Aelin
My words stopped the Wing Leader in her tracks, her back to me. For a moment, time stood still.
Then one of her lieutenants whirled around, golden hair flying. "What do you know of Baba Yellowlegs?"
I chuckled darkly, even as Rhysand growled in warning. At me or at the witch, I didn't know, but there was no turning back now. They'd already taken the bait.
Slowly, Manon looked back at me over her shoulder.
With a smirk plastered onto my face, I tugged down my tunic, revealing my lasting reminder of the encounter. The wind shifted as soon as the sun began to warm the necklace of thin scars - the scent carrying the evidence of what I was, what every Ironteeth witch would know me as.
A Witch Killer.
The white-hair witch's nostrils flared, the faint scent that wouldn't quite dissipate - of iron and stone and pure hatred - hitting her with all the force of a boulder. And I saw her lose herself to the lust for vengeance, to the promise of blood and gore.
Just as I already had.
"You're dead," Manon snarled.
And then she lunged.
Only to slam face-first into an invisible wall.
And freeze entirely.
It only took a second before her wide-eyed sentinels were rushing towards her, but by that time I was already snatching up my twin blades. Dragging Chaol with me, I bolted towards the trees.
Not to flee.
Oh no, with an opponent like the white-haired witch, I wouldn't run from a fight like this, even if I wanted to. But the Wing Leader wouldn't be frozen in place for long, not with Chaol's human blood holding the spell, so I needed him out of range before the real fun - the bloodletting - began.
"Get him out of here," I half-shouted at Aedion, shoving Chaol deeper into the shadowed woods alongside my cousin.
My mates closed rank behind me, grumbling under their breath the whole time. They knew as well as I did that this was far from over.
They could bitch me out for it later.
"The ravine," Aedion said, not looking back from where he sprinted ahead with Chaol.
The temple. Not only the safest way out, but it also wasn't a half-bad backdrop. I'd have to compliment Aedion later.
Assuming he knew what I was planning, that was.
We hurtled through the trees, the witches still in the meadow, attempting to break the spell that had trapped their Wing Leader. And being slow as fuck about it.
"Really, Aelin," Rhysand sighed as he ran beside me. "Did you have to taunt her?"
I shot him a feline smirk as I leapt over a fallen tree, only to be met with four rumbling growls in response.
"Please," I scoffed at them, "you can't tell me you're not the least bit interested in seeing if she's even half as dangerous as she looks."
Their damning silence was all I needed to hear.
I hadn't believed for one moment that the witch would have let us walk away without a fight. I just made it a little more interesting. Besides, we were all predators at the end of the day, and there was nothing more thrilling to us than asserting your dominance over another.
Than proving your superiority over your opponent in the heat of battle. The more fearsome, the better.
Finally, a roar of fury exploded from the meadow, so loud it set the birds scattering from the trees. I ran faster, determined to reach our destination before the witches did. Another scream shook the leaves on the trees. The Wing Leader was pissed. Really pissed.
How cute.
The trees cleared, revealing a barren stretch of land jutting toward the deep ravine and the temple perched on the spit of rock in the center. On the other side, Oakwald sprawled onward.
Connected only by two chain-and-wood bridges, it was the sole way across the ravine for miles. And with the dense foliage of Oakwald blocking the wyverns, the witches would no doubt pursue on foot, meaning it was the only way to escape - or, more realistically - the only way to keep Aedion and Chaol safe during this little skirmish.
Not that they needed to know that.
"Hurry," Rowan shouted at the two of them as they scrambled towards the crumbling temple ruins.
The temple was small enough that not even the priestesses had dwelled there. The only decorations on the stone island were five weather-stained pillars and a crumbling, domed roof. There wasn't even an altar - at least not one that had survived the centuries.
Apparently, people had given up on Temis long before the King of Adarlan came along. Too bad they hadn't abandoned the Bone Carver - or Sin Eater, as he'd fashioned himself here - just as easily.
I could only hope that the bridges on either side were not in a similar state of disrepair to the temple as Aedion hurled himself to a stop before the first footbridge, Chaol a few paces behind him. Apparently it didn't take him long to determine if it was secure or not, because before I could bark out a warning, he was thundering across - leaving the terrified captain behind.
The bridge bounced and swayed beneath his feet, but held - held even as my breath caught in my throat, waiting for the moment when my idiotic cousin tumbled into the depths of the ravine below.
But then he was at the temple island, safe on that single, thin pillar of rock carved out by the rushing river flowing far, far below. He waved Chaol on, the captain having - in his first display of sense of the day - decided to remain on solid ground while Aedion crossed.
