She's there, near the river looking about the same as the first time I'd seen her. Except now she's not wearing a coat. And now I know she's my sister.

I'd been running, but my footsteps slow as I get closer, then finally, I'm there. We're standing side by side, leaning against the bridge with our backs to the city and our eyes on the water.

"I guess you know," she says. "Everything."

"James is our dad, isn't he?" I whisper. "He's the one I saw at the bar."

She nods, then smiles at me as I turn to face her.

"Why did he set all this up? I don't... don't understand."

Lyra sighs and shrugs. "He regretted his decision, leaving Nol and splitting us up. He always felt he was to blame for her whole ordeal."

"But he had nothing to do with that."

"Not directly. But he felt his absence drove her to take on more and more work, and maybe the wrong assignments."

"I can't believe he's been my client all along. My best client. One I never saw. At least not beyond that hooded cloak he wore all the time. I could recognize him that way."

Lyra smirked. "After turning away from Nol and her world, little by little he became more and more miserable. Strangely enough, he decided it was time to try this memory thing. Try buying some memories that would make his life happier. He wanted to go to the expert. And that was you."

"Did the memories make him happier?" I whisper.

"No. But you did."

"Why didn't he tell me who he was or try to get in touch with Nol?" I shake my head, thinking of all the wasted time.

"Because he wanted to bring Nol back first, to save her. He was sure it could be done. Especially after he saw your talent. So, he set up this challenge, with the soulmate memory actually being his – and one that could restore Nol. He needed you to transmit it to her. But he couldn't just ask you to do it. For it to work, he had to be sure you were absolutely desperate to succeed. So he waited, then started making the memory available to you."

"Did he know someone was attacking my powers, weakening me?"

"Yes. Sky told us."

"What do you know about Sky?"

"That he, too, was trying to help you."

I knit my brow, but I don't push the subject. Lyra is done talking. Or at least the kind of talking that provides information.

"And you, Lyra, my sister..." I reach out and touch her hand. "What role did you play in all of this?"

Her fingers close gently around mine, and a strange sense of warmth passes through my entire body. My sister.

Her voice is a whisper as tears form in the corners of our eyes. "Just a helper, when I was needed the most."