Mirabelle and Revas slipped back into the West Tower through the servant's entrance just before dawn. The halls were quiet, but it was a heavy, suffocating silence. The servants they passed kept their heads down, their eyes darting away quickly.
They didn't bow.
"Did you see that?" Mirabelle whispered as they reached the safety of their chambers. She locked the heavy oak door behind them.
"See what?" Revas asked, prowling the room to check the wards.
"The maid," Mirabelle said, pacing the rug. "She didn't curtsey. She looked frightened. Like I was going to bite her."
"You've been swimming in a river and were in a dusty clock tower," Revas pointed out, pulling off his wet coat. "Maybe she just thought you were a swamp witch."
"It wasn't that," Mirabelle insisted. She went to the window and looked down into the courtyard. "The air feels different. Yesterday, they were scared for me. Today... they seem scared of me."
A heavy knock on the door made her jump.
