The Steel Princess

Chapter 13: Silence

It was the silence that woke her. That should, Skye knew, have been a contradiction, but there was something about growing up in a castle, and then spending years living communally in the Conclave, that had on the one hand made her able to sleep through just about anything - and on the other, made her sensitive to absolute quiet. Being able to hear no voices, no footsteps, no laughter or clattering or doors banging, was almost... unnatural.

What was definitely unnatural was throwing back the covers, slapping her feet to the floor, and not being able to hear any of it.

The panic rose quickly, surging up through Skye's chest, tightening her throat. She'd once damaged her hearing in a sparring bout, and once been deafened by an illness, but both occasions had brought an uncomfortable selection of pops, crackles and whines. This time... nothing.

And that was when she saw Josselyn. He was standing in the bedroom doorway, as though he was waiting - for her to notice him? He was trying not to startle her, Skye realised - which meant he couldn't hear, either.

Skye tapped her ear and Josselyn shook his head. He mouthed something, but she only grimaced, unable to make any sense of it. Instead, he went to the desk and rummaged until he found ink, quill and paper. Skye was still grimacing when he brought the scrap over to her, already expecting to be confounded, but it was only a single word, written in a large, clear script; after a moment's concentration, it even made sense. Magic.

Yes, magic. What else could render them both deaf like this, between one heartbeat and the next?

Skye reached for her clothes, not even waiting until Josselyn was out of the room to start changing. Could this be Helida's doing? After the business with the wards, she might be more careful, but perhaps the Emperor had her on a schedule. Perhaps Helida was more dangerous than any of them had anticipated. An agenda was one thing, desperation quite another.

Once she was dressed, Skye went into the anteroom and tapped Josselyn on the back. He tensed, and she could see he longed to reach for a weapon, even knowing who was behind him. Skye would have sighed, if it would have done any good. Being without hearing was a complication neither of them, fighters both, knew how to deal with.

They left the room, finding the guards gone and the corridor empty. Skye chose a direction at random, and even with Josselyn at her back, the skin on her neck prickled all the way. She didn't like being unable to hear what was sneaking up on her, and even less the possibility that she and Josselyn might be the only ones so afflicted.

Or not. Turning a corner, they came across a pair of guards, seemingly shouting into one another's ears with increasing franticness. Skye beckoned them closed, mouthed Great Hall, and when they seemed to understand, sent them on their way. Right now, the fewer people abroad in the corridors, the better; all she could hope to do was corral everyone awake into one safe place, and sort this mess out herself.

If, indeed, it could be sorted. Skye couldn't entirely ignore the possibility that whatever spell had been cast might be... permanent. Such a thing would surely be fiendishly difficult, but that didn't make it impossible. Against that, all she could do was pray.

A stairwell took them down to a row of bedrooms, where Josselyn turned her aside into a narrower passage. She had no hope of asking where he was directing her, and no recollection of who used these rooms. Indeed, it was with a certain amount of surprise that she saw Auda step out into the corridor, though she wasn't sure why. Of course her guardians lived somewhere in the castle; it was only her own preoccupation - and perhaps a little laziness - that had meant she'd never asked where.

Auda's face was bruised around her swollen nose; more importantly, she had something in her hands, what looked suspiciously like one of the rose quartz pieces left over from their spell on the Sovereign Blade. It was cradled between her fingers, and had a faint pinkish glow, one Skye was sure was more than just reflected torchlight. Indeed, after a nod of greeting, Auda turned first one way along the corridor, then the other, watching the quartz all the while. It was almost imperceptible, but Skye thought the glow brightened towards the east, and sure enough, Auda set off that way.