After Lyra walked away from the quiet grove, the garden felt different to Tayo. The air seemed to hold a tiny, bright spark that wasn't there before. It felt more alive, more real than the perfect, cut grass and neat flowers around the big house. Tayo slowly walked back towards his home. The tall walls and wide rooms of the House of Solaris suddenly felt cold and quiet. They felt like a very fancy box, not a place to truly live.
He went back to his lessons, but his mind was not there. His tutors talked about history, about numbers, and about using Prime Energy in careful, measured ways. They spoke of 'circuits' and 'flow rates' and 'stable forms'. It was like they saw the energy as just a tool, like a spoon or a hammer. But Tayo now saw it differently. Lyra saw it differently too. She saw it as something alive, something with its own feelings and power, like a wild animal.
His lessons felt even more boring than usual. The words of his teachers went in one ear and out the other. All he could think about was the feeling of the chaotic energy in the grove, and the easy way Lyra talked about old things. His own parents, Lord and Lady Solaris, never spoke of the Great Mind, or the Primeator, or any of the old stories Lyra knew. Their world was the city of Aethelgard, the Ascendant Dynasty, the family business, and power within the city's rules. They cared about his talent with energy because it would make the family stronger in the city. But they didn't seem to care about the strange echoes in his mind, the feelings of wars and places he had never seen in this life.
That night, Tayo couldn't sleep. He sat by the window in his large, comfortable room. He felt like he was living two lives at once. One was the life of Tayo Solaris, the rich, talented child of a great family. The other was the life of someone else, someone who knew hardship and immense power. The life of the second person felt more real now, especially after meeting Lyra.
He quietly sent out his Prime Energy, just like he had in the grove. He didn't try to make it neat or follow his lessons. He let it be messy, wild, just like it felt in the garden. He let his feeling guide it. The energy pulsed around his hand, not smooth, but with tiny, quick changes, like many small heartbeats. It felt exciting and a little scary, but it felt right. It felt like a part of himself that he had to hide in this too-perfect house.
He thought of Lyra's smile and the way she understood the wild energy. She talked about old stories, stories that seemed to fit the strange feelings in his mind. It was like she had pieces of a puzzle that could help him understand himself. The big house, the lessons, the parties – none of it held the answers he was starting to look for. He needed to talk to Lyra again. He needed to know more about the old times and the wild energy. He decided then, sitting by his window in the quiet, dark room, that he would go back to the garden grove tomorrow. He had to see Lyra again. She felt like a path to understanding the wildness inside him and the echoes of a life he couldn't remember, but couldn't forget.