The Temple bells did not ring that morning.
And within the capital of the empire, silence from the Temple carried a weight far heavier than sound.
Rain clouds lingered heavily above the city as dawn slowly stretched pale silver light across rooftops and marble towers, though the streets beneath remained quieter than usual, merchants lowering their voices instinctively while nobles arriving at the imperial palace moved with greater urgency than decorum, their expressions carefully composed despite the whispers already spreading through the capital like cracks beneath frozen water.
Princess Caelia had disappeared.
Not abducted.
Not declared missing publicly.
But absent.
And absence within the imperial family—especially on the morning of a Rite meant to unite the Temple with the authority of the crown—was enough to destabilize an entire court.
The palace corridors carried that tension openly now.
