A brass speaking tube hissed behind Sera’s boot.
“The spatial coordinates just stabilized,” Claire Vance’s voice echoed through the metal horn. “This relay does not terminate at an ordinary supply depot.”
Sera leaned over the brass horn, wiping black soot from her cheek. “Where does the line run, Lady Claire?”
“The top floor of the Grand Teleportation Altar in Seven-Tower City,” Claire replied from the lower engine deck. “It connects straight to the mainland ruling council. The receiving conduits run deeper than this tower alone.”
Mina stepped up beside the iron rim, her fingers tracing the glowing silver runes. Cold mist drifted from her fingernails, frosting the edges of the metal plating.
“Are there secondary receivers?” Mina asked.
“Two of them,” Claire said. Her voice sounded brisk over the copper pipe. “The primary receiving vault sits inside Sky-Tether Two. The emergency shunt leads directly into Sector Zero. Every chest of jade and every battery of siege weapons passes through those two nodes before reaching the outer islands.”
Sera let out a low whistle. “Then taking Sky-Tether One was only the first bite of the apple.”
