By the third morning of the truce, Troy had stopped ringing the bells.
The city was still mourning Queen Hecuba, but the funeral crowds had gone. The streets were quieter now. Men stood beside the walls with their weapons ready, and the women and children who had been moved below the city were no longer visible among the houses.
In the war room, King Hector stood over a table covered with maps.
Prince Paris stood opposite him. Prince Lysander remained near the doorway, listening to the reports brought by the scouts.
"The Greeks changed the watch before sunrise," one of the captains said. "The men at the eastern works were replaced by soldiers from the main camp."
"How many?" Hector asked.
"Enough to defend the position. Not enough to protect everything around it."
Hector looked down at the map.
