Echoed Lullabies (Lunar Chronicles x Reader)

Chapter 90

I stood facing Thorne with my arms crossed.

He shook his head. "No."

"Yes."

"No!" He took a step toward me. "You're not coming."

"Yes I am!" I exclaimed. "What exactly do you want me to do, stay here and hide until the revolution is over?"

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Thorne."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just...right now you're..."

I bit my lip. "'Fragile'?"

"No." Thorne ran a hand through his hair. "I was going to say 'vulnerable.' You're still healing, Y/n. You're not expected to fight so soon."

"I will decide what I can and can't do."

"Y/n."

Thorne took a step closer to me, and I willed myself not to flinch. And I hated myself for it. Because Thorne was right. I was still hurt. When I looked at his face...memories of Aimery beating me resurfaced. In my mind, there was a link between the two, something I was desperately trying to sever. And for that to happen, I needed time.

But we didn't have time.

"Thorne," I replied. "I can do this. Besides, if you're so worried, isn't there no place better for me than by your side?"

He grunted.

My heart sped as I linked my hand with his. "I'll be okay."

"Just...you..." He groaned. "Okay, fine. Fine."

I grinned.

He looked away, scowling, but I was able to witness the beginnings of a smile he so desperately tried to crush. "The girls are in the other room. I'm sure Iko will find you something."

***

"Why does Cress always get to wear the best clothes?" Iko whined, crossing her arms while Cress practiced walking back and forth in the ridiculously tall platform shoes. "Cress gets to go to a royal wedding. Cress gets to go to a coronation. Cress has all the fun."

"I'm not going to the coronation," said Cress, trying to look at her feet without falling over. "We're just impersonating guests so we can hack into the palace broadcast system."

"Cress gets to hack into the palace broadcast system."

"Cress is risking her life to do this." Cinder threw a pile of shimmering accessories onto the bed. "Do any of these match?"

Iko flopped onto the bed and started pawing through the accessories with desire-filled eyes. "I think these gloves attach to the wing-things," she said, followed by a pitiful sigh. "I wish my outfit came with fingerless orange elbow-length gloves."

"These shoes are like stilts," said Cress, wobbling. "Isn't there something more practical?"

"I don't think practical is in the Lunar vocabulary," said Cinder, diving back into the closet, "but I'll look."

They'd managed to find a new pair of boots for Cinder, at least, who had lost hers in the lake. They'd found them stacked in a utility closet along with miscellaneous sporting equipment, or what Cress thought was sporting equipment. Unfortunately, there'd been nothing small enough to fit her, and Iko had insisted they wouldn't have matched her aristocratic outfit anyway.

"I hate this," Y/n said, appearing from the attached bathroom.

Cress' eyes widened. She had never seen Y/n look so...feminine.