A Court of Light and Embers

Chapter Twelve

"What the hell were you thinking?" I hissed as I grabbed the woman's legs.

Aelin replied as I winnowed us back to the apartment, appearing in the main room. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Look, Aelin, this isn't going to work if you keep doing these things solo. You need to get me to go with you."

"Well, I think this turned out just fine," Aelin said brightly, kicking Bryce's limp form. She groaned, her head lolling on the floor.

"I-" I sighed. "Fine. Let's just wake her up."

~

Bryce scrunched her face, blinking her eyes against the bright light. She slowly lifted her head, pushing up on the couch. She hissed at the two escaped fugitives sitting across from her. "What the fuck is this?"

"Good, you're awake," Celaena said, crossing her legs and leaning back in her chair. "I was beginning to think I killed you."

Bryce went to stand but her knees collapsed under her, forcing her to sit down again. She bared her teeth. "Let me go! Now!"

"You know, you're not actually tied up."

Aleah ran a hand through her hair. "Look, I'm really sorry about how this all happened. Celaena," Aleah glared at Celaena, who blinked prettily back. "Didn't ask me before hand."

Bryce growled. "I don't give a fuck. Let me go."

Celaena stood, stretching her arms high above her head. "Look, Bryce Quinlan, I need you to work with us."

"And why should I? You fucking kidnapped me!"

Celaena thought about this for a moment, and said, "That is true. But this is important. World-changing, really."

Was she serious? This was so fucked up. She went to reach for the gun at her thigh, but found all her weapons gone. Celaena held up her gun, inspecting it in her hand. "Looking for this?"

Bryce lunged forward. "Give me back my gun!"

"Gun, huh?" Celaena looked stroked the safety. "I've never seen one before."

Despite her situation, Bryce couldn't help but snort. She slowly wiggled her toes, regaining feeling in her limbs. "You've seriously never seen a gun before?"

Celaena tucked it back into her jean pockets. She had changed out of the green dress and into a large shirt and loose denim pants. "I'm afraid so. Though, I am pretty nifty with one of these." She whipped out a knife, twirling it between her fingers. Bryce glowered at her. "Now, listen closely."

"Go fuck yourselves," Bryce snapped.

Celaena tutted. "Now, that's not very nice."

Aleah stood, shooting a look at Celaena. "Please, Bryce. We need your help."

Bryce's anger pulsed for a second. So they didn't want to kill her. "You know, you could've just called me."

Aleah pulled a chair closer to Bryce, sitting down slowly. "I know our... methods weren't the wisest, but this is important. My world is at stake."

Bryce paused, repeating her sentence over and over in her head. "Your world?"