They did not backtrack towards the Varn Thal gates.
Rhel led them along the dry channel until the sealed ground fell well behind and the first broken storagesheds of east outer ward began to appear against the pale sky – it was still early and the city had not begun to turn its attention outward, but none of them were so foolish as to expect the noise to last.
Sera walked close to Lucian, assessing his face as if expecting him to fail after the test. "You look like the man who got answers he did not want.
"I got answers," Lucian said. "Wanting is a whole other story."
Istra continued to watch Rhel more than the road. "You said there was more. Say it before the city comes back for us."
Rhel halted underneath the shadow of a collapsed aqueduct support and turned towards them, her two Quiet Line companions taking position further out in a thin ring of warning space.
