Chapter 37
Ellaryn shut the hatch quietly behind her, praying she hadn’t been followed.
She descended the steps slowly, each footfall light and careful. It was dark down here—so dark she could barely make out the shape of the room.
“Arielle?” she whispered, eyes darting across the place.
She crossed to the lantern hanging from the centre beam and struck a match. The small flame flickered to life, casting a warm circle of light across the space.
Boxes and crates sat piled around the room, long forgotten. Her brow furrowed as she scanned the shadows.
Then, a crate shifted.
A small, terrified woman stood up from behind it, clutching a baby tightly to her chest.
“Ruin,” Arielle said cautiously, fear thick in her voice. “You came.”
Ellaryn nodded. “Is the baby okay?” She asked, finding herself checking the small thing tucked tightly in her arms.
The woman nodded quickly, shuffling in her stance, cheeks flushed with a rightfully placed anxiousness.
“And you weren’t followed earlier?” Ellaryn added, taking a step towards them.
Arielle’s blond hair fell as she shook her head. “We took the back ways.”
Silence stretched between them as Ellaryn nodded again, feeling the awkward tension stretching between them but forcing herself to ignore it. “Good,” she said quietly. “This way.”
She crossed to the far wall and pressed against the brick that jutted slightly from the stone. With a low scrape, a hidden door shifted open, ignoring the gasp that followed. She had grown so familiar with this particular mechanism that she forgot quite how impossible it was.
When Ellaryn met her gaze, Arielle flinched, snapping her mouth shut as if stifling the gasp that she had released prematurely. The fear that tormented her features pulled low in Ellaryn’s stomach, though she didn’t blame her for it. She knew what she was.
“Follow me,” she said, straightening her posture, affirming her wall tall enough to hide behind the worry in Arielle’s eyes at going with her. At trusting her. Trusting Ruin.
The woman hesitated. Of course she did.
Ellaryn let out a shallow breath, composing herself before swallowing.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” she reassured gently, meeting the bright blue in Arielle’s stare.
They lingered on hers for a moment, tracing the emerald in Ellaryn’s from left to right, before she forced a small smile, eyes flicking towards the scar in the brick. The colour reminded Ellaryn of Xander.
Her thoughts immediately began to quietly spiral again.
Was he safe?
Had he found trouble beyond the wall?
Was he coming back?
“What is this place?” Arielle asked, pulling Ellaryn from the dark turn of her thoughts.
“Underground tunnels,” she replied. “I haven’t explored them myself, but I imagine they run beneath most of Cinders.”
Arielle only hummed softly in response.
When they reached the enchanted wall, Ellaryn stopped and looked back at her. Arielle stared at the stone, confusion written plainly across her face.
“It’s okay,” Ellaryn reassured, reaching out and taking her hand gently, just as Xander had once shown her. “Come on.”
With a small tug, they stepped forward—and passed straight through the wall, emerging into Xander’s hideout.
“Woah,” Arielle breathed, immediately drifting toward the bookcase, then the desk, her eyes scanning every corner of the room. “How?”
She looked back at Ellaryn.
“There’s a guy… Xander,” Ellaryn said, choosing her words carefully. “He’s been living down here. He’ll know what to do. He can get you both out.”
“Out?” Arielle repeated.
“Yes. Out… beyond the wall,” she clarified.
“He’s a… Potential?” Arielle asked, dancing around the word as she gently laid the sleeping baby down on the mattress, tucking her golden fringe behind her ear.
Ellaryn only nodded.
“Well, where is he?”
“He’s gone—but he’ll be back soon.”
“How soon?”
“Another day. At least,” Ellaryn said, eyes flicking around the room.
Arielle looked at her sharply. “So you expect me to stay down here with a baby for twenty-four hours? Or more? He needs food. Milk. Clothes.”
“There’s a toilet through the back,” Ellaryn said. “And I’ll bring food. Look, I know it’s not ideal, but at least he’ll be safe. You know what the King would do… if he found him.”
Silence settled between them—taut but understanding.
“Okay,” Arielle said at last, sitting beside the baby.
Ellaryn stepped a little closer before noticing the fear still lingering on Arielle’s face. She stopped where she was. She didn’t really know how to talk to girls. Or anyone, really. It had been awkward with Xander at the start, too.
“I—I’ll leave you to it,” Ellaryn said. “I’ll bring back whatever I can.”
Arielle nodded quietly. “Wait.” She strangled out. “What exactly are you and this Potential doing together?” she asked, and Ellaryn paused, feeling the weight of the admission that was to come, pressing behind her eyes.
“Saving Cinders,” she said, before stepping back through the stone and disappearing.