turned around and exclaimed angrily:
" You promised me an hour! That was our deal!"
" I don't manage departures... We must not delay the ship's departure and we have a long way to go."
In the doorway stood a man with broad shoulders. He sported a thick white mustache that contrasted with his bald head. The right sleeve of his jacket was rolled up, revealing a swallow tattoo on his biceps. A seagull was perched on his shoulder, eyeing Pantalaimon and Kirjava, cuddled up against each other on the bed. The man met Lyra's gaze and nodded in greeting. He added:
" I'm sorry. We don't have much time, Doc."
Will bit his lower lip and turned to Lyra. Hundreds of questions crowded her mind, but no words came out. She clutched Will's tunic so tightly that her knuckles whitened. He took her face in his hands, suddenly very serious.
" Do you trust me?"
Lyra backed away slowly, suddenly wary. Not towards Will, but towards the present moment that she couldn't seem to grasp or control. She wanted someone to answer the thousands of questions that crowded her lips. How had Will found his way to her? Was it really him? And who was this man? What did he want from her? Why did he have to leave? Why already? She saw the panic in Will's eyes as he pressed her:
" Lyra, please. Do you trust me?"
Finally, she nodded, her face serious. Of course she trusted him, they had entrusted each other with their lives when they were just children. She knew with a single glance that this feeling still held true.
" If I tell you not to worry about me, that everything will be alright, do you believe me?"
Again, she nodded. She had faith in him. Her distrust was directed at the rest of the world, the one that had betrayed her, assaulted her, threatened her, and still threatened her. Feeling Will's gaze on her again would give her the strength to face the world. Yet she couldn't help but tremble.
" We will find each other again, we will see each other again. Whatever happens, we will find each other."
" No, no," she despaired, her throat tight, "Will, no, not now, I beg you…"
" Lyra, we will find each other, I promise you on my life. But now, now I have to go…"
Lyra clung to him even tighter. She held back a sob. All of this reminded her of their last painful separation. She didn't want to let him go again. Not now, they had so much to catch up on. She wanted to keep him close to her, hear his voice, his laughter, feel his warmth against her. With great tenderness, Will wiped her tears and gave her a sad smile. He kissed her, a gentle, strong kiss that overflowed with the love he felt at that moment, that overflowed with the love he had always had.
" I love you Lyra, I love you."
These words had the effect of a bomb inside Lyra. She stood up and walked towards the man with the seagull dæmon. He did not flinch. She threatened him with aplomb, her heart beating strongly in her temples and tears flowing down her cheeks despite herself.
" You have no right to do this! Do you even know everything we have been through together? Do you know everything we have gone through to get here?"
" I know, Miss Silvertongue. Your deeds are legends on our shores."
Lyra froze. She felt Will's hand take hers and turned around. He smiled at her, his eyes shining. As she gave him a pleading look, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her for a few more seconds.
" Meet us in Bodø", he whispered in her ear. " I'll be waiting for you. I love you."
He lifted her face for one last quick and passionate kiss, then joined the man and they both left the room, leaving Lyra alone in the dark and silent room, too silent. She felt a brush against her calves. Kirjava passed by her, purring.
" Trust us", the dæmon repeated, " We'll see each other again in Bodø."
And she too left the room, trotting towards Will and the man with the swallow tattoo. The heavy front door slammed shut, spreading its echo through the hallway and buzzing inside Lyra, who was now prostrate.
She stayed in the middle of the room for a few seconds, arms hanging limply, disoriented. Slowly, she knelt down, trembling in every limb. She felt like her heart was about to explode. Heavy sobs rose up her throat and shook her shoulders. Pantalaimon came forward and she hugged him tightly. An overflow of emotions battled within her. The intense joy of finally finding her dæmon, the almost violent one of seeing Will again, of feeling him against her, of hearing his voice. And the pain of this new separation. She breathed deeply into Pantalaimon's fur. His touch soothed her and she seemed to catch her breath. They remained like this for long minutes. Finally, she regained her composure and stood up. She sat on the bed, vigorously wiping her cheeks and eyes. Pan jumped to her side.
" Okay", she said, " first, what happened to you? Then, how do we get to Bodø?"