The first thing Elias noticed was the silence.
It wasn't really the absence of sound generally but the absence of a specific frequency. The steady vibration of Cassian's resonance, which usually acted as a baseline for Elias's own heartbeat, was gone.
Elias opened his eyes to a room bathed in the grey light of a winter dawn.
Beside him, the silk sheets were undisturbed and cold. Cassian's side of the bed was empty.
The departure hadn't been a dream.
He sat up slowly, the silver-and-emerald diadem on the bedside table catching the light. The ring on his left hand that felt heavier. The Thalorin lion, now entwined in silver thorns, felt like a living thing against his skin.
Outside, the bells of the capital rang for the morning mobilization. They were signaling that the city had moved past the coronation of a queen and settled into the rhythm of a kingdom at war.