"One at a time," he ordered, glancing warily behind him at the second bridge that waited.
Chaol hurried through the stone pillars that flanked the entrance to the first bridge, the thin iron chains on the sides writhing as the bridge bounced beneath his weight. He kept upright, all but flying towards the temple, faster than I'd ever seen him run.
Then my mates and I were at the columns, and I caught my first glimpse over the edge. Fuck that was a wicked drop - far enough that the roar of the river was barely a whisper. Now I understood why Aedion was only willing to risk one of us on the bridge at a time.
Turning back, I could see the machinations in my mates' eyes, but they were too little, too late.
"Whoops," I chirped, shoving Rhysand - who had been closest to me - onto the bridge ahead of me. "No use in arguing now."
His violet eyes glittered with the promise of retribution, but he still hurried across - just as I sidestepped out of Cassian's reach, his fingertips a featherlight caress against my skin. He hissed in annoyance, but soon found himself in his High Lord's place as soon as the former had made it safely to that narrow strip of rock.
I continued this dance two more times, until five fae males were glaring at me from across the rickety, wooden bridge. My mates had already urged Chaol across the second bridge - thankfully understanding whose safety was most at risk - but my stubborn ass of a cousin refused to move until he saw I was following behind.
The thundering footsteps of the witches drew closer, breaking through the trees with fae swiftness. And so, I launched myself onto the bridge as swiftly as I could, running so I could beat some sense into Aedion myself.
The wooden planks bucked and swayed as I shot over the aging structure. Ahead, Aedion had finally deigned to cross the second bridge, but to ensure his safety, I had to go faster - get there faster. I was nearly across when I heard the witches break into the clearing, and leapt the final few feet onto the temple rock.
Ahead, Aedion had finally joined Chaol on the grassy cliff beyond the temple - bow already raised, arrow at the ready - aimed at the trees behind me.
Huffing out a sigh of relief, I lunged up the few stairs to join my mates atop the circular temple platform. I had to wonder what had led the followers of Temis to construct it here - barely thirty feet across, surrounded on all sides by a sheer plunge that would result in only one thing - death.
Before I could urge them across to the other side, Aedion's cry had me twisting to look behind - and smile.
The Wing Leader had made it.
Reaching the posts, she flung herself over and jumped through the air to land a third of the way down the bridge. Even Cassian's warning shot went long, the arrow embedding where any mortal should have landed. But not a witch.
Oh, this was going to be fun.
"Aelin," Azriel growled in warning.
But I was already drawing my Illyrian blades, bending my knees as -
As an arrow fired by the golden-haired lieutenant shot towards me from the other side of the ravine.
I twisted to avoid it, impressed to find a second arrow from the witch almost there, anticipating my action. One that might have hit home, had I been in my mortal form. I saw Rowan lunge forward to try to tackle me out of the way, but I was faster - twisting my body backwards while already in-motion, just enough that the arrow shot past my ear rather than embedding itself in my heart.
The witch's snarl shook the trees when the arrow pinged harmlessly off the stone pillar behind me. Wicked amusement danced like lighting through my veins, igniting a fire that was quickly doused when I saw where her next arrow was aimed.
Right at Rowan's unprotected throat.
She loosed the arrow, and - for a moment - the world stopped.
My blood ran cold, my rage crystalizing into a solid, impenetrable force. No. Not again. Never again.
With a cry of pure, unfettered wrath, I lunged forward, blade flashing through the air like quicksilver -
Cutting down the arrow before it could breach the temple's perimeter.
Roaring silence filled my ears as I straightened, turning back to stare at the lieutenant - whose face had gone bone-white - and at the Wing Leader, not forty paces down the bridge. All alone.
I knew there was nothing human, nothing sane, on my face as I chuckled darkly. "You're going to regret that."
The white-haired witch didn't respond, redoubling her efforts to get to me, but her golden eyes flashed with something that looked suspiciously like doubt. Aedion and Cassian rained arrows on her sentinels with preternatural precision, keeping them at bay by the tree line. Keeping the Wing Leader - and her soon-to-be-dead lieutenant - at my mercy.
"Go," I whispered to my mates, the killing calm settling over me like a familiar mask.
They tried to kill my mate. Kill Rowan. Now, they would pay for it. Even if I had to tear them apart myself, piece by bloody piece.
Immediately, they tried to protest. "No -"
"Go." I snarled. "She's mine."
It was a voice that I'd used before - though never towards my mates - a queen's voice. It was that - paired with the desperate plea I shoved down our mating bond - that had them all stumbling back a step.
