Chapter 57

Ronan's POV

The fallen stone had trapped a boy's leg against the eastern doorway. I could lift one end, but not enough to free him. Lucien found a timber among the broken benches, and together we used it to raise the slab while Tamsin pulled the boy clear. His mother caught him before he could try to stand on the injured leg.

He was the child I had felt crying from below. Up close he was no older than seven, with a smudge of soot across his nose. He held on to his mother's coat and asked whether he was allowed to go home.

“Yes,” Tamsin said. “The gate is open.”

His mother waited until she could see it for herself. Then she carried him through.

The courtyard was in motion now. Some of Severin's people helped those they had kept pinned. Others stood together near the outer wall, refusing to put down th