Chapter 21 Lyro
Over the next few days, I discovered that Lyro Vale was exactly what he'd advertised: someone who talked enough for both of us.
He filled the silence in our dorm room with a constant stream of commentary about Academy life, pack politics, and campus gossip that I'd never had access to before.
"Did you know that the Elite Trio are called that because they literally run the Academy's social hierarchy?" Lyro said one evening while I was doing homework. "It's not official, but everyone knows. The headmaster looks the other way because their families donate massive amounts of money. Jax's family alone funds half the athletic programs."
I wrote without looking up from my essay.
Corruption runs deep.
"Oh, you have no idea." Lyro leaned back against his headboard. "The whole pack system is corrupt. Alphas get everything, Betas get scraps, and Omegas get nothing. But nobody talks about it because questioning the hierarchy is considered treason."
What about non-Alphas like you?
"We exist in the cracks," Lyro said with a shrug. "Not strong enough to matter, not weak enough to protect. Just... there. Filling space until someone needs a scapegoat."
His casual acceptance of his own disposability made something in my chest ache. I knew that feeling. Had lived it my entire life as Mina.
That's not right, I wrote.
"No shit. But what are we going to do about it?" Lyro laughed bitterly. "System's been in place for centuries. One mute Sterling heir and one packless nobody aren't going to change anything."
I thought about the documents I'd found in the lab. About the Council's systematic oppression. About the prophecy that said I was supposed to restore balance.
Maybe we could change something. Maybe that's exactly what I was meant to do.
But I didn't write that. Lyro didn't need to know about prophecies and Oracles and ancient magic. Not yet.
Instead, I wrote: Tell me about the hierarchy. The parts they don't teach in class.
Lyro's eyes lit up. "Oh, now you're asking the right questions."