Manon attacks the Blackbeak Matron to cover the Thirteen’s escape from Morath. Manon’s sword wounds her grandmother, but the Matron survives, stops her coven from interfering, and demands that they fight in the ancient way with iron teeth and nails rather than blades.

The duel is brutal and uneven. Manon fights mainly to buy time, relieved when the Thirteen vanish, but the Matron taunts Manon about weakness, strips Manon of the titles of Wing Leader and heir, and names Manon a kin slayer. The Matron tears open Manon’s belly, leaving Manon badly wounded and barely standing near the balcony rail.

As Manon weakens, the Matron reveals the truth of Manon’s bloodline. Manon’s mother had loved a rare-born Crochan prince and believed their child would break the witches’ curse. The Matron killed Manon’s father, shaped Manon into a weapon, and reveals that the Crochan spy Manon killed in the Ferian Gap was Rhiannon, Manon’s half sister, making Manon the last Crochan royal heir: a Crochan Queen.

Rather than let the Matron capture or torture her, Manon throws herself from the balcony. Abraxos catches Manon in the air, and Edda and Briar reveal they stayed behind to retrieve Manon while the rest of the Thirteen escaped. Though Manon is losing blood, Manon orders the Shadows to split off and stop the pursuing Yellowlegs riders.

Manon and Abraxos draw the final two Yellowlegs into the mountain ravines. One pursuer crashes into a stone column, and Manon uses her knowledge of the terrain to lure the other into a dead-end wall, killing rider and wyvern. After ensuring no immediate pursuit reaches the Thirteen, Manon tries to direct Abraxos toward Oakwald but loses consciousness from her wounds.