Kaya

Almost nothing in these books belongs to Kaya on her own. What belongs to her is Thea, and the two of them going into the Yielding one after the other, as they had always been.

Of the Thirteen since she was a witchling. She Yielded fifth at Orynth, immediately after Thea.

Raised inside it

Kaya came to the Thirteen young and grew up in it, which is the only childhood any of them got — a coven of witches all roughly the same age, raised and trained together into the most disciplined thing the Ironteeth ever put in the air. Manon at the head, Asterin as Second, Sorrel as Third, and Kaya one of the sentinels who make the formation actually work. Iron nails, iron teeth, and the undying loyalty to Manon that every one of them has and not one of them discusses.

Thea

They were lovers. In a clan that raises its witches to believe they have no hearts, and brands the ones who produce evidence to the contrary — ask Asterin about that — Kaya and Thea had each other for a century inside the same thirteen-witch formation. Whatever the Ironteeth Matrons believed they had bred out of their granddaughters, the Thirteen were quietly full of it the entire time, and nobody in the coven ever gave either of them up.

One after the other

At Orynth the Thirteen put Manon on the ground and fly at the witch tower without her. The order they went in is on record: Imogen, then Lin, then Ghislaine, then Thea, then Kaya. Thea first and Kaya immediately behind her, which the book marks with five words — as they had always been — before it moves on, because there is a battle going and no time to stop for it. There is no farewell scene. There is a comma between their names.

Her people

The coven.

Swipe to meet them all

The Thirteen Manon's Coven · IronteethThe Thirteenher covenEnter The Thirteen →

Manon Blackbeak Wing Leader · Heir of the Blackbeak Witch-ClanManon Blackbeakher Wing LeaderEnter Manon Blackbeak →

Asterin Blackbeak Second of the ThirteenAsterin Blackbeakthe SecondEnter Asterin Blackbeak →

Sorrel Third of the ThirteenSorrelthe ThirdEnter Sorrel →

Thea Of the ThirteenTheathey Yielded togetherEnter Thea →

Faline Of the Thirteen · Twin to FallonFalineYielded just after herEnter Faline →

Also in the story

Connected

The ones this story crossed.

The YieldingHow she went

Of the Thirteen

Went fifth, half a heartbeat after Thea.

Joins the Thirteen as a witchling
Taken into Manon's coven young and raised inside it alongside twelve witches of roughly her own age — the only family arrangement any of them ever had.
The War Games
Flies the Ferian Gap trials in the Thirteen's formation. The Blackbeaks take it and Manon is crowned Wing Leader of the whole host.
The Yielding, after Thea
Fifth of the coven to go at the witch tower, immediately behind Thea — the book's phrase is that they went as they had always been.

The File

OF: The Thirteen
JOINED: As a young witchling
LOVES: Thea
DIED: In the Yielding — with Thea
LIES: On the Plain of Theralis

We're Caffeine and Curses. The Library started as my design research — I can't put Manon on a shirt without knowing which way the iron teeth snap — so we keep the notes here where everyone can use them. The pages are fan-made, not official; the licensed designs are in the shop.

Officially licensed