Perranth With You

15

Lorcan

We shouldn't have gone.

To the winery. We shouldn't have gone.

Minutes after seeing that carriage turn in to the factory, everything went to shit. Manon. She shouldn't have seen that. How could anyone see that and be okay.

Especially Manon.

—-
Elide

Here we sit. In the drawing room. Seated together but not touching. Communicating but not speaking. Just sitting in utter disbelief.

Manon never came back.

She refused to.

But Lorcan, he arrived as if he'd changed completely. His eyes were darker than usual, his face paled as if the moon touched him.

As soon as he walked through that door I knew something was wrong. Never have I seen him so void, even when we first met in those woods.

He just stood there. Not comprehending that I was touching his face or speaking softly to him to come back and explain.

But when he did, we were all forced to sit, unable to stand and bare this new weight set upon us, bestowed by some cruel God. Chaol and Yrene held each other's hands tight enough their knuckles turned white, side-by-side on the divan.

But I sat opposite Lorcan, gripping the arms of our chairs, him staring blankly at the floor and me trying to keep my eyes on his face.

If I moved them, I'd crumble completely.

—-

"There, look" Manon whispers.

We're perched outside on the roof. Our heads peak out from around the chimney to get a better look.

I can hear the rattling of the load before I can see it. The gravel road makes it hard for carriages to travel on, probably why it took so long to get here, especially from the coast, but at least we wouldn't be able to miss it.

Not because of the noise, but because of the light glowing through the gaps in the wood.

"What the f-"

I turn my head to see what cut Manon off, just to see her hurtling across the roof towards the far end.
"Fuck, Manon!" I shout in a hushed whisper, and sprint after her.

My steps are light, and I know hers are too, so no need to worry about people inside hearing us- But the people on watch from the opposing building are very close to spotting us.

They walk in circles round the tower roof, three of them. The next one comes in to view in 3,2,1-

They both jump off the edge as soon as the soldier turns the bend. We land with precise silence and I already have her pressed against the wall, one hand around her throat as I growl in her face, "What the fuck was that? We came to scout not run for the sake of it."

She didn't even bat an eyelash as she spat in his eyes then kneed him in a very precious place. "Speak to me or touch me like that again, not only will I mutilate you, I'll tell Elide."

They stood panting, staring each other down until he broke it and said, "Explain."

"I can smell them. Can't you?" And that look in her eyes, contrasting the emotionless face was the only thing that made him stop, close his eyes-

And smell the scent of 15 witches.

—-
Manon

The glowing. Through the wood. It was witches.

My witches.

The ones I've been trying to track since I arrived in Perranth. The sole reason I came here.

Dorian was given a hint, a piece of paper with the directions to this building. Apparently it's not the only paper going around telling people about this place. The winery. The only winery in Terrasen. The same place Lorcan was tipped about.

But my witches. We thought they were revolting. Leaving of their own free will. I came to either convince or kill when it first began. But then even more began to leave. When I realised they weren't leaving at all.

I let it go on too long. Too long without questioning. Why would they? Perhaps they don't think of her as leader. But witches are loyal and bound. And they've been stolen from her.

Taken. Without permission.

One hundred and Forty-seven.

And I just allowed 15 of them to be thrown to their deaths; like a slave to a mine.

—-
Manon

The glowing.

I know it all too well. It still haunts me. I see it in the sun, the candle light, the reflection on the water.

My thirteen. They were that light once.

Against my orders, they chose to die to save not what was, but could be. To save a future for the world, but not for their own.

They were that light, in the dark and day, they chose to save us. But this is not the same. This light should have stayed extinguished.

For those chimneys are not chimneys. And that tower is not really a tower. But a witch tower. And that light is no candle.

But The Yielding.

—-
Lorcan

They forced each one of them down. We spy, from the top window of the factory, the chains around their hands and feet, connecting them all together in one line.

Fifteen witches. Bound and beaten, scarred and sacred. Fifteen witches forced to die by their own will. They were stood in the "chimney" when they finally let go. All fifteen. All that power.

It should have destroyed everything nearby. But it never left the tower.

It was contained. All that magic.

And when they opened it up, all that was left were the ashes. Until they were scooped up and dumped into the barrels-

Of wine.
—-

Elide

I couldn't hold it down anymore. I jumped from my seat and bolted for the nearest wash room, not having the mental capacity to marvel at the fact that my foot has improved miraculously.

I can already feel the bile pressing forward, reaching for me. But I push it down until I finally reach the wash room, and let it all go.

All those witches, all that magic, to be turned to ash then drowned again. How could one life hate another so much. What makes a person do this.

There has to be more... more witches, taken and thrown to the darkness. Slaves.

Slaves to a darker power, a power that craves what it cannot produce.

It was never supposed to be like this. The peace was supposed to last. But not only will I not tolerate this cruelty and brutality, but neither will she.

Sometimes it is better to ask for help than to go it alone. The outcome may be better than what was expected.

This will not go on. They will be found and freed.

This darker power will meet the fierce magic of a queen.

Aelin.

And we will not lose.