By the time Teclos and the others returned to the courtyard, the fighting had ended.
The dead lay in heaps around the chapel, the western well, and the old storehouse. Some had been burned until only blackened bones remained. Others had collapsed the moment the crown was torn from Valerius's borrowed body.
Maren's soldiers moved carefully among them, separating the wounded from those who would not rise again.
Count Maren stood near the chapel steps with blood across one sleeve. It did not appear to be his.
His attention went first to Dalen's men.
"How many did you lose?"
"None," Dalen replied. "Corren may have fractured his skull, and Edrin's shoulder is worse than before. The rest can still walk."
Maren released a breath.
"That is more than I expected after seeing the crypt entrance."
Pell helped Corren sit against a wagon. The shield bearer looked pale but remained conscious.
"I'm fine," Corren muttered.
"You asked me what day it was three times," Pell said.
