Silver Secrets

Chapter 4: Mel

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I wake with the thin sheets tangled around my legs and sunlight pouring in through the tiny window. It takes me a second to realise where I am, why I'm still in my clothes, why I'm surrounded by the whisperings of strangers' thought-buzz.

I sit up, stiff and aching, and notice a plate in front of the door. I tiptoe over to it and crouch down. Set into the door is a hatch-like thing. I try to jiggle it loose, but it won't move. I wouldn't be able to fit through anyway.

Breakfast is probably better than I would have thought prison food would be, though I suppose I'm not technically in prison yet. The bread isn't even mouldy and the water tastes pretty fresh. While I eat, I do my best not to think about today—the man on the desk said we would have a hearing. I'm just going to have to tell them what happened was an accident—which it was—and hope that's enough. I know it won't be. Suddenly, I find that I can't stomach my food, no matter how my insides feel like they're trying to eat themselves.

There's a sharp rap on the door. "Melanthe," a man outside barks. "Your hearing begins in twenty minutes. Are you decent?"

I jump to my feet and smooth my dress down, wishing I'd thought to take it off last night. "Yes," I call, hoping my fear doesn't show in my voice. Twenty minutes until I discover my fate.

The locks on the other side of the door clunk around, and then the door opens to reveal two guards who eye me warily. Maybe it's a good thing that only two guards came for me, even if they do have batons dangling at their hips. Only two probably means they don't think I'm that dangerous. Anyway, Moon Bay's guards are always armed.

"Come with us," the guard nearest me, a woman, says quietly. I follow them with my head down and my hands clasped in front of me, though I have a feeling I'm a night too late to start playing innocent now. The guards' thought-buzz simmers when I'm near them, though their fear is unneeded. I've never been able to deliberately use my powers before, and I don't feel like I'm about to start.

It turns out that my hearing is in the palace, and in a wing I've never had to deliver laundry to before, which does nothing to settle my nerves. As we climb flights of sweeping stairs and pass through long corridors lined with paintings and huge arching windows, the halls get quieter, the doors we pass more ornate. Finally we round a corner and I'm surprised to see Theodore Perdiscio pacing outside a door and rubbing his whiskers.

"Melanthe," the Head Physician breathes when he sees me. His sharp eyes dart to the guards behind me. "Did they hurt you?"

"No. I've been treated well."

"Good. I'd like to talk to Melanthe privately for a moment, if you please."

The female guard nods, and she and her partner retreat a few steps away and turn their backs. Perdiscio circles me with his arm and herds me even further away. For a moment I'm worried the guards won't allow it, but I suppose if they'll let me be alone with anyone right now, it's Perdiscio.

The first thing he says is, "Melanthe, do you have any idea how much trouble you are in right now?"

"Considering I was arrested in public, spent the night in a cell, and am now being trialled like a criminal, I'm going to guess I'll be let off with a warning." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I can't quite believe I said them. I've never spoken to Perdiscio like that before. Or anyone.

"Evidently you do not grasp the severity of your situation," Perdiscio says slowly, as if I'm one of his patients in denial about their imminent death. Which may not be that far from the truth.