Nox returned to the First Citadel through the library basement because the road from Parcel Zero no longer reached the school gate.
The route team had tied a green marker to the old service door. Its vine led him through a corridor that had been part of the school dungeon long before it became useful again.
The passage smelled of dust and wet concrete, but its walls held still. That mattered more than comfort while the city outside rearranged addresses under people's feet.
Emilia had covered the command room floor with paper maps. Every one of them had a gray slash across it, where District Eight had copied an old route or folded a new block through it.
"The false notices are reaching people before our warnings," she said, placing another marked sheet beside the others. "They trust a city seal when they cannot see the thing moving the street."
"Then stop using city seals," Nox replied. "Use a signal the district cannot copy before it sees us make it."
