A Court of Light and Embers

Chapter Eleven

Ruhn panted, his blue eyes betrayed. "What the fuck is this?"

"Tell me everything I want to know," she said, running the knife across the base of this throat. He gulped. "And I won't hurt you."

"Fuck you," he hissed, trying to escape her grip. But he was under the influence of booze and drugs, and he didn't have is full strength. Aelin flipped them so he was against the wall.

"Is Bryce Quinlan the Star?" She demanded.

Ruhn bared his teeth. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She ripped his head back harder, her nails digging into his scalp. "Don't play dumb with me."

He hissed, spitting at her feet. "Get the fuck off me, you crazy bitch." This was all the conformation she needed: Bryce Quinlan was the one she was looking for.

Aelin shrugged, flipping the dagger in her hand. "Have it your way." Before he could react, she had smashed the hilt into his temple, knocking his out cold. He slid to the floor, a trickle of blood on hairline.

She peered down at him in disgust. "Man whore," she spat, then fixed her hair, wiping away her smudged lipstick.

"Ruhn! Where the fuck are you! You better not be smashing that girl I saw you with a few moments ago." Aelin froze as a female entered the bathroom, her heels clicking on the floor. "Since you're off your face, I'm here to drive you home."

Aelin lowered her voice to the smooth, deep silkiness Ruhn spoke with, using the tips Lysandra had taught her ages ago. "I'll just a be a minute." She mimicked a gagging noise.

Bryce scoffed with annoyance. "Where's that girl from before? And why are you in a female bathroom?"

Aelin paused, deciding on her plan then and there. It was risky, but she needed to get Bryce Quinlan to help her save Feyre's world. So, she raised her voice to a pitchy, feminine tone. "Oh, you must be the Bryce Ruhn was telling me so much about!"

She could hear the suspicion in Bryce's voice. "Who the fuck are you? Just another one of Ruhn's sluts?"

Aelin scowled, unlocking the door and swinging it open. Bryce gaped at the unconscious Ruhn on the floor, and then the grinning Aelin. She took a step back. "You." She whispered.

Aelin flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Surprise, bitch."

And without further ado, burst into flame.

~

I awoke drenched in cold sweat, my hair sticking to my neck. I panted, rubbing my eyes as it took me a second to realise where I was. And who was missing.

"Shit," I whispered, leaping out of the bed and running around the house. "Aelin?" No answer. Her lemon verbena, jasmine and crackling embers scent was no-where to be found.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," I grabbed the note left on the counter, written in a cursive script.

Just gone out to run a few errands. Kisses.

I slammed down the note, running frustrated fingers through my hair. "Mother above," I whispered. That's when I caught it. The faintest, lightest trace of Aelin's scent, leading towards a building down the block. Adrenaline and new-found determination pumping through my veins, I ran to the balcony, placed my hand on the railing, and vaulted over.

I landed on the pavement in a crouch, my Fae senses easily adjusting to the dark. I focused, and winnowed to where Aelin's scent came from.

After the shadows disappeared, I found myself in an alley beside a booming bar, finely dressed beings waiting to be let in. Aelin's scent was stronger here; I knew I was close.

"What are you doing back here?" I whirled around and found myself face-to-face with another female, who wrinkled her nose at my ruffled appearance. She held an odd pipe in her hand, puffing plumes of smoke. "You're not homeless, are you? That's just gross."

I winced. "Sorry." I lashed out, slamming a quick and efficient punch into her head. She crumpled, and I caught her before she hit the found. I dragged her limp body behind some boxes, then quickly and efficiently stripped down her formal outfit and traded it for mine.

I finger-combed my hair, tying it into a knot on my head as I adjusted my dress; a pretty, light blue colour that matched my eyes, with a loose neckline that folded in on itself. It's hem barely brushed mid-thigh. I did up her silver heels, then walked back around the front of the bar as inconspicuously as possible.

I peeked over the shoulders of others, trying to get a glimpse inside the open doors. I saw a small, secluded booth in the corner, and I winnowed straight into it.

Two males gasped as I appeared from nowhere. "What the fuck-" One said, his amber eyes huge. I ignored them, striding out of the booth and following the distinct smell of burning embers. It lead me into a female's bathroom.

I gasped at what I found:

A half-melted sink, an unconscious man in a bathroom stall, burn marks on the floor, a cracked mirror, and a groaning female, collapsed in Aelin's arms. She whipped her head towards me, grinning as blood dripped from her lip. "Oh, Feyre! Nice to see you could make it."