Chapter 3: The Shadow of the Law

Elias returned to his workshop, his mind buzzing with possibilities. He reassembled the nightingale, carefully placing the crystals back in their original positions. As he tightened the final screw, the bird sprang to life. Its wings began to flutter, its head turned, and its ruby eyes gleamed with an uncanny intelligence.

Then, it began to sing.

It wasn't a mechanical chirp, or a pre-recorded melody. It was a song of pure, ethereal beauty, a song that seemed to resonate with the very soul of the city. It was a song of magic.

The song was abruptly cut short by a loud banging on his workshop door.

"Open up! City Guard!"

Elias cursed under his breath. He knew this day would come. He just hadn't expected it to come so soon.

He quickly hid the nightingale under a pile of blueprints and opened the door, revealing two uniformed officers standing in the hallway. Behind them, he saw a familiar figure, her face grim and determined.

Inspector Isabella "Izzy" Moreau.

"Elias Thorne," Moreau said, her voice cold and professional. "You're under arrest for the murder of Thomas Albright."

Elias felt a wave of despair wash over him. He'd been framed. And he knew exactly who was responsible.

The officers roughly shoved him against the wall, handcuffing his wrists behind his back. He saw Moreau's eyes flicker towards the pile of blueprints, a flicker of suspicion in her gaze.

"I didn't kill him," Elias said, his voice hoarse. "I was hired to find him."

Moreau raised an eyebrow. "By whom?"

"His mother," Elias said. "She came to me yesterday. He'd been missing for three days."

Moreau didn't seem convinced. "We found his body this morning," she said. "Near the Aetherium docks. He'd been… mutilated. And we found this near the body."

She held up a small, silver feather, identical to the ones on the clockwork nightingale.

Elias felt a cold dread creep into his heart. He was being set up, and he was running out of time. He had to escape, to clear his name, and to uncover the truth behind Thomas Albright's murder and the secrets of the clockwork nightingale.