Chapter Three
The Lantern Keeper
Mara had walked the salt road since first light, and by noon the flats gave the sun back so hard that she went with her eyes half shut, counting cairns. The keeper's tower showed at last as a thumb of shadow on the white.
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The Lantern Keeper
She found him on the seawall, mending a net with hands that no longer trusted his eyes. He looked up very quickly when her shadow crossed the mesh.
“You're late,” he said. “The tide was here an hour ago, asking for you.”
“The tide doesn't ask.”
“Not you. Not yet.” He tied off the knot and held out the lantern.
Line editor
Cut “very quickly”. The look is enough; the next line does the work.
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