Disclaimer: I do not own the Throne of Glass series or any of the wonderful characters and stories told by the lovely Sarah J. Maas.

Summary: "Elide, my darling girl. It's time to come home." (OR what if Vernon doesn't go down without a villainous, manipulative fight). KOA what if scenario.

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans in the room celebrating later this week. Much gratitude to all of you lovely readers. You make sharing this story rewarding and fun.

It was dusk. The sun had already fallen behind the cliffside so it was a bruising darkness. An eerie end of day darkness that swallowed Lorcan as he sprinted through the plains of the Ferian Gap, the trees falling away behind him. He hadn't stopped. Didn't know how long he'd been running. His entire focus centered on one all-consuming need. Find Elide. Find Elide. Find Elide.

He had let Fenrys and Rowan handle the camp and the aerie. He had gone straight for the forest and the Northern Fang. The direction Yrene had last seen her go. With Borte, who wasn't Borte but a damn shapeshifter. He had scoured the forest, the mountains, going around and around, always coming back to the same starting point. And each time he came around he could not fight against his rising fear. It was clawing out of his stomach with a pressing force, Elide was slipping away. Where are you?

He found himself falling to his knees once more at his one and only hint of Elide. The glow of camp radiating above the thinning treeline. Her blood, a few drops of it. Spilled on the fallen leaves just off the trail. He had honed on this spot almost immediately. Noticing her steps, along with another, from the camp. Leading her away. Then Elide had fallen, maybe catching her knee or hand on the rough ground scraping it.

He groaned, "Elide, I will find you."

She had figured it out. His clever human fiend had known something wasn't right and she had tried to run. Of course she had. But Lorcan hadn't been there, he was too far to brace her leg with his dark magic. He looked again at how she had fallen only steps from the trail. Quickly overtaken. And then carried away. No footprints, no trail, no scent led from this spot. No matter how many directions he went away from. It was like she had vanished from right here.

The Avery River was across the plain due east. But Lorcan refused to believe that Elide had been taken across the river, even if that was the way back to Morath. Vernon would not allow himself to be left behind. And west into the mountains left endless places to hide, especially in the Fang, the magic ran deep.

His head bowed forward into his hands, his dark hair spilling over as he let himself shake with rage. His magic pulsing out from his core, equally frustrated that there was nothing for it to find. Elide was just gone.

It was...unacceptable.

"Ah. Claimed by queen, and witch, and ...my Second, it seems. The girl who Lorcan Salvaterre summoned me to save."

No.

"What do you want for the girl?"

No.

"I did it for you, Majesty."

I'm sorry.

"I said you have a choice. And you do. Either you come willingly with me and get acquainted with Cairn or I will take you and bring Elide Lochan with us. I'm certain she and Cairn will get along wonderfully."

I'm sorry.

"LORCAN. MANON. DO SOMETHING. SAVE HER." Elide was screaming at him.

I can't.

Lorcan couldn't stop the memories on the beach from assaulting his mind. His fear and despair had been absolute in that moment. All he could think of was how in the hell he was going to get Elide off that beach and away from Maeve. And he hadn't been able to. He had been the one to fucking keep her there.

And finally the fear he had been clamping down sprang free. Lorcan abruptly sat up pulling his hands away from his face. They were wet. Crying. He was crying. For the first time in, well, he didn't know the last time he cried. He didn't know he could.

Funnily enough, that centered him.

He closed his eyes, took a deep, steadying breath and reined in his wild panicked thoughts. He caught his flailing magic and pulled it close. Leashing it to his will. He needed to focus. He would only fail Elide again if he wasn't able to focus.

He was a hunter, a warrior, one of the most feared Fae to walk these lands.

Another deep breath.

A member of Aelin's court.

Another breath.

Surrounded by his cadre.

And another.

Loved by the most irritatingly clever human. He would not lose that. He could not.

Lorcan, pull your fucking self together. So you can fucking find her.

He needed to break down the problem. Elide had vanished. Vanished right here. His magic sensed nothing. He sensed nothing. Rowan and Fenrys clearly sensed nothing. How the hell could their magic not sense anything?

His eyes snapped open.

Vernon was not that clever. But Maeve was.

He shifted his gaze up to the cliff side. Rowan and Fenrys would have returned by now. Lorcan knew they had been as unsuccessful as he was. They would take care of Vernon. But Lorcan needed to warn them about Maeve. That Maeve was here.

He let out a roar of rage as he stood up and headed toward camp.

