A Court of Smoke and Shadow

Chapter Eight

I adjusted quickly to life in the Little Palace.

I got the hang of my powers as a Corporalki quickly since I'd used them before. When it came to deciding which path I would take, I ultimately chose to be a Heartrender. I felt it was better for me. Honestly, it might have been the Illyrian in me. Either way, it was interesting to learn of all the ways you could hurt a person.

I winced internally at the thought. Definitely the Illyrian in me. I focused back on my work. It's been a week since I arrived here. I've been mostly learning how to kill using my powers rather than using a sword or a gun - another weapon I needed to learn how to use.

Thankfully, Nikolai was teaching me how to use a gun. I would need to make one myself when I went back to Prythian. Guns were technology that we did not have but we needed them. I asked Nikolai for a layout of how a gun is made and the different parts needed simply because I wanted to see if I could get them produced in Prythian.

I knew a female who was good at tinkering. She was from the Dawn Court and her name was Nuan. Nuan is the same female who created Lucien's mechanical eye. In fact, I was the one who suggested for her to make his mechanical eye. I told Tamlin about her.
I could give her an outline and help her work on the making of each part. It was only a week after Nikolai gave me the gun outlines that I heard a familiar voice in my mind.

Selene?

Rhys?, I shot back.

We need to go home. Feyre's coming back.

I sat up so fast. I grabbed my red and black kefta and pulled it on before Rhys appeared in my room. We winnowed into Prythian, then flew the rest of the way back to Velaris.

***

When we arrived, Feyre, Lucien and the others had barely just arrived. I looked at Feyre.

"Selene," she beamed. "How are you?"

"Better, now that you're here," I joked.

Her smile slipped. "I heard about everything."

"I'm fine," I said, gently.

I was fine. Sort of. Okay, I definitely wanted to just curl up and cry about everything that's happened lately. The only reason I haven't is because I know it would be a waste of time to cry while the world is going to shit. I only needed to focus on what was necessary and get shit going.

I handed Rhys the blueprints for the gun.

"If you see Helion or a blacksmith give them this," I said. "It's blueprints for a gun. These could give us a huge technological advancement."

Rhys shook his head. "This will only anger Hybern more. It makes us look like the bad guys."

"Please," I scowled. "Anyone with more than one brain cell could see Hybern is in the wrong here. I want us to win."

"So you're proposing we create a weapon none of us know how to use?"

"I know how to use it," I countered.

"You and no one else," Cassian retorted.

"I could teach you how to use it," I snapped.

"Not when you're training to use your Grisha abilities," Rhysand countered.

"I'm already aware of how to use them," I argued. "All I'm doing is making sure I know how to control it."

"Do you ever stop working?" Rhys asked, genuinely concerned. "Because I'm beginning to notice that you're working way too much."

I didn't respond to that. Was I working too much? I thought it was healthy. I didn't think I worked too much. I thought working excessively was normal. I looked at him.

"I don't work too much," I said. "I work a perfectly normal amount."

"You missed dinner the other night because you were locked up in your office," Rhys reminded me.

"I ate after everyone left," I defended myself. "I'm not overworking."

"You are," Rhys insisted. "I refuse to watch you work yourself to death."

"Oh and I'm supposed to let you overwork yourself? Fuck that," I snapped. "Let me know when war comes."

Rhys didn't have a chance to respond because I winnowed back to Ravka.