The failure does not come with thunder.
It comes with a footnote.
The river rises three days earlier than projected.
Not catastrophically.
Not unnaturally.
Just… enough.
Enough to flood low fields that were promised safety. Enough to ruin grain stores meant to last the winter. Enough that someone notices the numbers don’t match the agreement that was spoken aloud under the open sky.
Rowan squints at the report, then at the signed terms etched into the public record stone.
“This wasn’t invited,” he says quietly.
Kael doesn’t respond at first. His jaw tightens, eyes tracking the waterline markers creeping up the riverbanks.
“No,” Kael finally says. “It wasn’t.”
The shadow stirs, alert.
Here it is.
The river spirit had been one of the first accepted.
Modest. Careful. Almost shy
