"Which gives us time," Kelvin said. "Time to finish Third Line fortifications. Time for Loki's reinforcements to get closer. Maybe even time for Satou to return."
"How long will Elric wait?"
"For someone as careful as him? Could be days. He'll send scouts to probe. Test our responses. Map every defensive position before risking his soldiers in a direct assault."
Lyra felt conflicting emotions—relief that they weren't about to be immediately overrun, and frustration that this meant a prolonged siege rather than a decisive battle.
"So what do we do now?"
"We wait. We watch. We make absolutely certain that when his scouts come probing, they learn nothing useful." Kelvin smiled grimly. "And we make them pay for every scrap of intelligence they try to gather."
That afternoon, the first probe came.
