"Shut up," Zavi hissed, his hand shooting out to grab Serafia’s sleeve with a force that nearly jerked her off balance.The sharp, metallic scrape of an iron-shod boot hitting the lower loading dock’s external timber stairs echoed through the vast, hollow chamber like a hammer blow on an anvil. It wasn't the casual, lazy shuffle of a dockworker finishing a late shift. It was a heavy, measured, military cadence—two pairs of boots, stepping in absolute unison, moving with the practiced rhythm of regular watchmen conducting a standard perimeter sweep.Serafia froze instantly, her fingers still hovering inches above the open burlap sack of imperial-grade steel billets. Her breath hitched, her dark eyes wide in the gloom as she looked from the darkened warehouse doorway fifty yards away back to Zavi’s tensely lined face."The schedule," she whispered, her lips barely moving, the words riding a thread of panicked air. "The manifest said their shift change isn't for another hour. Why are the

"If you tell me we’re about to crawl through another knee-deep drain pipe filled with industrial runoff, I am officially retiring from treason," Zavi whispered, his voice a low, raspy scrape against the humid, salt-heavy air of the cramped guard barracks room.Captain Hesketh didn’t look up from the sprawling tactical map spread across the scarred oak table, his calloused fingers pinning down a corner burdened by a half-eaten loaf of dark rye and a scattering of bread crumbs. A single brass lantern cast a harsh, amber glow over the small, windowless chamber, throwing long, distorted shadows against the damp stone walls."Drain pipes are a luxury compared to what’s coming if you don't shut that trap of yours, Zavi," Hesketh muttered, his voice sounding like two grinding millstones. "The watch patrols are doubling their frequency near the East Market, and Duke Vane’s private militia has already mobilized three whole companies to scour the river road. You didn't just rattle a cage last n

"If you tell me we’re about to crawl through another knee-deep drain pipe filled with industrial runoff, I am officially retiring from treason," Zavi whispered, his voice a low, raspy scrape against the humid, salt-heavy air of the cramped guard barracks room.Captain Hesketh didn’t look up from the sprawling tactical map spread across the scarred oak table, his calloused fingers pinning down a corner burdened by a half-eaten loaf of dark rye and a scattering of bread crumbs. A single brass lantern cast a harsh, amber glow over the small, windowless chamber, throwing long, distorted shadows against the damp stone walls."Drain pipes are a luxury compared to what’s coming if you don't shut that trap of yours, Zavi," Hesketh muttered, his voice sounding like two grinding millstones. "The watch patrols are doubling their frequency near the East Market, and Duke Vane’s private militia has already mobilized three whole companies to scour the river road. You didn't just rattle a cage last n

"If you tell me we’re about to crawl through another knee-deep drain pipe filled with industrial runoff, I am officially retiring from treason," Zavi whispered, his voice a low, raspy scrape against the humid, salt-heavy air of the cramped guard barracks room.Captain Hesketh didn’t look up from the sprawling tactical map spread across the scarred oak table, his calloused fingers pinning down a corner burdened by a half-eaten loaf of dark rye and a scattering of bread crumbs. A single brass lantern cast a harsh, amber glow over the small, windowless chamber, throwing long, distorted shadows against the damp stone walls."Drain pipes are a luxury compared to what’s coming if you don't shut that trap of yours, Zavi," Hesketh muttered, his voice sounding like two grinding millstones. "The watch patrols are doubling their frequency near the East Market, and Duke Vane’s private militia has already mobilized three whole companies to scour the river road. You didn't just rattle a cage last n

"If you tell me we’re about to crawl through another knee-deep drain pipe filled with industrial runoff, I am officially retiring from treason," Zavi whispered, his voice a low, raspy scrape against the humid, salt-heavy air of the cramped guard barracks room.Captain Hesketh didn’t look up from the sprawling tactical map spread across the scarred oak table, his calloused fingers pinning down a corner burdened by a half-eaten loaf of dark rye and a scattering of bread crumbs. A single brass lantern cast a harsh, amber glow over the small, windowless chamber, throwing long, distorted shadows against the damp stone walls."Drain pipes are a luxury compared to what’s coming if you don't shut that trap of yours, Zavi," Hesketh muttered, his voice sounding like two grinding millstones. "The watch patrols are doubling their frequency near the East Market, and Duke Vane’s private militia has already mobilized three whole companies to scour the river road. You didn't just rattle a cage last n