Black-green water touched the stranger's outer toe.
His beak struck the stone before any human moved.
Varn's chain went still in his hands at the crack. Hest lowered the gate bar he had been lifting. Even Pava, who treated threats as patients with poor manners, stayed at the chamber lip.
He did not waste a second warning on them.
He had widened his body over the pale curve hidden beneath his belly. One trembling foot stood flat. The other angled outward until its outer edge vanished under the iron yoke of the upside-down bell.
That was why he had not followed the dry stone around the channel.
Iron had pinned him there.
Jiang lowered his head.
Gold feathers lifted along the stranger's neck as he watched the movement. His beak stayed level with Jiang's eyes.
Behind Jiang, somebody took a careful breath.
Pava spoke without raising her voice. "Lamps down. Chains down. If you loom over him, I will let him improve your faces."
