"That pulse," she said. "That was not the Second Spark."
Elowen's face was still.
"No," Elowen said. "It was a bell."
Rhaen's hands shook.
She pressed her palm to her chest.
"It can still find me," she whispered.
Lira moved to her instantly.
"Breathe," Lira said.
Rhaen swallowed.
"I am," she rasped.
Lira's gaze didn't soften.
"Again," she said.
Rhaen took a slower breath.
Mikhailis stared at the map.
The watch post.
The routes.
The small streams of evacuation.
The calm figures.
And the bell.
They're synchronizing. They're not lighting yet. They're aligning the chain.
He felt his stomach twist.
And if they can ring bells without lighting, then we're chasing shadows while the real fire is being prepared somewhere else.
Elowen stepped closer to him.
Her voice dropped.
"Tell me," she murmured, "how do we stop a clock we cannot see?"
Mikhailis swallowed.
He wanted to say the truth.
He wanted to say: I have a hive under your feet that hates fire.
