Manon fell unconscious on Abraxos' back, clutching the oozing wound at her stomach. It was truly a ghastly sight, all blue and angry and sore. Manon worried that if she removed her hands, her stomach would fall out. Sickness coiled through her at the thought. No, she thought firmly, she did not intend on dying… Not before she found her grandmother and returned her the favor for …

For what? Manon could not remember she thought with sudden alarm. She clutched onto consciousness for as long as she could but it was just so hard

so goddamn ha…

It was nightfall when she awoke again. Though perhaps awoke is not the right word. She lifted an eyelid, and peered blearily at the night sky through long, black eyelashes. Throughout the centuries she had always guiltily enjoyed leaving her thirteen at night to go lie down on the grass, on her own, and look up at the stars. At the blue, or the black or the navy of the sky, the vast emptiness of the heavens that seemed to call to her own darkness. She knew the thirteen had seen her on multiple occasions by the brief questioning glances they threw her way those morning, but she never offered an explanation. Nor was she entirely sure she had one.

She wished Abraxos would land right now, perhaps they could find a cliff for her to rest and admire the sky one last time before fading away. Just her, her wyvern and the sky. At least then she'd die with one happy memory.

No, no she would not die now. Not when her grandmother would ensure that she would be eternally remembered as a Crochan traitor. No, she would live, but not for herself, but for the generation of Blackbeaks to come, for her mother, who died with nothing but the hope that she, Manon, would break the Irontooth curse, for Asterin who had had been willing to sacrifice herself for her. For them, she was willing to live, to hone her anger into a lethal weapon which would be used to slay the Blackbeak queen.

Manon's head began to droop, and her gaze shifted to the ocean beneath her, which sparkled navy in the starlight. Such beauty, she thought. She had never had time to fully appreciate the beauty in this world until it was about to be snatched away from her. This seemed cruel, though perhaps it was her punishment for everything she'd done in her long miserable life. She gazed at the tall waves that rose hungrily from the surface of the water and fell back down again. There was something soothing about watching waves, she thought.

That was when Abraxos decided to make a steep plunge towards it.

"Stop it you fool!" She said as loudly as she dared. "You'll get us both killed". Fear shot threw her as the ocean rose up to meet them. Was Abraxos truly trying to kill her? Perhaps he wanted to give her a quick death, perhaps he too noticed how fragile she'd become. How weak. The Thirteen would not want her back in this state she thought glumly, perhaps it would be for the best after all.

But that was when Abraxos stretched his wings out to their full capacity and started to hover over a spot in the ocean. What was the fool up to now? Then she saw it. A ship. Manon laughed with relief, or would have if it didn't cause her body to start shaking in pain.

Abraxos was not trying to kill her after all, he was landing her on a boat. Clever beast. Even if she had been at the peak of her health she would not have noticed the little ship from the height they had been. He must have been scouting for one.

Abraxos swooped down and landed gently on the deck of the ship. People were already swarming around them, gasping and staring around at each other as if looking for guidance before taking action. She wondered if they were mortal or Fae, but in her current state she simply couldn't tell. It all just looked like a blur. Black spots were beginning to cloud her vision. A beautiful man walked up to her and barked a command to someone. Then, everything went black.