Elletra noticed with a start that Hawkeye was no longer carrying his beloved cavalry saber and Martese revolver. Instead, he was sporting a far more dangerous-looking weapon, a proper sword that must have been four feet long hanging from a large belt with a fleur-de-lis buckle. A heavier, pearl-handled revolver hung on his right hip in the classic style, a set of large bullets lined up beneath it.

She suppressed an urge to shudder. If the Hawkeye had been dressed for a fight before, now he was ready for a war. With a start, she realised the sword also carried a fleur-de-lis motif and his coat of arms on the crossguard, and looked up into his gaze.

“No other way, Elletra. You need fire to fight fire.”