Cecilia couldn't contact the gods.
She had gone to the apartment above them and found the door locked. The apartment was empty.
The landlord, a bewildered old werebear who seemed confused by the question when she did ask around, had told her that he didn't know much about the space owner.
Only that they had paid everything in bulk when they moved in. Months of rent, upfront, in cash. No sign that they had ever been there at all, except for the faint scent of cherry blossom still lingering in the hallway.
Oathran also hadn't returned. This whole month.
At first, Cecilia had cried every time she was alone. In the bathroom with the water running so no one would hear. In her bed, face pressed into the pillow, shoulders shaking silently while Arkai and Eastiel slept beside her.
Before sleeping, tears would leak from the corners of her eyes and pool in her ears, and she would wake with her face stiff and swollen and pretend it was just pregnancy hormones.
