There was definitely something stronger inside that palace.
Lena and the little fox had mentioned it earlier, the man hiding in the palace who intended to slaughter the entire city. Looking at everything that had happened since then, Ethan had to assume the capital of the Border Kingdom had already fallen under his control. The royal family was probably dead by now, or had suffered something even worse. The three city gates had also caught Ethan's attention when they first arrived. They were marked for entry only, with no one allowed to leave. He hadn't thought much of it at the time.
If he wanted to leave, the city garrison wouldn't be able to stop him, and Eli had that Burrower drill anyway. If the surface was sealed off, they could simply go underground and find another way out.
But that was before he had gotten himself involved in this mess.
