The east gate opened.
The courtyard was roughly twenty meters square, bounded on two sides by the stronghold walls and on the third by the outer fortification. The vault entrance was at the far end. The ground was broken stone, old grass forcing through the cracks.
Vane was the only one in the courtyard. The other three were at the north and east approaches running post-wave cleanup. Two stragglers from wave fourteen had pulled back into the killing field rather than retreating cleanly, and Valerica had taken Ashe and Isole to close them out. He had heard the brief exchange of combat a minute ago. It had gone quiet. They would be back soon.
Not soon enough.
He was standing near the vault entrance with his spear in a loose grip when Lancelot came through the gate. The boy walked with his hands at his sides and nothing drawn. He looked at the courtyard with the expression of someone who had already been here. His red eyes found Vane immediately and stayed there.
