The archive bell rang once beneath the river, and every lantern in the lower stacks turned blue.
Mara found the old floodgate map folded inside a ledger that should have burned years ago.
She traced the line from the eastern lock to the bridge below, where the drowned clock still kept time.
If the river door opened before dawn, the city would choose which version of itself survived.
Jalen waited at the stairwell, pretending not to watch her choose between the key and the knife.
The decision sat between them like another person in the room.
72,400 words