Heir of Fire(230)

            Keelie hit the floor of the canyon with a crash that could be heard across the mountains.

            She did not rise again.

            •

            The Blackbeaks won the War Games, and Manon was crowned Wing Leader in front of all those frilly, sweating men from Adarlan. They called her a hero, and a true warrior, and more nonsense like that. But Manon had seen her grandmother’s face when she had set Petrah down on the viewing platform. Seen the disgust.

            Manon ignored the Blueblood Matron, who had gotten on her knees to thank her. She did not even see Petrah as she was carried off.

            The next day, rumor had it, Petrah would not rise from bed. They said she had been broken in her soul when Keelie died.

            An unfortunate accident brought on by uncontrollable wyverns, the Yellowlegs Matron had claimed, and Iskra had echoed. But Manon had heard Iskra’s command to kill.

            She might have called Iskra out, might have challenged her, if Petrah hadn’t heard that command, too. The vengeance was Petrah’s to claim.

            She should have let the witch die, her grandmother screamed at her that night as she struck Manon again and again for her lack of obedience. Lack of brutality. Lack of discipline.

            Manon did not apologize. She could not stop hearing the sound made as Keelie hit the earth. And some part of her, perhaps a weak and undisciplined part, did not regret ensuring the animal’s sacrifice had not been in vain.

            From everyone ­else, Manon endured the praise heaped on her and accepted the bows from every gods-­damned coven no matter their bloodline.

            Wing Leader. She said it to herself, silently, as she and Asterin, half of the Thirteen trailing behind them, approached the mess hall where the celebration was to be held.

            The other half ­were already there, scouting ahead for any possible threat or trap. Now that she was Wing Leader, now that she had humiliated Iskra, others would be even more vicious—­to put her down and claim her position.

            The crowd was merry, iron teeth glinting all around and ale—­real, fresh ale brought in by those awful men from Adarlan—­sloshing in mugs. Manon had one shoved into her hand, and Asterin yanked it away, drank a mouthful, and waited a moment before she gave it back.

            “They’re not above poisoning you,” her Second said, winking as they made their way to the front of the room where the three Matrons ­were waiting. Those men at the Games had held a small ceremony, but this was for the witches—­this was for Manon.

            She hid her smile as the crowd parted, letting her through.

            The three High Witches ­were seated in makeshift thrones, little more than ornate chairs they’d found. The Blueblood Matron smiled as Manon pressed two fingers to her brow. The Yellowlegs Matron, on the other end, did nothing. But her grandmother, seated in the center, smiled faintly.

            A snake’s smile.

            “Welcome, Wing Leader,” her grandmother said, and a cry went up from the witches, save for the Thirteen—­who stayed cool and quiet. They did not need to cheer, for they ­were immortal and infinite and gloriously, wonderfully deadly.

            “What gift can we give you, what crown can we bestow, to honor what you shall do for us?” her grandmother mused. “You have a fine blade, a fearsome coven”—­the Thirteen all allowed a hint of a smirk—“what ­else could we give you that you do not possess?”

            Manon bowed her head. “There is nothing I wish for, save the honor which you have already given me.”

            Her grandmother laughed. “What about a new cloak?”

            Manon straightened. She could not refuse, but . . . this was her cloak, it had always been.