The pieces of Aylin's seal crawled out from under Jiang.
Blue splinters scraped across Flood Hall, slipping between black water and dry sand as they traveled west. None rolled. Each turned at the same floor joint and kept going against the slope.
The western bell rang before any visible hand touched it.
One of the fallen Crown bars jumped.
Orra shoved the Edric claimant clear as iron teeth struck the wheel platform. Brann lost his grip on the man's coat, and both of them went down beside Jiang.
Aylin lunged after the blue fragments.
The bar jumped again. Beyond it, Pell shouted from Wake Court while Nemi and the burned workers answered from the outer side.
Orra caught Aylin's good wrist. "You chase no bell while my people are divided by your bars."
"They are not my bars."
"They tried to kill me. I am taking responsibility anyway."
That landed. Aylin looked from the western seam to Jiang lying in Pell's shirt, then toward the voices beyond the iron.
