Then he saw it-a flickering shadow of a man, then another, more gray than black, one that looked red-silver. So it was true that the royal castle had managed to shackle wraiths. Terrifying. Kristof nearly made a sign of warding and was glad when they were through the third gatehouse and passing over a moat that must have been fed by the river, though how it worked he could not begin to say.
Through the final gate they spilled into the bailey, an enormous courtyard paved in black stones worn rough and uneven from years of hard use, though there were patches of bright newness where the stones had been replaced. There was so much to take in from that point, Kristof hardly knew where to look. The keep was the largest building he'd ever seen, an enormous, looming tower of three stacked octagon
