The council chamber felt colder than it should have.
I stood at the head of the long table, hands braced against the polished wood, the ache behind my eyes still pulsing from the bond’s intrusion. The torches flickered weakly, their light barely touching the vaulted ceiling. The council members filed in slowly, their faces drawn tight with worry and something else.
Expectation.
Hope.
Fear.
The world was waking too fast.
Sil cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, we must address the influx of merchants. They are demanding fair trade rates, but our stores are still low. We cannot offer what we do not have.”
Rwin nodded, his fingers twitching. “The crops are sprouting, but slowly. We cannot rely on them yet. If more awaken at this pace,”
“We will manage,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “The returning trade will help stabilize us.”
Sil’s lips thinned. “Trade is not enough. We must prioritize rebuilding our economy, not diverting resources to every crisis that arises.”
I straightened. “The unfrozen are not a crisis. They are our people.”
Rwin exhaled sharply. “They are frightened, hungry, and disoriented. They require housing, food, and guards to keep order. We cannot sustain this if the numbers continue.”
Before I could answer, the doors burst open.
A guard stumbled in, breathless. “Sire, he insisted—”
The fisherman from last night pushed past him, wild‑eyed, hair tangled from sleep or grief. His blanket hung crooked around his shoulders, and he clutched it like a lifeline.
“Emperor Lyrian,” he gasped, falling to his knees. “Please. Please, I beg you.”
The council erupted in murmurs.
I stepped forward. “Rise.”
He didn’t. His hands shook as he pressed them to the floor. “My daughter… please, sire. I cannot find her. I searched the tents. I searched the streets. She is not here. She is not anywhere.”
A cold weight settled in my stomach.
“She unfroze with you?” I asked quietly.
He shook his head, tears streaking his face. “No. I woke on the docks.the docks The sea was moving again. She was gone. I thought maybe she came here. Maybe she found her way to the city. But she didn’t. She didn’t.”
Behind me, Sil muttered, “We do not have time for this.”
The fisherman flinched.
Rwin added, “Your Majesty, we cannot divert resources for one missing child when the entire empire is—”
I turned sharply. “She is not just one child.”
Sil scoffed. “With respect, sire, she is exactly that.”
My jaw tightened. “She is a citizen of Celentra. She is one of ours. And she is missing.”
Rwin threw up his hands. “We have merchants demanding trade agreements, crops that may fail again, and more awakenings every day. We cannot chase after a girl who may have wandered off—”
“She did not wander off,” the fisherman choked out. “She would never leave me. Something happened. Something took her.”
The room stilled.
I looked at him, really looked. The desperation in his eyes. The trembling in his hands. The way he clung to hope as if it was the only thing keeping him upright.
I knew that feeling.
I lived in it.
I faced the council. “We will help him.”
Sil sputtered. “Your Majesty—”
“That is final.”
Sil’s face reddened. “You are letting sentiment cloud your judgment.”
I stepped closer to him, voice low. “If we cannot protect one man’s child, how do you expect the people to trust us to protect an empire?”
Sil fell silent.
I turned back to the fisherman and knelt so we were eye‑level. His breath hitched.
“We will find her,” I said softly. “I give you my word.”
His face crumpled with relief. “Thank you, sire. Thank you.”
I rose, addressing the guards. “Organize a search party. Begin at the docks. Speak to anyone who saw movement on the water last night. Expand outward.”
They bowed and hurried out.
The fisherman was led gently from the room, still whispering thanks.
When the doors closed, the council stared at me with a mixture of frustration and fear.
I met their eyes one by one.
“The empire is waking,” I said. “And with it, the consequences of the stillness. We will face them all. Not just the ones that are convenient.”
Sil opened his mouth, but I raised a hand.
“This meeting is adjourned.”
I left them in silence, the weight of their disapproval trailing behind me like a shadow.
But I didn’t falter.
A girl was missing.
And I had promised to find her.