Before anything else, I'd like to thank my Beta Autumnxwinds. She is my lifesaver and is the best!

OMG, I'm so, so, so, so sorry for the wait! I can't believe that it's been over TWO months! Time really sped up after school started! I did have a writer's block, but I'm hoping I will be able to update regularly again, I am not abandoning this story.

AlexisHeade79: Thank you, and I'm not sure about that yet. Let's see if the war changes anything. ;)

Avap12 (x2): Thank you for all your support, you have no idea what it means to me!

Guest: So sorry for the late update, I will do my best to upload regularly from now on.

The beat of wings filled the air as shadows passed overhead. Thirteen wyverns landed in front of Orynth. Manon slid off Abraxos and her Thirteen followed her. Dorian hesitated before sliding off from his place behind Manon. Lord Darrow stood outside his estate and looked upon the witches in fear. Dorian followed Manon closely, but was surrounded on all sides by the Thirteen, should the mortal lord do anything stupid. Manon walked with a swagger that only an all-powerful immortal could achieve. A long look at him was her only acknowledgment of Darrow. Then, Aelin graced the witches with her presence and met them with a graceful dip of her chin before she swept away the Crochan queen.

"Your highness," Darrow gritted, his mouth forming different phrases before he finally settled on one. "Where do you think you're going?"

"See to it that their wyverns are fed with the freshest meat, and are to be left alone," Aelin carelessly called over her shoulder, quickly ushering Manon inside. "And the Thirteen are given the rooms that they wish. Dorian, come with me."

Lord Darrow opened his mouth to protest but the Heir of Fire was gone, along with the witch with eyes of burnt gold and the King of Adarlan. He turned to the witches and saw a flash of iron teeth and nails. The two he assumed were their leader's second and third gazed at him with bored eyes before following the path of their leader. The other witches tended their wyverns and Abraxos led them to a nearby hill with an open field.

OoOoO

Cicely felt something recoil inside her when Aelin arrived with a witch and blue eyed king in tow.

"Cicely," Aelin pointed to her. "Manon and Dorian."

Cicely nodded, subconsciously testing her chains even when she knew she couldn't break them. She'd had Valea tie them as a precaution. Looking into Manon's golden eyes, she felt like she had full control over her body. She felt Valeria recoil and she remembered legends about Valg kings with eyes of gold. No wonder Valeria hated that specific color.

"Now that you've been acquainted, I'll have you know," Aelin turned to Manon with hope shining in her eyes, "that there is a Valg demon inside of her who has broken ties with Erawan and is our ally. She hopes for a better world."

"If she is your ally, why is she all tied up?" Manon asked and turned her golden eyes to meet black ones. "And a Valg, of all beings?"

"Because, Aelin might trust me, but I do not trust the demon inside. Not yet," Cicely said, and whispered her request in Manon's mind. A twitch of her nostrils were the only sign of surprise Manon let show and she nodded her understanding to Cicely's silent plea. Holding Manon's gaze, Cicely said, "From one soldier to another, the only mercy that can be given."

Manon nodded and sniffed the air again. Tension was relieved from Cicely's shoulders now that she knew Manon would be there should anything backfire on them. Manon turned away from Cicely and said, "We should go over what she knows, and decide how to use that to our advantage."

OoOoO

"The mirrors are being hauled toward Eyllwe, where the King and Queen remain weak," Cicely explained over a map and blinked to clear her head. "From there, they can hit the whole upper continent, with more mirrors posted at Adarlan to clean up what the others missed."

"Armies will kill off small towns and cities along the outside of Erilea and slowly work their way toward the center." Cicely drew a large circle along the borders of Erilea. Her head began spinning as Valeria hummed in the back of her mind while telling her about the army.

Sometime later, Aedion joined them with the shifter in tow. There were more questions, and Cicely tried to answer everything.

Through it all, Cicely began to feel light headed. Her Fae instincts were beginning to slow down, and her healing seemed to be taking longer than usual. As the meeting ended and Cicely's voice was beginning to become raw, Cicely felt the golden haired witch's attention.