Fury flashed across their faces, but there was also understanding. Understanding that this was my line, a line that I could not allow to be crossed. The line these witches had just tried to cross.
So, reluctantly, they moved across the bridge, Rowan first - as if they knew just how badly I needed him, needed them all - as far away from these demons as possible. Sparing a second to ensure they made it across safely, I watched as Cassian and Aedion just managed to cover their retreat before they ran out of arrows. Rhysand was last to cross, just as -
I whirled, one my blades raised to deflect the Wing Leader's sword as she swiped for my head.
Steel met stone, the pillar groaning at the force of the blow, but I was already moving between the witch and the first bridge, cutting her off from the other side. Where the other witches, without Aedion and Cassian's arrows to block them, were now racing from the cover of the woods.
"Witch Killer," the Wing Leader growled, attacking again.
This time, I rolled to avoid the fatal blow, uncurling to my feet right in front of the first bridge. Swinging down both blades at once, the chains snapped, and the bridge collapsed into the depths of the ravine.
Unfortunately not taking anyone with it, since the witches had skidded to a stop right at the ledge, watching the wooden planks crash into the river below - cutting them off from their precious leader.
I felt the air shift behind me a second too late, moving out of the way - but not before the witch's blade sliced through cloth and flesh in my upper arm - drawing first blood.
A fact that pissed me off more than the shallow cut she'd inflicted.
Spinning around, I brought up my twin blades to meet her second blow.
Steel met steel and sparked. Neither of us willing to yield.
Locked together, we were so close I could feel the Wing Leader's burning golden eyes searing into my skin. Each of us braced against the temple stones. The same stones that would be stained red with Rowan's blood if the witch before me had her way.
I'd much rather see them smeared in blue.
Over our crossed swords, I grinned at the snarling witch. "Want to make it two for two, witch?"
She let out a low, vicious snarl, those eyes blazing impossibly brighter in her fury - sharp and poignant. Whether it was vengeance for her fallen brethren, or anger at how I'd tricked her with that spell, it didn't matter. I knew what hatred looked like, was intimately familiar with how it tasted, how it felt. And this witch - Manon - she loathed me in this moment.
Excellent. At least she'd really be giving it her all.
Manon's blade pressed against mine with impressive strength, but I didn't budge, allowing the full force of her hostility to wash over me. Allowing it to sink into my bones, to stoke the raging fire igniting in my veins. This witch wouldn't rest until I was nothing more than a pile of bones, picked clean by her own monstrous iron teeth.
A pity that was never going to happen.
"I'm going to rip you to shreds," Manon hissed.
My grin slipped away, and I leaned forward until I was inches away from those gleaming iron teeth. But my gaze didn't waver, my breathing slow and steady. My stare bore into hers as I allowed her to glimpse the monster that lurked behind my turquoise eyes.
The monster that her lieutenant unwittingly set free.
"No," I breathed. "You won't. You made an insurmountable mistake in coming after me and mine. For that, you'll die - painfully, humiliatingly - and then so will that blonde lieutenant of yours. As for the rest of your coven? Well, you're the one who led them here like lambs to the slaughter, so I hope you don't mind if I live up to the title Baba Yellowlegs bestowed upon me."
The fire in her golden eyes flickered, and she glanced over to the ravine's edge, where the rest of the witches had gathered. Cut off from their leader as they were, it was clear they had no idea what to do next.
One whistle from the Wing Leader had half of them scrambling - back to their wyverns, I presumed. She pursed her lips to sound off a second signal, but I didn't give her the chance.
Almost too quickly for the witch to track, I swept out a leg, sending her tripping backwards. Without hesitation, I flipped the sword in my hand and lunged.
Manon deflected the blow, but I had already gotten past her guard and pinned her, slamming her head hard enough against the stones that a trail of blue blood trickled out from beneath her hairline. I grinned in feral delight as the witch blinked up at me, drawing in a ragged breath -
Right before I slammed my fist into her flawless fucking face.
I could practically see the stars dancing in her eyes from the blow, but - impressively, she still fought - twisting and turning with all her immortal strength in an attempt to get free of my hold. The slithering hiss of an arrow being drawn distracted me for a split second exactly when the witch bucked beneath me, sending us flipping across the temple floor.
The drop loomed out of the corner of my eye, and I jerked my weight back, landing atop the witch just as I heard an arrow whizzing towards my exposed back.
I was about to duck out of the way when Manon twisted again, and the arrow bounced off the pillar instead.
She couldn't have -
She hadn't done that on purpose, had she?
