The city did not know she was there.

That, Selene thought, was the truest measure of how much had changed.

Once, her presence would have announced itself before she ever arrived—bells ringing in the bones of towers, wards tightening like drawn breath, sigils flaring in reflexive recognition. Stone had leaned toward her then, eager to be shaped. Magic had rushed to meet her like a hound answering its master’s call.

Once, the city had known her as a command.

As a correction.

...