A Court of Light and Embers

Chapter Twenty-Two

Aelin sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "This is ridiculous. We still have no idea what this weapon is."

Bryce rolled her neck. "What's ridiculous is that I've managed to do five hours of work on one coffee."

Aelin arched a brow. "Lets focus on the point at hand, please."

Bryce glared at her. "Fine. Lets recap what we have so far."

Aelin sighed again. "The Valg are parasites; they inhabit human bodies and feed off their life force, effectively killing them. They were all wiped out or healed in my home world, but somehow they've made it to Prythian. Feyre and I think that one of the three Valg kings have found their way there. Their only weakness is fire, and-"

"Wait." Bryce perked, sitting up straighter. "Say that again?"

Aelin's eyebrows contracted, while Feyre tugged at the ends of her hair. "Their only weakness is fire."

Bryce clicked her fingers. "That's it! If fire can kill regular Valg, then you would need an incredible amount to kill a Valg king."

"And? Aelin can do that." Feyre pointed out.

Aelin shook her head. "A friend healed the King, Erawan, that was in my world. Even with the full extent of my powers, I'm still not confident if I could."

"The Autumn King, one of the rulers in Crescent City, has access to incredibly powerful objects-particulary fire-related artifacts. If Deanna sent you here, then it could be to steal one of those to take back to your world."

"A powerful, magical object," Feyre mused. "It could work."

"But how do we know what it is?" Aelin asked, exasperated.

Feyre interjected, "sometimes, if an object has a form of significance, you can feel it. It's power, its traction. Maybe this could help us find what we need."

"It could work." Aelin nodded, her resolve set. "Okay. How are we going to do this?"

"The Autumn King is having a ball to mark the beginning of the Autumn Solstice," Hunt said. "There could be a potential entry point there."

Aelin groaned, sinking deeper into her chair. "Why does everything have to happen at a ball?"

"Its so old-fashioned, I know," Bryce agreed. "But my asshole of a father loves to be dramatic."

Aelin's eyebrows rose so high they were in danger of disappearing into her hairline. "Your father?"

Bryce waved a hand. "Not relevant."

"Yes, it is!" Feyre stood, approaching Bryce with her palms facing upwards. "If the Autumn King, whoever he is, trusts you, it'll make our job easier!"

Hunt scoffed. ""Trust" is a bit of a stretch." Bryce glared at him, elbowing him in the side.

She crossed her arms. "Yeah, I think I could butter him up enough to give us some VIP access." She batted her eyelashes, raising her tone to an obnoxious pitch. "Oh, daddy darling, won't you let me steal some of your sparkly tiaras and necklaces?"

Aelin sniggered. "I quite like you, Bryce Quinlan."

"I'm afraid I can't reciprocate the feelings, Aelin Galathynius."

Aelin grinned at her. "I get that a lot, actually."

"Back to the plan," Hunt rolled his eyes.

Aelin made a face at him. "Fine, then, Captain Annoying-Ass. How do we get an invite to this ball?"

Bryce inspected her claw-like nails. "I think I can get us in."