A Court of Rage and Wishes

Chapter 5

"You ready?" Mor asked as she and Ariciya walked towards the same meeting room as the day before.

"I don't have a reason not to be," Ariciya replied, thumbs hooked through her belt loops. "Unless they decided not to tell me something, I should be just fine."

"Then let's get this meeting started, shall we?" Mor commenced, grinning slyly before entering the room.

"Ah, there you are," Rhys said, looking over from his seat next to Feyre. His violet eyes narrowed as he took in Ariciya's illyrian attire. "Are you not melting in that?"

Ariciya glanced down at her outfit of Illyrian leathers sans metal armor. Shrugging, she replied, "One of us has to represent the boys, so I took one for the team."

Rhys smiled and opened his mouth to reply when Tarquin interjected.

"Well, now that we're all here, we should get started," he said, his bright blue eyes taking in her dark clothes. Tarquin gestured for Mor and Ariciya to sit, and they did so. After they were seated, he began, "So, Rhysand, you said there was something important to discuss?"

"Yes," Rhys answered, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table. The playful ambiance faded into a more serious tone. "A few days ago, it was reported that the Mortal Queens are developing a new weapon that we've never seen before."

Tarquin went still at that, his unwavering attention asking for more information.

Feyre spoke up next. "One of the members of our court, Lucien, heard about them while he was over in the Continent with Vassa. He told us that rumors about the weapon were circulating through all the villages he visited. According to him and the rumors he heard, the weapons are called guns. Supposedly, they're similar to a bow and arrow, but at the same time are much more deadly. We don't know much else other than that for the moment, but in a couple days Lucien and our Spymaster will be traveling back to the Continent to find out what, exactly, a gun is."

Cresseida, who'd visibly paled, turned to Tarquin. "If this is true, then our generals must be informed. Our city is still recovering from the war, Tarquin. We can't risk taking a hit from the Mortal Queens."

Letting out a breath, Tarquin replied calmly, "I think it would be best if we were to wait for more information about the weapons before preparing for war, Cresseida. We can be on alert for any new reports, but for now we're still safe." He brought his eyes back up to the members of the Night Court. "Have there been any sightings of the actual weapon?"

"Not by any of us," Mor answered. "That's why we're sending members of our court to the Continent. We're hoping they'll be able to uncover important information about the Queens' plans."

"We can assure you that any vital information we obtain will be sent to you as soon as we receive it," Feyre assured, taking note of Varian and Cresseida's slightly panicked looks. "But for now, this is all the information we have."

Cresseida's shoulders relaxed slightly, but remained tense. Her eyes darted to Ariciya, who'd been sitting quietly for the past minutes. "Lieutenant," she began, startling Ariciya out of her thoughts, "what do you think of this plan?"

The young Illyrian looked to Rhys, then shifted in her seat and replied, "I think it's logical. However, I would consider passing on vital information directly to this court instead of having the Inner Cirlce in Velaris be the middleman. Unfortunately, if any court gets hit first by the Queens, it would likely be this one. You might need the information more than we do; especially if it determines whether or not your people will be protected. And besides, the information will always be received by the Inner Circle eventually.... That's just a suggestion."