FORTY-FOUR
Ellina was hidden high in the great hall’s scaffolding, watching the scene below.
She was more armed than she had been in ages: a shortsword on her hip, daggers at her wrists and thighs, and a bow—nocked, drawn—in her fist. She rested her knuckle lightly against her cheek and shut one eye, though she could aim just as well with both eyes open. She heard the Elder give his answer and loosened the bow’s tension.
Ellina had bathed in Harmon’s rooms, which felt like an overstepping of bounds, but the woman had insisted that Ellina could not continue to traipse around looking like a winter-starved wolf. Ellina recognized the peace offering, even if this was a backwards way of doing it. “I’ll be gone with my army by the time you’re finished,” Harmon had sniffed, eyeing Ellina’s tangled hair. “I’m trusting you to keep Venick out of trouble until we reunite on the western plains.”
Hot water poured into a copper tub. Harmon’s oils were overly scented and made Ellina’s nose itch, but the bath was delicious. She scrubbed every inch of herself, taking special care around her shoulder. The wound was nothing now but a thick, raised ridge of cartilage. Ellina told herself she was lucky. The dagger could have struck something vital. She could have lost the arm. She should be grateful that a scar would be the only lasting damage.
When she emerged from the tub, she carefully avoided the mirror.
After she had donned the armor and weapons Harmon had left for her, Ellina crept into position. She listened to Venick explain the terms of his plan, her silent arrow trained on the Elder’s heart. She felt the man’s fury like the heat of the sun, even as he agreed.
???
Ellina was waiting for Venick in the hall outside of his chambers when he returned. He stopped short at the sight of her. “You’re supposed to be with Harmon.”
Yes, that had been the plan. Ellina was to leave the city with Harmon and their armies while Venick dealt with the Elder alone, undefended and—she looked him over—unarmored. The fool.
“I know, I know.” Venick waved her off. “I’m a fool. So, what? You chose to stay behind in case things took a turn for the worse?” He rubbed his forehead. “Where were you then? Hiding in the rafters?” Ellina smiled, and Venick looked horrified. “That was supposed to be a joke.”
Ellina tapped the knife strapped to her thigh beneath her trousers, an absentminded motion that seemed, nonetheless, to explain everything. It was good to be back in armor, even if it was human and heavy and slightly ill-fitting. It was good to feel the flat side of blades imprinting her skin, the hard curve of a bow at her spine. She was still too tired, still too weak. She would be useless in a fight in her current condition and would need to rest if she wished to recover. Yet these things, more than anything, gave her strength.
“You could have at least warned me,” Venick said, attempting to move past her into his chambers. She planted her feet, indignant.Hecould have warnedher.
“Alright,” he said. “I get it. I shouldn’t have met with the Elder alone. I should have told you my plan from the start. But I would remind you that the last time I saw you, you could barely keep your eyes open. You were asleep before I even got you into bed.”
Ellina blushed. His words were too pointed.
“Come on.” He softened her discomfort with a smile. “I’ll tell you everything now.”
They entered his rooms. Venick took a seat on a low settee, wide enough for two. After a moment’s hesitation, Ellina chose the seat across from him, a wooden armchair carved with the faces of gods. Venick was still smiling, but in a way that nonetheless made it clear he had seen her choice and understood it.
“Harmon plans to lead the highland army as far as the western plains. About three quarters of our men and elves have gone with her. The rest are waiting for me.” He pulled his hair from its leather tie, swept it back up again. Ellina was momentarily distracted by deft fingers. “Dourin will stay here until he recovers, I’ve already made arrangements. A group of soldiers will remain to guard him, just in case.”
In case the Elder gets any ideas about retaliation, he meant. Ellina did not like it, but Dourin could not very well be moved in his condition.
“The plan,” Venick continued, “is to use Igor as our base. From there, we’ll continue to unite the mainlands in preparation to face the Dark Army. I can only hope that by the time your sister strikes again, we’ll be ready.”
Ellina ran her finger along the carved arm of the chair, tracing the shape of a lamb. Farah would be furious that her prized prisoner had managed to escape. She would be angry over thwarted punishments, all the torments she had planned. There was a reason, after all, that Farah allowed Ellina to live.
Most importantly, however, Farah would understand the danger of Ellina’s freedom. Voiceless or not, Ellina still carried valuable knowledge—knowledge that Farah would not want to give time to spread. Farah would send her army back to the mainlands soon, while she still had the advantage. If Ellina was right, Venick had less time than he thought.
She told him—through a mixture of scribbled notes and hand motions—about how she had gone hunting for theisphanelagain that morning and found it. When she told him what she had realized while searching for the plant, the trick to defeating the conjurors, a smile split Venick’s face. “Ellina. You’re brilliant.” But just as quickly as the joy had come it was gone again, both of them sinking into silence.
“I’ve already asked too much of you,” Venick said. “I know I can’t hold you to any promises. And I shouldn’t expect—” He cut off, studying his interlaced fingers. “Will you come west with us? You don’t have to say yes. You could stay here with Dourin, wait for his recovery. You should be recovering yourself.” He kept his eyes on his hands. “But I need to be honest with you. There’s been too much lying between us. And the truth is that I want you there.”
Ellina could not be sure of his words. She did not know if he wanted her there for her military capacity, or for some other reason. Things between them had been different since her escape. They were changed as surely as her voice was changed, the ease between them dried to dust.
Her thoughts went to Harmon. Ellina did not know what to make of that woman, who was confident and stubborn and so wholly human. Harmon had said that she and Venick would remain engaged…and that Ellina’s presence complicated things. The thought dug into some vulnerable place. That rotten, oozing emotion. Ellina wondered how much, exactly, Venick had told Harmon about her. She wondered whathethought about her presence there. Did Venick agree that Ellina was a complication?
Even if Ellina had still had a voice, she would not have been brave enough to ask. But it did not matter. Venick had asked that she come, and her answer was the same.
Yes.
???
They left that evening. Now that they had the Elder’s forced cooperation, it felt dangerous to stay, as if any delay would be to dangle meat in the dog’s face. Ellina took Dourin’s horse, Venick riding his blind mare. They met their battalion outside the city, then set their course.
