Yenna saw Blackforge fall to rank thirty-eight before Vell finished sealing the second Mirror Elk core. She wrapped her bleeding fingers once, then started toward the field judges' platform with both chains dragging behind her.
The platform stood above the ruined camps where officials could watch danger without sharing it. Three judges remained behind a reinforced table, already preparing a written explanation for forty-three hunters who had survived their green routes.
"Give Luna three minutes," Vell said, catching Yenna's uninjured wrist before her chain reached the stairs, "then you can choose which part breaks."
"Two minutes," she replied, looking toward the judges, "I only need one hand for their table."
He released her after she stopped moving, trusting the bargain rather than his grip. Luna had received Blackforge's raw map plus both delayed warnings before the stampede, leaving the judges only temporary ownership of the public version.
