Chapter 27 · The Bell That Rang Itself

The bell rang before anyone touched the rope.

Rhys felt it in his teeth first—a low crack off the north tower that shouldn't exist. Bell-keeper's shift didn't start for two hours. The rope was still coiled at the base, tied off like it'd been all night. He was halfway across the yard, water bucket in hand, when the second toll hit.

Every guard on the wall turned at once.

"Who's up there?" someone shouted.

"Nobody's up there," someone else yelled back.

That was worse.

By the time Rhys reached the tower stairs, four guards had Sona pinned against stone. One hand twisted behind her back. A spear crossed under her chin, pressed so hard she had to tilt her head to breathe.

"She was closest," the captain said. Like that settled it. "She's a Bells girl. Bells ring themselves around Bells girls. Everyone knows that."

"That's not a thing." Sona's voice came out flat, furious, even with the spear shaft cutting into her throat. "That's superstition you made up thirty seconds ago."

"Shut it."

"Make me."

The captain shifted the spear a half inch tighter. Sona's jaw clicked shut—not from fear, Rhys could see that. Just physics. Wood against windpipe.