The shock of the moment was enough that Manon managed to throw me off her, but I was on my feet in the next second, narrowing my eyes at the white-haired witch.
Still on her back, the witch barked across the ravine at the golden-haired lieutenant. "No, Asterin. She's mine."
I laughed, I couldn't help it. It wasn't a noble act at all, she just wanted the glory of killing me to herself.
Still, I could respect it. Gods knew I understood it. There was no denying the parallels between that and when I'd commanded my mates across the second bridge to safety.
So instead of ending it then and there, I circled her as she climbed to her feet. I'd give her the honor of a warrior's death, at the very least.
And maybe that glimpse of understanding went deeper than that. Because after locking eyes with the witch once more, and almost before I knew what I was doing - I was sheathing my Illyrian blades at my back. Ignoring the barked protests from across the ravine.
"Swords are boring," I said, cocking my head to the side as I palmed two fighting knives. "Don't you think?"
I couldn't help but grin when Manon sheathed her own wicked blade along her back. She flicked her wrists, iron nails shooting out to match the fangs that were already descended.
"Indeed," the witch purred.
Gods, she really was the perfect, brutal killing machine. It was almost a shame she had to die. She'd be a phenomenal ally, not to mention a hell of a sparring partner if she weren't, well - a witch.
My rambling thoughts were cut off when the witch in question lunged towards me, as swift and deadly as an adder.
Darting back, I dodged each swipe of those lethal iron nails. And lethal was exactly what she was going for, targeting my throat, my face, my guts. Dancing back and back, I circled around the pillars, calculating the best plan of attack.
It was only a matter of minutes before the wyverns arrived, giving Manon - and her bitch of a lieutenant - a chance to escape. I had to end this. Soon.
Though it wouldn't hurt to play with her a few seconds more.
Finally going on the offensive, I jabbed out with my daggers, grinning as the witch sidestepped me - only to slash out with her nails, right at my neck.
I spun aside, a hair's breadth out of her reach.
The witch was damn fast. And a hell of a fighter. I could stay here all day.
But my mates were waiting for me, and my cousin. Mates who had been in danger because of this witch, because of her coven.
Manon feinted left and slashed right.
I ducked and rolled aside.
The pillar shuddered as those iron nails gouged four deep lines into the stone - and caught.
Manon hissed, and I lunged forward to drive my dagger into her spine. The witch lashed out with her free hand and wrapped it clean around the blade, halting the momentum before I could pierce bone.
Blue blood welled, but the witch powered through, bearing down on the blade until it snapped into pieces, the sharp point still embedded in her back.
Well.
Even I could admit that was impressive.
I sliced my other dagger towards the witch's gut, but she twisted away at the last second. The pillar groaned against the driving force, and then I heard Aedion shout from across the ravine, jerking my head up just as Manon's knee drove up into my stomach.
Fucking Aedion. Didn't he know better than to distract someone mid-battle?
The air whooshed out of me as I was thrown against a neighboring pillar, thankfully managing to keep my grip on the dagger even as the stone column rocked against the impact.
I grabbed another dagger just as the witch finally wrenched herself free of the stone, arcing towards me, a slash directed right at my face.
I ducked, and the stone behind me shuddered as Manon's iron nails glanced off it.
Flowing from pillar to pillar, we battled against each other, smooth as a stream, yet raging with all the force of a hurricane. Swiping and slashing, iron nails and steel daggers flashing under the hot sun. Ducking and dodging, retreating and attacking as the pillars absorbed the blows meant for each other - both of us a force of nature in our own right.
Until I'd had enough of playing with my food.
I slowed my steps, letting the witch think I was tiring, growing clumsy -
The witch's nostrils flared - a predator scenting victory - and lunged to tackle me to the ground.
But I was already swinging around the nearest pillar, landing on the thin lip of bare rock beyond the temple platform, and Manon collided with the column instead.
Before I could leap back up and end it once and for all, the pillar groaned, swaying - and toppled to the side, hitting the pillar beside it, sending them both cracking to the ground.
Quickly followed by the domed roof.
The witch didn't even have time to twist out of the way before the marble crashed down on her.
One of the remaining witches screamed, and my mates shouted at me from the other side of the ravine.
I was already up, already running, when the rock island itself began trembling, as if whatever ancient force held the temple together had shattered the moment the roof fell.
Fuck.
Dust and debris burned my eyes and lungs as I sprinted for the second bridge, just as the island jolted so violently that I stumbled. But it was right there - the posts and the bridge, my mates and Aedion waiting on the other side - arms out, yelling, beckoning, pleading.
