The wagon was loaded before the sun cleared the Grey Hills.
Captain Hoff stood at the tailgate with a lantern and the roll. He read each name once, flat. Each student climbed up and sat without being told where.
Six Ministry guards waited on horses by the gate. They did not look at the students. They looked at the Keep walls, as if the walls might try to follow.
Calen came last. The linen on his left hand was thicker than it had been at dawn. He kept the hand tucked into his coat and pulled himself up with the right.
“Four wheels,” Liss said from the back bench. She tapped each spoke of the nearest one. “Four. Two are new.”
“Sit,” Hoff said.
“Sit,” Liss said back. She had his voice exactly. “Two are new.”
Dorran said, “Sorry, Captain,” to the floorboards. He folded himself onto the bench with his knees against his chest.
