The question reached the public feed before Caelin's office could bury it.
Why hide the king?
King was enough. People knew how to carry that word without help. They put it on Ty before the sealed door opened, before a record spoke, before anyone proved the title belonged to a person instead of a trap.
Ty had been taken apart by questions before. This one had teeth.
On Jade's shelter feed, breakfast slowed. People looked down at their screens instead of their bowls. Anika crossed behind them with a pot in both hands and the kind of face that made the serving line remember food still mattered.
A boy whispered hidden king to another kid.
Anika set a bowl between them with a hard little click.
"Eat first, then decide which rumor deserves your breath."
The boy looked at the bowl. Then he ate.
At that table, the chant died because his mouth had work. Caelin's warning would have failed in the same place. The file marked the effect as local, like local meant small.
