The Hours Beneath the Harbor

Bellwether keeps the sea outside its gates. Someone is paying for every hour. Clock repairer Mara Venn needs three crowns, a clean inspection report, and enough work to keep her brother out of the city's service sockets. Then a tidal clock misses a beat. Her brother shivers. Behind an old brass plate, an unfamiliar number counts down. The city says its workers surrender sleep to power the flood defenses. Mara knows machinery well enough to recognize a bad explanation. Finding the truth will cost her the tools she depends on, the license she cannot afford to lose, and the trust of a brother tired of being protected without being heard. With the spring tide approaching, exposing the lie is only half the work. Before anyone can refuse to pay, Mara must find another way to keep the water out. An industrial fantasy mystery about skilled hands, hidden costs, and the people who keep a city alive.