Echoed Lullabies (Lunar Chronicles x Reader)

Chapter 2

"Your Majesty."

Kai turned away from the window that he'd been staring out half the morning, listening to the drone of the news anchors and military officials reporting on the escape of the most-wanted convict in the Eastern Commonwealth. Chairman Huy stood in the doorway, Torin beside him. Both looked supremely unhappy.

He gulped. "Well?"

Huy stepped forward. "They've gotten away."

Kai's pulse hiccupped. He took a tentative step toward his father's desk and gripped the back of the chair. "Were there any casualties?"

Huy hesitated. "No, but..."

"They've taken a hostage. Commander l/n," Torin explained.

The name was unfamiliar. Kai wasn't sure whether to be disturbed or confused. "A hostage? Why would they do that?"

"It is unclear at the moment. There was no call for ransom or negotiation."

Kai chewed on his lower lip. "Keep me informed if anything changes."

"I've given the order to deploy our reserve fleets immediately," Huy said. "I am confident we'll have the fugitives found and taken into custody by sunset."

"With all respect, Chairman, you don't sound particularly confident."

Though Huy puffed his chest out, his face took on a tinge of pink. "I am, Your Majesty. We can find them. It's only that...it's complicated by it being a stolen ship. All the tracking equipment has been stripped."

Torin let out an irritated sigh. "The girl has proven herself to be more clever than I would have given her credit for."

Kai dragged his hand through his hair, extinguishing an unexpected spark of pride.

"There is also the issue of the girl being Lunar," Huy added.

"Whoever captures her will just have to be alert," said Kai. "They should all be made well aware that she'll no doubt try to turn their minds against them."

"There is that too, but not what I was referring to. In the past, we've had difficulty tracking Lunar ships. It seems that they've learned how to disable our radar systems. I'm afraid we're not sure how they do it."

"Disable our radar systems?" Kai glanced at Torin. "Did you know about this?"

"I've heard rumors," said Torin. "Your father and I chose to believe that's all they were."

"Not all my contemporaries agree with me on this matter," said Huy. "But I myself am convinced it is the Lunars disabling our equipment. Whether it's through their mental abilities or some other talent, I can't tell. Regardless, Linh Cinder won't get far. We'll have every resource searching for her."

Tempering his inner turmoil, Kai molded his face into stone. "Keep me informed."

"Of course, Your Majesty. There is one other thing I thought you might want to see. We've finished going over our security footage from the prison." Huy gestured to the inlaid screen in Kai's desk.

Rounding his chair, Kai tugged on his long sleeves, suddenly warm, and sat down. A comm from the council of national security rotated in the corner. "Accept comm."

The screen brightened with footage of the prison, all white and glossy walls. It showed a long hallway lined with smooth doors and ID scanners. A prison guard moved into view and gestured at a door. He was followed by a short, old man wearing a gray cap.

Kai jerked upward. It was Dr. Erland. "Volume up."

Dr. Erland's familiar voice filtered through the screen. "I am the leading scientist of the royal letumosis research team, and this girl is my prime test subject. I require blood samples from her before she leaves the planet." Looking miffed, he reached into a bag and pulled something out—a syringe, but the bag still bulged. That wasn't all that was inside it.