Palace of Unquiet Skies

Six stormbells. One rising palace. Two former lovers with a future still to choose.At fifty-two, master bellfounder Odette Fenwick knows when beautiful work is going wrong. Called back to assess High Aurel's stormbells, she expects difficult questions about the masterpiece that made her name. Then she learns who will be charting the weather beside her.Lucan Dacre is the man she loved and knowingly parted from twenty-seven years ago. Both have built full lives since. Their attraction is mutual, but wanting each other does not settle how their work and lives might fit together. Odette hopes to preserve her celebrated bell; Lucan's forecasts demand answers she cannot find in metal alone. Between tower climbs, shared meals, and a long-awaited dance, they discover the people they have become.Then High Aurel rises before their assessment is complete.Trapped aboard a palace gathering storms above an inhabited valley, they must combine distinct skills to bring its people safely down. Every decision matters—to those depending on them, and to a future neither wants decided on their behalf.