The island swayed again - like a ship caught in the swells of a storm.
It was going to collapse.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a flicker of blue and white, a flash of red cloth - as the witch, Manon, slowly, painfully heaved herself onto a slab of marble, covered in pale dust, blue blood leaking down her temple.
And across the ravine, with no hope of reaching her leader in time, the golden-haired lieutenant had collapsed onto her knees, screaming, over and over, "Manon!"
The raw agony in that cry halted my steps, a foot away from the second bridge. Asterin - that was the witches name - she was begging Manon to rise, to survive, to not leave her behind. A plea I was intimately familiar with.
The island jolted again.
The remaining bridge - the bridge to my mates, to Aedion, to safety - still held. They were there, waiting for me, urging me to cross.
But I knew this feeling: a thread in the world, a current running between me and someone else. Had felt it countless times before, with a young healer, with a fleeing, traitorous bitch, with a noble twit freezing and alone in the castle dungeons, with a strange court in a strange realm.
I had felt that tug - and decided to tug back. Here it was again, at the worst possible time, tugging me towards Manon, whose arms buckled as she collapsed onto the stone.
My enemy. My new enemy, leading a destructive force against me, whose own lieutenant had tried to kill my mate, who would gladly kill me without second thought. A monster incarnate.
Like me.
Godsdamnit.
"Aelin," Cassian snarled from the other side of the ravine. "Don't you even fucking think about it."
I shot them all an apologetic grimace, and then I ran.
Ran for Manon, leaping over the fallen stones, carefully avoiding the loose debris. The island rocked, dust swirling with my every step, the sunlight scalding on my back.
Then I was upon the witch, who glared up at me with hate-filled eyes. Clucking my tongue at her, I hauled the stone from her body as the island buckled beneath us.
"Your death is mine. You're too good of a fighter to take the coward's way out," I hissed half-heartedly, hooking an arm under the witch's shoulders and hauling her up, even as the rock swayed dangerously to the left. "But if I die because of you, I'll beat the shit out of you in hell."
Manon let out a broken laugh, nearly a dead weight in my arms as she rasped, "You - you should leave me to die."
Slowly, too slowly, we limped over the rubble. The second bridge both so close and so far.
"Yeah, well," I huffed, urging her to move faster. "Everyone makes mistakes."
Then we were there, hurrying onto the second bridge, just as the temple rock swayed to the right - stretching the bridge tightly over the drop and the shining river far, far below. I tugged at the witch, gritting my teeth as I forced her into a staggering run. Towards my mates and my cousin, watching me intently from between the posts across the ravine, ready to burst into motion at any second.
The rock behind us groaned. I tried not to think too much about the last time I ran for my life across a thundering river. Manon coughed blue blood onto the wooden planks, droplets trickling through to the death-plunge below. Cassian and Rowan had wrapped their hands in the metal chains, securing their grips on the still-solid posts at the far end of the bridge.
The island veered back in the other direction, and the bridge went taut - oh, shit - shit, it was going to snap. And with the block on magic restricting my mates' access to their wings, and none of the witches flying beasts to be seen, we were fucked if we fell.
We ran faster, until I could see Rhysand and Azriel's fingers straining towards me from outstretched arms, the whites of their eyes betraying their fear. Close, so close -
The rock cracked, deafeningly loud. The bridge tugged and stretched as the island began to crumble into dust, sliding to the slide -
I lunged the last few steps, gripping Manon's red cloak in one hand and one of the chains in the other, just as they snapped off the posts on the destroyed temple rock. The wooden slats dropped out from beneath them, but we were already leaping, propelled forward as Cassian tugged fiercely at the chain I still held.
And then I was slamming into him, his broad hands clutching me to his solid, heaving chest. Aedion dragged Manon away from the edge of the ravine, her cloak torn and covered in dust and blood. Behind her, the temple was no more.
The witch looked up - meeting my eyes for a split second that seemed suspended in time - before violently coughing blood onto the bright green grass and promptly blacking out.
But I didn't have it in me to care, not when I was suddenly surrounded by four massive fae males, their hands running over my arms, my hair, my back. As if they were reassuring themselves that I was here, I was whole.
I didn't know - didn't care - how long we spent locked in that embrace, my name a prayer on their lips as we murmured softly to each other until my trembling subsided, my breathing evened out, my soul settled.
But I really knew the worst of it was over when Rowan grumbled, "I'm going to kill you myself one of these days."
If my resulting bark of laughter was slightly manic, well - I had just almost plunged to my death.
Again.