The room went deathly silent.
Mae had not been prepared for the accusation, and none of the others had seen it coming, least of all Syrce.
"Who do you think I sent?" Maelys squeezed her sister's elbow. "Are you sure she isn't running a fever?"
"Bel, did you have a bad dream? Your words aren't making any sense." Syrce furrowed her brow.
"It wasn't a dream. Soldiers sent by Lady Mae attacked me. They came out of nowhere and tried to assassinate me all at once. I noticed them in time to fend them off, but only barely." Noble recalled the premonition that had saved her.
"I am glad you aren't seriously hurt!" Mae reached out to touch Noble, but she shied away from the contact.
"What happened to the assassins?" Roan laid his hand gently on the sword at his side.
Noble frowned as she remembered.
"When I fought back, they ran. I tracked them down into this building, and then they disappeared into thin air."
"Disappeared?" Syrce scratched her head.
"I only found four servant girls around this building. The assailants were gone." Noble wished she had had longer to talk to them. "One of them pointed when I spoke to her. Did you get any more information out of her?"
Roan pursed his lips. "Servant girls? The soldiers spread out and didn't find anyone in any of these buildings. I searched this one personally to confirm it was empty."
"They found no one?" Noble felt her head start to ache all over again. "They need to check again! I'll check myself!"
Noble felt for the girls' emotional signatures, spreading her sense over the entire area. It felt uncomfortable, like stretching a muscle after a cramp. She couldn't reach inside every building, but her efforts covered most of the streets on the entire hill.
Like the assassins, the four servant girls were gone.
"They must have been in league with the assassins. That would explain how they got away so easily." Noble could find no other reason for the ladies to be missing as well.
"So now eight people were out to get you?" Syrce tilted your head. "That's a rather large group to just vanish."
"Can't you locate their emotions?" Helie offered.
"I just tried. I cannot sense them anywhere on the hill, but the four killers were able to evade my emotional sense without an issue." Noble could feel the doubt creeping into the room.
"Are any of our boats missing?" Syrce asked one of the soldiers closest to her.
"The rafts have all been pulled up into the palace's walls. I do not think any of them would have been removed without someone noticing." The man lowered his head beneath Syrce's glare. "I will check immediately."
He scurried out of the room without looking back. Of course, Noble knew that no boats would be found gone. Something in her told her that the people had managed to vanish without the help of traditional methods of travel.
A strange thought entered Noble's head for the second time. Had these people been given the ability to transport through space? It would explain how they had gotten out of the armor so easily. But if so, why hadn't they gone further when they first had the chance?
'It's more likely that they are hiding here and evading detection, or Maelys smuggled them out some other way.'
Syrce watched the servant go, and then dismissed everyone from around Noble except the Roan, Helie, Aether, and Maelys. She studied her friend carefully.
"Bel, please don't take this the wrong way," Syrce hesitated, "but have you had something other than water to drink today?"
Noble blinked, her mouth dropping open.
"You…you think I dreamt the whole thing? Surely the abandoned armor outside would show I am not crazy!"
"Abandoned armor? Was there abandoned armor outside when you arrived?" Syrce looked at Aether.
"No ma'am." He lowered his head, answering honestly.
"Did someone move the armor on the ground outside?" Mae posed the question to the rest of the room. The soldiers there all shook their heads silently.
"I'm not insane!" Noble insisted. "You really think that I would hallucinate an attack?"
Biting her lip, Syrce ran her fingers along the chain at her neck.
"You have leveled a heavy charge against my sister. One that I find very hard to believe. I don't think you are a malicious person, so I am trying to make sense of…"
"I didn't make it up! It happened!" Noble dismissed her armor, showing the remnants of the cut on her arm. "They got me before I could put on my armor."
"Oh, Bel," Syrce's face softened. She and the other Masters sent Mae questioning glances.
"I don't know why you all doubted Lady Bel. Of course it happened!" She chirped. "Her word should be above reproach!"
Syrce furrowed her brow. "What are you trying to say? That you tried to have my friend killed?"
Maelys shook her head. "It is clear what happened here. Only one group of people would have the cunning and desire to try to turn us against each other. Their sole goal is to conquer, and to do that would require cutting out the strongest links."
"You mean the Imperialists?" Syrce frowned.
"Didn't you say that you ran into some with Lady Bel before?" Mae reminded her.
"We did," Roan confirmed, "but as far as I understand it, they were traveling alone."
"Do you think they would tell you, an outsider, about all of their plans?" The elder Saint watched Roan shake his head. "Of course not. That would easily ruin their plans. If they want to return, they will have to start quietly."
'But that isn't what happened...' Noble was sure from the collected history of the other Awakened from her world that the Imperialists never returned to power. If so, she would have known more about them.
Even now, she doubted many still lived beyond the three she had already seen. Having no god to champion them, the Imperialists would have been hunted and killed. Their reign of terror had ended with the Doom War.
More than that, the man had admitted to colluding with Lady Maelys. He hadn't been lying.
"My poor Bel! You cannot catch a break!" Syrce retook her friend's hand. "If the Empire is at fault, it is no wonder that you were fooled! Just when I think they can no longer hurt us, they find a new way to stab at my heart. Oh, how I hate them!"
Noble could feel a mix of Syrce's rage at the Empire and her genuine care for her hurt friend. The first feeling was entirely misplaced, but the power of the second helped to heal Noble's soul.
"I shall not let you be hurt again. I will find whoever did this, and they will pay." Syrce vowed. The energy in her eyes reflected the ominous threat behind her words.
"I agree." Maelys placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "We cannot let this go. Drastic action must be taken. With this new threat, I cannot in good conscience leave you. I will suspend my journey."
"Lady Mae, you do not need to do that. Aurelia, Aether, and I will make sure to protect Bel from now on," Roan laid his hand on his chest in promise.
"And who will protect Lady Syrce? None of you is as powerful as her except me!" The elder sister tucked stray hairs behind her younger sibling's ear.
Syrce smiled sadly. "I can protect myself, Mae."
"But you shouldn't have to while I am here. Lyra will have to wait. I need to clear my name, and you need me." Maelys nodded firmly. "It's settled. I'm staying. In fact, I'm never leaving you ever again."