I sneezed.
It wasn't dainty. It was the kind of sudden, full-body sneeze that jerked my head forward and made the ever-present shadows swirl slightly around my face like startled snakes. The air in the dark stone chamber was dry, stale, and tasted faintly of ash and old magic, but I'd gotten used to that. What I hadn't gotten used to, apparently, was spontaneous nasal rebellion.
I blinked.
And then narrowed my eyes in suspicion.
"…Is someone talking about me?"
The words never made it to my lips. They couldn't. My mouth remained closed, my body unmoving, still locked in this exquisite hell of obedience and silence. But the thought rang loud and clear inside my skull, echoing off the damp walls of my mind like a stone tossed into a still lake.
