intomiddle3arth: Thank you so much for your enthusiasm, I'm happy to know I didn't cost you any sleep. Thanks for your support!
IWOKEUPLIKETHIS: I will update as often as I can
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A low whistle sounded faintly. It grew louder and Cicely whirled to Rowan and Gavriel.
"If you sold us out, I will personally kill you," she hissed and then raced through the halls. She let out a high pitched whistle that seemed to cut through the air. Four more replied.
"Stay in the halls. Hold the border." Cicely shouted and heard her order repeated to all the fae. She flew through the halls, a blur until she slowed down at a windy tunnel.
"What happened?" she demanded to a young female that ran up to her.
"They came from nowhere. They're trashing the temple looking for you. Don't go out there, please Cicely, I am begging you. Do not give your life away like this." The female gripped Cicely's arm and looked back at the tunnel, then she sprinted away and shouted warning to the other fae.
Cicely slipped up into the sunlight to find the other elites already there. They all breathed deeply, and the wind brushed her cheek.
"We'll have time to enjoy the sunshine later. We fight now." Cicely let a wicked smile cross her face, and the wind changed direction. She turned to where Rowan and Gavriel followed her. "Don't get in our way."
They split and fanned out. Their formation perfect and a wall of lethal weapons. Growls came from the temple sitting on the ground.
Rowan and Gavriel saw a small army of fae bearing the flag of Maeve. They stayed in the shadows, not equipped for any kind of combat. Cicely's threat still ringing in their ears, if you sold us out, I will personally kill you.
The elites took the army on from the front. He didn't even see Cicely and Valea make a wide berth around them and kill off their back lines, slowly diminishing their numbers without many noticing. They inched forward and they trapped the army between Cicely and Valea, and the other elites. Slowly, the elites caused the army to back up, inch by inch until there were no more, just a pile of dead bodies and the heavy scent of blood in the air. Cicely and Valea reunited with the rest of the elite teams.
No one spoke as they surveyed the battlefield. Cicely held a hand to her arm where a deep gash was stitching itself together. Valea went up to her when she saw that. The male elite team went to check on the temple that was currently in ruins. It was the one thing that marked the entrance, and it seemed like Maeve suspected that it was there.
"A careless mistake that shouldn't have-" A growl ripped through the air, and a dark shadow came at her from behind, shifting from a dark wolf into Fenrys' twin brother. Cicely spun and drew her dagger, but not fast enough. It was knocked from her hand as she was pinned to the ground by Connell.
Valea's scream was followed by her rushing to aid Cicely when Vaughan, Fenrys, and Cairn came from behind and they each put a knife to one of the female elites throats. Valea froze. The message was clear: if you help her, they die.
Terra, Serene and Hayle were smart to stay frozen but their attention was on Cicely. She had drawn another dagger and was blocking her face from Connell's multiple blows by ducking and moving her head to each side and redirecting each blow with her hand. Her arm was lagging from her cut, and she managed to inflict Connell with two blows to the jaw. She was dodging his fists with expert ease, but she was slowing down. Her abs burned from the strain and her head kept on hitting the floor with painful thuds.
Fenrys, who had a knife to Hayle's throat, whispered something into her ear and she twisted and swung her foot out, hitting his legs out from under him. Cicely tried to push Connell off her, but Connell held his ground. She called Fenrys' name, but his face was blank.
Cairn was about to slit Terra's throat when Cicely threw out a hand, using her magic, causing her to get a blow to the face, and Cairn and Vaughan froze. They looked like they were fighting it but she did not let them move. Her magic twisted and wrapped itself around them, preventing them from moving.
Cicely drew in breath for a whistle and it was low pitched. She breathed deeply for one alerting that the front lines fell, but the male elite team came back and they fought the remaining parts of the cadre, causing them to retreat and tighten their ranks.
A flash of silver and she moved her head to the side, but not fast enough. Connell's knife drew blood from her cheek and Cicely grit her teeth. She brought her head up, hitting her head with Connell's, and Connell fell back. Cicely stood and bared her canines despite the ringing in her ears.
Connell leaped at her and she side-stepped, pulling out a twin dagger that cut his skin. She danced around him, giving him multiple scratches and risked looking to see how the others were doing. Valea was fighting Fenrys, careful not to do too much damage, and then Cicely saw Cairn come from behind Valea and angle a knife to her back.
It was Cicely's turn to scream and she threw her dagger, her wrist flicking in one lethal movement. It was an impossible distance, farther than they had seen anyone throw and it hit its mark. She threw it so hard, it cut through Cairn's wrist and continued until it imbedded itself into the ground. Valea whirled and swiped for his face with a well-placed blade. She cut a clean line across his face and backed away, taunting him.
Cicely was thrown against a tree, with a knife to her throat. It was so close that it drew blood. She didn't dare breathe deeply or swallow. Everyone froze with her.
"Who told you of our location?" she dared to ask. It was barely more than a whisper.
"Maeve-" Fenrys was interrupted.
"Bulls-" Serene started but Terra coughed, cutting her off.
Terra put her hand on Valea's arm. "Maeve doesn't know of our location. Who told her… Cicely."
"It wasn't me! I swear." It was strange, how Cicely had a knife to her throat and they were arguing. She brought her hand up and knocked Connell's knife from his hand faster than she had the right to be but she got a slash across her throat. Not deep, but it drew a faint line of blood.
The world was cloaked in darkness and the cadre had all their senses cut off by Cicely, though her magic quickly got drained. Valea wrapped an arm around Cicely to steady her and the rest of the elites retreated, masking their scents and Terra closed the entrance.
Hayle turned to Rowan. Her features were so similar, it was strange to see a face she knew so well on another person. She opened her mouth but closed it when Cicely stepped forward.
"If you didn't leak our entrance to Maeve, then who did?" Rage was evident in her eyes as she assessed Rowan and Gavriel. They continued down the tunnel and Terra shifted it to another location with her earth wielding magic.
"Lorcan sold us out before, maybe-" Cicely cursed.
"I will skin him alive," she growled and stalked away, Valea and Hayle behind her and Terra and Serene taking up the back. They had perfect spacing, their steps were in sync. The male elite team sized them up, decided they had enough blood on their hands for the day, and retreated into the tunnel.
Thanks to my beta autumnxwinds!