Tributes

Chapter Fifty-five

Silas woke up restless and trapped under bodies. Abel's hand clutched his, and Paul pressed up against his side with his arms slung around Silas's waist. More nightmares that Paul refused to talk about, but crawled into their bed for comfort. Silas was not a cuddly toy, but everyone treated him like one. No one wanted to run and have fun. Well, Luke did, but Luke was in trouble and needed comfort too, and Silas wanted to stop being the one people grabbed. 

Getting out of their grip proved tricky, but this happened too often for Silas not to pick up tricks. Once Paul latched onto Abel, he escaped the nest of blankets and shivered. Winter in the castle was colder than in the valleys. He got his boots on and crept out, not to wake any of his fellow inmates. Neither stirred, and Silas grinned as he clicked the door shut.

Freedom. 

No one else was awake yet. It was still dark. Jack slept on the sofa, his candle melted on the ground next to his upturned book. Silas paused long enough to close the book right and smooth the pages. Julia would be mad if he left it like that. Jack wouldn't wake. He struggled to sleep, but slept deeply.

The next bit was going to be harder: Getting past the guards. They worked hard to keep the tributes locked away, but it wasn't impossible to trick them. 

Silas let himself out of the main door and into the tower. Tyreol's snoring filled the space, echoing in the stone chamber. Silas explored as much of the tower as he dared, but the doors were all locked, and there was nothing to do. He wanted to escape into the castle proper. He pulled a bag of dust from his pocket and sprinkled it on the floor in front of the main door.

He grabbed a fan and blew it through the gaps to the guards on the other side. 

"Sleep," Silas wriggled his fingers. 

Unlike his brother, he learned new tricks since arriving in the castle. He read the books. He listened to Abel's complaints. He couldn't learn magic directly because Helian took Abel elsewhere for the lessons, but he followed once or twice. He'd learnt enough to be able to have some more freedom to play. Keeping quiet while the drama played out worked wonders to keep people from noticing. 

He waited a heartbeat and checked outside. Both guards slumped into sleep. It wouldn't last long, but it was enough for Silas to slip past and out of the tower. It was a neat trick. Who needed a big supply of power? Some dust and the right image achieved what Silas needed. 

Silas crashed into a body as he ran to his destination. 

"Silas!" Solar complained, almost spilling the goblet he held. Solar had bright blue hair betraying his fae heritage and wore strange robes that weren't the castle's uniform. Silas liked him. They were both brats out of place in the world. "Careful."

"Sorry, Solar. Did you find your brother?" Silas dusted Solar off and walked to the balcony at the end of the corridor. 

"No, not yet. Maybe he isn't here after all," Solar said, pushing himself up on the stone rail to sit and swing his legs. Silas leaned on the edge and tilted his head towards the sunrise. The sunlight swept over the space and warmed the colours of the winter. 

"Don't give up yet. This place is huge. Maybe you just aren't looking in the right place. I could always ask Helian for you?"

"Silas, you aren't supposed to be out, remember? And I'm not meant to be here. It will just get both of us in trouble if you ask. The offer is appreciated," Solar kicked his feet in the wind, his hair glowing in the morning sun. It sparkled like water and magic pooled where he sat. 

"You could say thank you," Silas teased, used to his strange friend's weird way of talking.  

The rooms around the tribute tower were mostly deserted, so Solar had been hiding in them at night to stay safe. There were enough magical kin living in the castle that he could sneak food from the kitchens without issue, and most didn't notice him being out of place. Silas occasionally brought him food that Julia made to ensure his friend ate.