Chapter Forty
Ellie
They were gone. All of them.
Silence permeated the halls. Talon had bid her farewell. Arianna and her father, too. But she hadn’t been able to bring herself to react. Not when she’d already planned to follow them into hell.
Her attendants had eventually stepped out, which had given her the perfect opportunity to escape. There was too much going on for anyone to seek her out. They’d likely just assume someone else had taken her to safety, anyway.
Safety. That’s all anyone talked about. They wanted her safe. Protected. Calm.
None of them knew that the storm brewing inside her body wouldn’t allow such a thing. There was an inferno in her soul that couldn’t be quenched.
Ellie marched straight to Arianna’s room.
Once inside, she tore the disgusting pale blue gown from her body and let the material fall to the floor in ribbons.
Arianna’s closet was lined with clothes, just as she’d expected.
Given that the two were about the same size, it gave Ellie everything she needed.
Ellie pulled on black pants, a long sleeve black shirt, and matching boots before pausing at the vanity. She didn’t bother looking herself over, not really. All she needed was her hair to be practical, battle ready.
She grabbed a brush, then stopped. Her eyes rose. She’d planned a braid; instead, Ellie headed for the kitchens.
No one roamed the halls anymore. No guards, no citizens, no pursuers. It was just her and the sound of her boots echoing off the marble floor.
Inside, the ovens had been turned off, but the counters were covered in various items, utensils left uncleaned from those who had spent their last few moments arranging supplies for the citizens below.
Whatever helped them make it to tomorrow, she supposed.
Ellie grabbed a pair of scissors from the table. She didn’t even bother to wipe them off before pulling her hair back and sawing at the strands.
They fell to the floor, one clump at a time. She moved to a tiny mirror over a countertop next, staring at her reflection, but not really seeing herself.
Then Ellie just kept cutting.
She took the sides short, nearly as short as Eimear’s hair, then ensured her bangs were high enough they couldn’t hinder her sight. The rest she trimmed up, ensuring the entire thing was uniform before letting the scissors clatter to the floor.
Ellie headed for the armory next, following the scents of all the warriors who’d gathered there hours before. The air still reeked of their fear.
She held none. She’d meet death with her arms wide open. And take him to hell with her.
Ellie started with a few light pieces of leather, adjusting and slicing through anything that wouldn’t fit her slender frame. She wasn’t a fool. Walking onto a battlefield with nothing would have her dead within minutes. While she’d welcome her end, she had a score to settle first.
She reached for the knives, old friends always there to help. Ellie buckled several straps and slid the blades against her thighs. She tested her movement and made some adjustments. She needed to be light on her feet out there, able to pivot at a moment’s notice.
Ellie found a thin sword in a box. She stared at it longingly, but it wasn’t the type of blade that would hold up in a battle like this.
Instead, Ellie found a set of twin daggers similar to the ones Arianna liked to use.
She was just as proficient with them. They slid easily against her shoulder blades.
Quick footfalls echoed down the hall, then Gavin slid into the doorway, gripping the frame, chest heaving. She turned to stare at him briefly, then went back to slipping on a pair of fingerless gloves before inserting two more blades against her forearms.
Gavin didn’t speak, but his eyes asked all the questions. She knew he’d gone to see Rion and Talon off. She wished he’d marched out to die with the rest of them.
“I’m going,” she stated matter-of-factly. She let the threat in her voice say the rest.
But instead of begging or convincing or anything else she’d expect from Talon, or Rion, or Arianna, Gavin merely walked over and grabbed his own set of knives and buckles. “Let’s go to war, then.”