Cress

Chapter 50

Am  I  wearing  this  right?" Cinder  said  fidgeting  with  the  belted wraparound
blouse that had three different ties  that  were  supposed to   lace   together 
  in   some mysterious fashion.
"Yes, it's  fine," said Iko.  "Would you stop moving your    head?"  She 
slapped  her hands on Cinder's ears to hold her head still.
         Cinder  shifted  from  foot  to  foot,  trying to  calm her racing thoughts
  while Iko  twisted  her  hair  into  a  pinching  bun that  made  her  scalp  throb.
  It  seemed as if  it  had  been  hours  since Thorne  and  Dr.  Erland had   left 
  them,  though  the clock counting  the seconds in her head claimed   it had 
  been  less  than seventeen minutes.
       In one corner of  her  vision  was  a  newsfeed  hosting  its own  countdown.
       The countdown to the start of the royal wedding.
            Cinder shut her eyes and tried to kill will away another about off nausea.
          She'd never  been  so  nervous  in  her entire   life, and   it wasn't  just   the  waiting
         or    the knowledge  that   so  many  things    could    go   wrong    or   the   terror 
          that  she  could  be caught and returned to prison at any minute.
                What   really terrified her,   what   really   made     her     nerves   hum,    was 
         knowing  that she was going to see Kai again. Face   to    face. Looking   into
         his  eyes  for  the  first time since she'd fallen in the palace gardens.
               At the time,   his   expression was so filled with shock and   betrayal her 
         heart  had split in two, especially when   not an hour   before   she had  stood
      dripping  wet  at the top of the ballroom stairs and Kai had looked up at her
        and smiled.
             Smiled.
             The two expressions could not have been  more  different, and  they'd  both  been
      directed at her.
She didn't know what  to  expect  when  he  saw  her  now, and  the  uncertainty
      was terrifying.
      "Cinder—are you watching the news?"
    She  refocused  on the  news  broadcaster  who  was  reporting word  of  a
'.      temporary  delay  to  the  ceremony. They  were  being  told  that  all was well 
          and  the ceremony would begin shortly, but that the only security  team was
         taking  extra  precautions—
"That's it. Let's go."
    Only once they peered down  the  service  corridor   in  each  direction,
         confirming both that no one was around and that the pale lights on  the 
         nearest  ceiling  cameras were  off, did Cinder begin to appreciate the extend
         of her vulnerability.
  She was  the  most-wanted criminal   in    the world, returning   to  the
          scene  of  her crime.
  But there was no changing her mind now.
  She sent the news broadcast away,  pulling the palace  blueprint over
          her  vision instead. "Locating  now,"  she   said,  using  her  internal   pointing
          system  to   mark where she and Iko stood, before inputting   the   tracker
   code  for   Emperor   Kai   that Cress had given them.
    She held her breath while it searched, and searched.
     And  then—there he was. A green  dot in  the  north  tower.  Fourteenth
    floor. The sitting room connected to his personal  chambers.   He  was
           pacing.
    She shivered. She was so close to him, after being a galaxy apart.
                 "Got him."
      They kept to hallways that she expected to  be  unoccupied. She  found
      herself continuously glancing at the cameras  on the  ceilings,  but  not  one
of  them  moved or flashed or indicated that  it  was  turned  on,  and  slowly
      Cinder's paranoia  began to fade.