Cressida had heard whispers on the wind. Whispers that Manon Blackbeak had gone soft, allowing a male into her nest and allowing her witches to do as they wished. But when news had reached her that Manon had murdered her grandmother in cold blood and taken over her coven, Cressida had assumed that those whispers had simply been rumours.
Cressida smiled to herself, tracing a claw along the map which she had stretched out across her altar, puncturing through the piece of parchment that was marked off as the ironteeth territory.
Two centuries ago, Manon had publicly insulted Cressida. She had made her look a fool in battle and had left her for dead, causing a number of her witches to doubt her leadership and to flock to the ironteeth clan. Cressida had never forgiven her. But now it was Manon who was acting the fool. A baby witchling, indeed.
With a light chuckle, Cressida leant back in her chair and arched her back like a cat.
"Raven?" she called out, twirling a strand of her hair around a claw as her second stepped into the room and dropped to her knees before her leader.
"Yes, mistress?" Raven said, keeping her head low lest she accidentally irked Cressida. She had been on the wrong side of those claws many times before, and was not enthusiastic to do so again. Luckily, Cressida seemed distracted.
However Cressidas next words struck Raven with almost as much fear as those claws.
"You are to spy on the ironteeth clan. Manon Blackbeak is with child, I want to know her every move."
Raven immediately felt light headed. She couldn't remember the last time she had heard that a witch was with child. To spy on one was suicide. Especially Manon Blackbeak, of all people.
"My lady-" she began in a hoarse tone then fell silent as Cressida raised a finger, instantly silencing her.
"There will be no discussion, you leave tonight," Cressida said firmly, a ghost of a smile tugging up the corners of her lips and Raven wondered, not for the first time, if her leader truly enjoyed inflicting fear upon her coven.
"Yes mistress," Raven said, inclining her head before raising to her feet and walking out into the hallway.
Raven was not sure how she made it to her room, or how she managed to pack a small satchel with a meagre amount of possessions. She was not sure how she said goodbye to her wyvern, or how she had strode out of the only home that she had ever known.
All Raven knew was that she never looked back.
