Chapter 48 – The Echo Beneath the Crown

They had not seen him.

Not Lysanthir. Not Luceris. Not the Sovereign's banners.

And yet, they knelt.

The towns along Avaron's eastern rim did not fall to flame. They did not cry surrender. They simply… changed.

Sermons slipped. Bells rang off-rhythm. Gods stuttered.

And in that silence, a new symbol rose — not shouted, not crowned. Whispered.

Kaela arrived at dusk. The town had no gate.Not one that closed, anyway.

Kaela stepped across the threshold of broken stones and faded paint as the sun dipped behind the hills, casting long shadows that stretched like arms too tired to reach. The guards on either side of the road did not raise their spears. They didn't speak.

They only watched.