"My idiot brother. Such a fool. I remember one time when we were just young kids, we had left the manor to go down to the village. It was quaint and 'an important part of being a leader, to understand how our realm worked together.' Come to think of it my father was a fool as well. Anyway, I wanted this jacket, kind of looked like what you're wearing," a quick nod towards Sartaq, "and pushed him. The kid was a nobody, you know? Well, maybe you don't. But my brother made this huge deal about it. And my father agreed. A lesson in humility. Humility! Like I'm a lord.…."

Rowan was not listening to Vernon's droning. He could barely keep his rage in check,but he refused to turn away. Vernon sat stripped to his undergarments, his nose clearly broken from Gaviel's punch earlier. His clothes were piled against the wall to Rowan's left. Clearly thrown into the wall. Aelin had seen to that then.

"Well, since my breaths are limited, I suppose it makes no difference what I tell you. My brother, Elide's father, you know, was an insufferable idiot as a child, but an insufferable brute as an adult. His only qualifications to rule was the order of our birth..."

He knew what that bastard was doing. Trying to distract and annoy. Maintain control the only way he could. When Rowan had entered the room he had nodded at Gavriel who had stepped out. Only to return 10 minutes later. Sartaq and Nesryn also remained. They were sitting directly between Vernon and the door. While Rowan stood directly in front of Vernon, arms crossed. Gavriel to Rowan's left doing the same. And they hadn't moved or said anything. A loose circle of sentries.

"Her mother, all's the pity. Elide takes after her, you know. She was a rare beauty. Such a pity she was killed, defending your Queen. Such a pity. There may have been a place for her under my rule at Perranth. I tried to tell Elide when I brought her into my home and then on to Morath only power…"

"Shut up."

Rowan looked in surprise towards Nesryn. Who was now standing just over Vernon's shoulder.

Vernon took it in stride, "I'm sorry, darling. I suppose I should think more about my stories. I wasn't considering a woman's sensibilities among these established ranks of men." Lifting his gaze to Rowan and nodding around the room. "You wouldn't understand like they-"

"Enough." Nesryn slung her fist in an upper cut. Vernon slumped forward unconscious.

"Honestly, why didn't we do that an hour ago?" Sartaq quipped coming up behind Nesryn. Putting a soothing hand on her shoulders. Before glancing at her in concern. "Nesryn, what-"

Nesryn took a shuddering breath before she calmly and coolly looked up at the men surrounding her.

"That man, creature. Is a fucking asshole. He was jealous, petty, wanted his brother's wife. And yeah, I cannot deal with it." She was already moving to the pile of clothes and tearing Vernon's shirt into strips to make a gag.

"We need to check in with Aelin and Chaol. And find Lorcan if we can." She roughly knotted the gag not showing any care for the face she just recently punched. "He was preventing that, and not sharing anything useful."

Rowan let himself chuckle once as Gavriel raised an eyebrow in return. "Aelin said you're all saints for handling him with such grace."

"You're right, Nesryn," Gavriel spoke up, "He is not going to let himself be left behind. Let's rotate watch in here and the other two can assist Aelin."

"I promised Aelin I wouldn't let him out of my sight and I intend to keep that promise. Gavriel, you go find Aelin and Fenrys. Maybe they're having more luck."

"I'll stay," Sartaq intoned settling back down on the floor, "you should go help Aelin." Directing his look at Nesryn. "Leave this asshole to us."

It was so dark. And cold. It took another moment to determine, yes her eyes were indeed open. Then another to recognize she hurt. And was shivering. Elide squeezed her eyes shut and raised a hand to her head. She couldn't suppress a groan.

As she pulled her hand away it seemed like- was that some kind of powdery substance? She rubbed her fingers together.

What happened?

She sat up and abruptly recognized she wasn't wearing any clothes. Her skin pebbled at the recognition that had nothing to do with the cold. She reached out her arms and felt no walls. She cautiously stood up and tried the same. Taking a few steps forward. Then backward. Raised her hands above her head. She wasn't restrained. There was just nothing. She sat back down. She curled bringing her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around. She couldn't see anything, her body ached and she didn't know why. The darkness felt like it was wrapping around her. Constricting her. Suffocating her.

Where was Lorcan?

She found she was rocking as her panic danced up her chest.

She tried looking around once more, seeing nothing, but let out a tentative, "Hello?"

A soft glow appeared to her left.

"Oh my sweet, darling Elide. It's so nice to formally make your acquaintance."

A burst of light emerged and Elide couldn't help the scream as she covered her face from the piercing light. Her eyes burned at the sudden brightness. Then gasped as she frantically scrambled backwards until she slammed into a rock wall with enough force to let a sharp shout of dismay aggravating an injury she couldn't remember receiving.

A pale face with long, billowing onyx hair stood in front of her. Those blood red lips giving a soft smile. Her hands extended in a placating manner.

"My darling, relax, relax. We have so much to discuss."

It was Maeve.