While Caelum played the shadow-guardian, Bella was beginning to notice the anomalies.
Her connection to the world-core was absolute, and while Aegis was focused on the fleet and Caelum was focused on the pods, Bella was sensing the pattern.
She left the high gardens and walked toward the nursery. She moved like a ghost, her Absolute Zero aura suppressing her footsteps.
She reached the door and paused. Through the crack, she saw the phoenixes playing with her son.
She also saw Caelum's shadow.
To a normal eye, it was just a shadow. But to the Empress of Frost, who had studied the laws of reflection and light for centuries, Caelum's shadow was moving independently of his body. It was stretched toward the window, its fingers dancing in a rhythmic pattern that matched the data-pulses of the planetary defense grid.