"Cicely," Asterin tilted her head slightly, wildness dancing in her eyes. "Care to spar with me outside?"

"Would I ever pass up that opportunity?" Cicely smirked and followed Asterin to an open field.

As soon as they began sparing, Cicely's vision blacked out and when she woke she found herself on her back; once again, with Manon's second towering over her.

A cut on her arm leaked out red blood and it slowly stitched itself together. Too slowly.

"Is that the best you got?" Asterin raised an eyebrow and pressed her blade closer to Cicely's neck. A faint order to stand down echoed across the open field and Asterin ducked as an arrow sailed past her head. Her wrist cocked back to fling her blade at the offender when Cicely held out a warning hand.

"You heard the queen," Cicely warned and Asterin scoffed.

"She is not my queen," Asterin corrected, but she lowered her blade. Four figures made their way across the meadow and Cicely quickly identified Aelin, two women, and a man.

"Chaol Westfall," Aelin introduced the man and pointed to a woman with a quiver full of arrows and a bow. "Nesryn Faliq."

Asterin growled at the archer but remained still.

"This is Yrene Towers," Aelin motioned to a slim woman who looked a couple years older than herself. "She studied in Torre Cesme and is a gifted healer."

"They've just returned from Antica where Chaol went to recover from a recent injury," Aelin chose her words carefully and nodded briskly. "They will join us for dinner."

The queen departed with Yrene and left the rest of them to talk amongst themselves.

"You're fae," Chaol noticed as he studied Cicely's face.

"How kind of you to point that out," Cicely smirked as Asterin breathed in their scents.

"You're human," Asterin flashed her iron teeth and Nesryn sucked in a breath.

Something in the air changed as a shadow fell before them. Chaol and Nesryn looked up with their eyes wide as Abraxos landed and Manon slipped off his back.

Cicely went rigid and froze.

"Cicely?" Manon asked and stalked toward the dark eyed fae. Cicely backed away and hissed, the cut on her arm began to bleed again, but this time, her blood began to run black.

'My King! This is not right. I am not finished yet!' Valeria's voice echoed in Cicely's mind.

'It's Manon. Valeria, are you alright?' Cicely asked and then she saw stars.

"Back off witch," Cicely hissed with a voice like grating stone. Manon raised Wind Cleaver over her head and swiftly severed Cicely's arm from her body with a merciless slice. As fast as she could, Manon pulled the wyrdstone band from Cicely's severed arm.

"I asked you to kill me," Cicely murmured before she slumped forward and Manon caught her. She threw the fae over her shoulder and tossed the severed limb to Asterin. Black and red blood poured from the wound and drenched Manon's leathers and tunic.

"Bring me the healer," Manon ordered to Chaol and Nesryn and sprinted toward the castle with Asterin in tow.

OoOoO

Yrene Towers took one look at the fae laying on the plush bed and her iron stomach began to turn.

"Put it back," the iron teeth witch motioned to the arm. "Her fae blood should mend it together."

The black in her blood began to fade and was replaced with bright red. The mix of colors stained the sheets and blanket.

"I need everyone to clear the room," Yrene said breathlessly and ushered them out. She got to work quickly and pulled her magic from her gut, lacing the fae's severed arm back to her body. She paused when she pulled out a splinter of metal, probably from the weapon that severed her arm.

The fae hissed and cursed but Yrene used both hands to hold down the fae's shoulder as her concentration cracked. "I need you to stay still."

The fae stopped squirming but her face betrayed her pain. She seized once before Yrene threw an arm across the fae's body to stop her from tearing her wound. The fae's flesh reconnected itself and her skin smoothed itself out. Her finger twitched and her eyes opened.

Her black eyes surveyed every inch of Yrene before settling on her face. Her unnatural stillness and alertness made Yrene squirm. Yrene cleared her dry throat and licked her chapped lips.

"I would suggest you stay in bed for the next couple of days, your arm is still healing," Yrene said quickly as the fae struggled to get up. The fae shot her a glare which immediately softened.

"I'm fine," the fae said and winced.

"You need to-" Yrene stopped when the fae slammed the door behind her.

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