Page 35 of Death of the Glass Angel
Pressing hands to his ears, Talon heard the wind and distant chatter of the crowds fade until muted, but the disembodied voices continued, as loud as before.
Not real. If he could hear them when all else fell silent, they were not real.
But who would have the power to speak directly into his mind if not the gods themselves?
Backing away from the edge, Talon heard footsteps and whirled around to see a red-haired woman in a plain dress approaching him, a coy smile on her face.
“What’s a handsome man like you doing in a place like this?” Valkyrie teased.
“Meeting you.” Talon leaned his back against the wall, crossing his ankles. “Won’t your date be jealous?”
“I’m sure he’ll manage.” Valkyrie sat on the wall beside him. “I’m dying to know. What’s the sheltered Princess Janus like?”
“Boring,” Talon answered, shoving his hands in his pockets to escape the chill. “Something of a bookworm. Doesn’t seem to pay a lick of attention to politics, let alone her own father’s.”
Boring. A true enough description for Janus, but not for Des.
Valkyrie frowned. “Really? What’s Heras’ problem with her, then?”
“You noticed that, too?”
“Hard not to. Heras seemed restless for most of the first hour. It wasn’t until Janus walked in with you that I realized she had been anxiously waiting to get eyes on Thuatia’s princess.” Valkyrie paused. “Like she wanted to size her up.”
“Whatever’s going on, Janus is blameless, I assure you. Unless she’s a brilliant expert in deception, she’s a threat to no one. And oblivious, to boot.”
“The opposite of Paulus, I guess.”
“I’ve never met him. What’s he like?”
“What you saw.” Valkyrie gestured vaguely. “Shy. Aloof. Doesn’t like talking much. But he’s attentive. He listens to everything and everyone. Very carefully.”
Jump. The voices urged.
He should jump. They echoed.
Unable to ignore them, Talon glanced at the dizzying fall into the valley. “Any news from Sigilus?”
“No. The king has struck a deal with Dragos to buy one of their flying ships.” Valkyrie shrugged. “But, all in all, it’s been a quiet year.”
“Well, good.”
“Abroad. It’s been a quiet year abroad.” Valkyrie pulled out a scroll and offered it to Talon.
Curious, Talon unrolled it, taking a moment to adjust to the Altanese scrawl on the parchment: a report from a guard to Weisskopf’s captain of security, detailing a stream of missing persons in the Stone Quarter, a rough neighborhood on the city’s south end.
A few without homes had gone missing, then a handful of former prisoners. The investigation had picked up in earnest once the owner ofa bakery had also vanished. According to this report, no one had been found, and no evidence had turned up.
“Strange.” Talon rolled the scroll back up. “But hardly our problem. Why the interest?”
“The disappearances started a year ago, a week after Heras missed the Thruinc council,” Valkyrie said.
“And? I doubt the two are related.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Look into it if you’re that curious.” Talon handed her the scroll. “I should stick by Janus, try to puzzle out who wants her dead.”
Valkyrie plucked the missive from his hands and tucked it into her bag. “Want to make a bet?”
