Lyra was the first to speak, her voice a fragile melody against the sudden, crushing silence.
’What is this?’ she whispered, the question not directed at any one of her brethren, but at the very fabric of their creation.
Kael, ever the pragmatist, answered, his voice a low rumble. ’It is a flaw. A bug in the code.’
Anya, however, shook her head. ’No,’ she said, her voice soft but firm. ’It is not a flaw. It is a… a response.’
’A response to what?’ Silus asked, his voice a bridge between the two opposing views. ’To us?’