The bell struck from below while Pava was changing the stone beneath the male's wet foot.
Bronze jumped under her hands. The unnamed emperor tightened his brood fold around the chick and drove his beak toward the floor, warning the buried sound away.
The returning female answered from beyond two-moon silver. Her fish remained in her throat. The cracked feeding notch trembled between the parents and shed a chip of green-black stone.
"Nobody pulls anything," Kedra said.
Valea already had both burned palms away from the surviving line. Aylin stood beside Antarctic white's empty groove with blood dried across her hands.
The bell struck again.
One blow high. A scrape. Then two quick strikes against Ninebell's underside.
Varn dropped beside the loose drain stone and pressed his ear to it. "Tideglass."
"Or what learned Tideglass," Aylin said.
Hest looked toward the chick. "How do we ask?"
