A Court of Light and Embers

Chapter Thirteen

Aelin sighed, "Nice going, Feyre."

Bryce's eyebrows contracted. "Feyre?"

Aelin rolled her eyes, waving a hand in the air. Gods, why couldn't she do this by herself? "To make a whole long story short, my name is Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen, and this is Feyre, um..." She paused, then turned to a frowning Feyre. "What actually is your position?"

"My name is Feyre Archeon, High Lady of the Night Court." Feyre finished.

Bryce shook her head. "You guys are fucked up. This is so stupid. I'm going to get the fuck out of here." She went to stand, but Aelin pushed her down by her shoulders.

"Look, I don't say this often, but we need your help." She stepped back. "There are these... beings called Valg. They're parasites of a kind, infecting worlds."

Bryce's eyes widened. "Did you say worlds?"

"I'm from Erilea, another world, and Feyre is from Prythian, a... Well, you get the point."

"No, actually, I don't," Bryce snapped. Despite discovering that two other-worldly Fae were keeping her hostage, she seemed to take all this quite well. "Why the Hel are you here? What do you want me to do?"

Aelin ran a hand through her hair. "That's the thing. We don't know."

"We were sent here by Deanna, Goddess of the Hunt," Feyre explained. "She said we needed to find 'The Star', and that they'd be able to help us."

"Look, I don't give a shit," Bryce hissed, baring her teeth. She struggled to her feet, her strength returning. "You can all piss off."

Feyre stepped forward, her blue-grey eyes pleading. "Please, Bryce. I don't think you understand what's going on. This is going to change multiple worlds-forever."

~

Bryce snorted, and I felt anger bubble inside of me. "To be honest, I really don't give a fuck."

Sick of playing the nice guy, I spat, "Fine."

I lunged forward with my mind, my mental daggers piercing through her own mental barriers. Her mind was a mess of love, loss and stress; so much stress and pressure. But I ignored all that, instead shoving in a vision of what had happened at Helion's home; the mass destruction, the lives lost. All of it.

I snapped my mind back into my own head as the memory stopped playing, and Bryce stumbled backwards, a hand on her chest. "What did you do to me?"

"Now you know what's at stake," I said coldly, crossing my arms. Aelin grinned in evil delight.

Bryce blew out a breath, and her tense shoulders relaxed a bit. "Even though you two bitches knocked me out, kidnapped me and interrogated me, I... I will help you." I exhaled in relief. Aelin tossed back Bryce her gunned, who slipped it into a carrier on her thigh. "Though, I will let you know; I have no idea what I have to do. And this doesn't mean I like you."

Aelin clapped her on the shoulder. "Well, I guess we'll figure it out together."

~

After Bryce had recovered from her... run-in with Aelin, she said, "I know you probably don't want to do this, but Hunt is our best chance. He was the male who interrogated you."

"Yeah, about that." I winced. "I kind of... froze him."

I expected Bryce to be fuming, but instead she just shrugged. "Well, he kind of deserved it. He has been a bit of a alpha-hole these last few days."

Just then, a loud ringing sounded, and Bryce reached into her pocket and drew out a small device. I frowned. "What's that?"

Bryce snorted. "You've never seen a phone?" She waved it in the air.

Aelin cocked her head. "Other worlds, remember?"

Bryce rolled her eyes. "Right." She tapped the screen, the put the phone to her ear. Though I was meant to be quiet, I heard every words shared between Bryce and the male on the other side. "Yes?"

"Bryce, I fucked up," the voice hissed. "The sisters escaped, and we don't know where they are. One of the bitches froze me, the other burnt me-" Bryce arched a brow at Aelin, who grinned innocently at her. "-and now we have no idea where they are. I'm on my way home right now, don't move."

Bryce opened her mouth to respond when the voice clicked off. "Fuck," she hissed. "Come with me. I don't think you should stay in this apartment any longer. The owner is coming back today."

Aelin and I followed Bryce out of the apartment, and across the hall to another door. She unlocked it with a key, and we walked into a nearly identical home. Bryce threw her bag onto the kitchen counter, grabbing a piece of fruit from a bowl. "Go get changed. You have to return the clothes. Just use mine."

We found our way into the bedroom, where Bryce's sheets were ruffled and un-made. We quickly got dressed into other clothing, and I winnowed the used outfits back into the old apartment.

I appeared in a swirl of shadows in front of Bryce and she shouted, "Fuck!" And dropped her fruit. I shot her a look. "How the fuck did you do that?"

"It's called winnowing," I explained, and Aelin smirked. "It's basically moving between the folds of shadows."

We all jumped as the door slammed open again, and the male who I presumed was Hunt stormed inside. Large, feathered grey wings protruded from his back, and his eyes glowed with a fury I had never before witnessed. His forearm was bandaged and small cuts all over his face. He snarled with unchecked rage and aggression as he spotted Aelin and I.

Bryce smoothly stepped forward before he could react. "Hunt, calm down." She commanded. "I can explain everything."

"What the fuck, Bryce?" He hissed.

Aelin beamed. "Oh, this is going to be fun," she purred.