Lights pulsed around her, a brazen dance of bright blues and greens. The lilting song of a sweet voice echoed in her ear, and she vaguely recalled it from the night before. Her head lolled back and forth as a giggle bubbled up in her throat, and as she watched the crowd, she stamped down the urge to vomit.

She breathed in a deep sigh, raised her glass, and downed the amber contents in one strong gulp, before flagging the bartender over for another. She watched as he rolled his eyes, before quickly constructing her drink of choice, and slid it over to her.

"Thank you," she purred, with a roguish grin. He ignored her gaze, and headed over to the other side of the bar, probably hoping to avoid his tormenter of the last few weeks.

She watched as he went, noting the heavy set of his shoulders, and the dragging of his feet. Not usual of a fae, she thought offhandedly, but she couldn't find it in herself to feel bad for him. Not when he lived here, in this gorgeous city of Starlight, protected by impenetrable barriers and the smothering lie of peace. Not when he was safe, and she knew of families outside their borders, out of Prythian, that had lost so much in such little time.

She looked down at the ground and swallowed, her blissful mood, that rose stronger after every drop of liquor she drank, suddenly gone. She fought the urge to hurl again.

Three more nights and then I'm out of here. She promised herself. She looked down into the swirling amber liquid in her glass, and imagined it to be the silver lakes of her home. She could still picture it. The emerald, rolling hills of-

"Excuse me," she sputtered, slurring her words slightly. She looked down to see her glass of whiskey no longer on the table, felt a burning gaze on her neck, and then the sound of two slow sips of what she supposed was her drink.

She swirled her gaze around, her hands instinctively reaching towards the dagger at her side, before she relaxed and let out an indignant snort.

"Nice of you to finally come." she shot at the smiling face. "I've been waiting for-"

"Okay," her assailant laughed, before making himself comfortable on the sticky bar stool next to her.

She had been contacted two weeks ago (it was still a mystery as to how they had found her), and the glittering temptation of the money they had promised for her service seemed to be worth enough to get her drunk ass up and into this hellhole. She looked at the muscled warrior beside her, a male she had only met one before, and rubbed her aching temples. She was going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow.

She looked at the man again, and contemplated what to say as he sized her up and a glimmer of surprise entered his eyes. She decided on a sneer, and he blinked, before abruptly growing more serious.

"Listen, I don't have time for pleasantries. This is an extremely serious matter, and I ask that you treat this with the utmost secrecy." He lowered his voice slightly into a more conspiratorial voice, and she rolled her eyes. Gods, he was already boring her.

He snarled at the disrespect, before gaining control of himself again, and he sighed instead.

"Listen, please. Velaris has been a home, a safe haven, for so many. It suffered greatly in the attacks during the Second War, and none of us wish to see it suffer again. I'm sure you can understand that."

He stared at her as something akin to respect entered his eyes.

" I know who you are," he raised his hand to stop her before she could interrupt him. " I know who you are, Wyn. Defender of the Small. The Red Angel. It was not out of foolishness we called you here. I've heard great stories of you, the Assassin from Serilla. How you saved your people from the invaders and went on a fiery warpath to protect them."

Her nostrils flared, and she swallowed thickly.

"Don't talk about what you don't understand. I did nothing- not enough to save those people. Not enough to stop them from scorching the town, bringing it down to ashes. So don't talk about what you fail to comprehend." Her eyes darkened as he continued.

"It's in the past-"

"That's enough sob stories. Tell me what you need me to do, why you brought me to this godsforsaken place, I'll do it, and then I'll be on my way."

He didn't like the way she described his city, but her tone was enough to make him straighten.

"Alright. We told you to come here because we needed to help someone important, someone that we couldn't get to. Trust me, you are our last resort, because our guy couldn't get to him. But apparently, you are the best in the business, so here we are." He spread out his arms as a grudging look curled onto his face.

"My name is Cassian. I am the Commander of the Night Court's army, and you, Wyn, need to infiltrate The Prison's deepest cells and get-

"Wait," Wyn stopped him. "You need me to help someone." Her tone was unflinching and her eyebrows were raised past her hair line. "You do realize I am an assassin?"

He ignored her question.

"You will need to infiltrate the Prison and help the Nightingale to escape. She has been trapped there for eons, and we believe you are the only one that can get her out."

"Why me?"

"Because you, when you aren't drunk off your ass, have a power that has never before been seen in Prythian."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Wyn said flatly, preparing to get up. At this point, this man- Cassian was simply spouting lies, and she had no interest in any more of those.

"Neither do I." His smirk was insufferable, and she wanted to claw it off his face. Her hands itched towards her drink, which he had conveniently placed down on the bar again.

"We have a seer," he stated somberly, "and we trust her to guide us through the hard times. She has before. And she saw you, or at least heard your name, in the Prison. We need you. Like I said before, you are our last resort. Please join us. We need to win this war."

She had heard rumors of a new force rising against Prythian, but in her home across the sea, she had paid no heed to the warnings. She looked up at the ceiling and sighed again.

"You still haven't explained the details of what you need me to do. I will need something to go off of before I make an effort. And that offer of 100,000 gold better still stand. And you might want to throw a few family heirlooms in, if you're working for the High Lord of the Night Court. Make it worth my while. You certainly haven't so far. "

He stared at her, and she stared back at him, daring him to take the bait.

"I like you," he grinned.

"And I don't give a fuck. Now tell me what you need me to do, and I'll be on with it. I need the instructions. I've already lost 10 minutes of my life with you, and I don't intend to waste any more."

He looked away, and she felt ready to explode.

"One, we aren't sure of how you fit into this puzzle. We just know that you are needed here and that you will be necessary to break her out. However, two, you'll need to meet with everyone first."

"Everyone?"

"The entire Inner Circle of the Night Court. We have to go over logistics and they all are just dying to meet you." He smirked.

She froze, and clenched her teeth, preparing to say no, when he made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

"Amren says she'll help train you."

How could she say no to this? The Ancient One, escaped from the prison, born and transformed… the list went on. The possibilities of training under her were endless. With the knowledge she could gain from her, she may be able to help save her people, for good this time.

She looked up at Cassian and closed her eyes, knowing she may regret this. She opened them again, looked into his hazel eyes and her lips broke into an earth-shattering grin.

"Lead the way."