Polo swore.
The word came quietly from beside the window.
Metheea looked at him.
He had drawn the curtain back by less than an inch. His face had gone still behind his glasses.
"What is it?"
Polo did not answer immediately.
He leaned closer to the narrow opening, following movement below.
Then he released the curtain.
"The eastern wall is a diversion."
Yise turned from the door. "What did you see?"
"Hooks over the western gallery. Men are climbing into the Regent's wing."
Metheea's hand tightened against the edge of the mattress.
"How many?"
"Four that I can see. There may be more beneath the gallery."
The western gallery connected to the older roofs above the river wall.
No alarm had come from the posts there.
Either the guards had fallen since Henter's report, or someone had passed them without sounding one.
Polo crossed to the next window and checked the iron latch. He pulled it once, then reached for the heavy wooden bar resting against the wall.
