Cress

Chapter 52

  Within  seconds of  the  dart hitting  Kai's   chest,  his  eyelids  fluttered closed 
and he collapsed into Cinder. The  adviser  helped  and  stood,  but  Iko  intercepted  
   him.   pressing    the     man     back   as     Cinder    eased   Kai's    unconscious 
   body onto  the  floor.
  For a moment, she was paralyzed,  her mind reeling   from the  things
    she'd  just said—at what she'd just done.
    "Cinder? Are you all right?" said Iko.
     "Fine,"  she  muttered,  trembling as she propped  Kai against the table  
    and pulled out the dart. "He's going to hate  me  when he  wakes  up,    but 
    I'm  fine." She couldn't help glancing  up  again,  at the big  picture window
   hung  with heavy silk drapes.  At her own reflection looking back at  her.
   At  the  girl  with  one  metal  hand and messy hair, wearing  the uniform of
  a servant.
    She let out a slow, head- clearing breath, and  pulled   Kai's hand toward
     her.
    "What are you  going to do to him?"
Cinder paused long enough to look over at   the  adviser. His face   was  
        red  with fury.
"We're taking him somewhere  safe,"    she said. "Somewhere  Levana
       can't  get  to him."

   
"And you think there won't be repercussions   for  that? Not  only  for 
   you,  but  for everyone on this planet. Don't you realize that we are in the
   middle of a war?"
  "We're not in the middle of  a war,  we're  at  the  very  beginning."
     She  fixed  her gaze on him. "And I'm going to put an end to it."
   "She can put an end to it," said  Iko. "We  have  a  plan. And  His  Majesty 
      will  be safe with us."
     Strangely embarrassed by  Iko's  confidence, Cinder   refocused  on  Kai's
            wrist. She'd cut out so  many  ID  chips  in  the  past  weeks  she  was almost 
             used   to it, though   the first   incision    still    her   of   Peony's   limp  
            hand    and    blue   fingertips. Every time.
    A thick drop of blood  welled  up  on   his  skin  and  Cinder  instinctively
tilted  his arm so that it would roll down his fingers without soiling his
             white shirt.
     "He believes that you've found the lost Princess Selene."
     She  paused  and,  after  a  beat, glanced  up  at  Iko,  then  at  the  adviser.
    "He ... what?"
   "Is it true? have you found her?"
   Gulping,  she  refocused  on   Kai's  wrist. Waited  until  her  hands stopped 
           trembling before she removed the chip from his flesh.
   "Yes," she said, her voice wary as she fished some clean   bandages from 
            her  calf compartment ands wrapped them around  the wound. "She's with
            us."
      "Then you  also believe she can make a difference."
     Her  teeth  clenched,  but  she  forced  herself  to  relax  as  she secured  the
      bandages.  "She will   make   difference.  The people  of   Luna   are  going
             to   rally   around her. She's going  to reclaim  her   throne." Retracting  the
            knife  blade,  she  met  she adviser's glare again. "But  if  this  wedding  goes
            through,  it  won't matter. No   revolution on Luna is going to  nullify  a
            marriage and  a  coronation. If  you   give   her this power, there's nothing
            I or anyone can do to take  it  from   her. And I    know   that   you're   smart
            enough to  see  the repercussions of  that." With  a  sigh,  Cinder  rolled down
           her pant leg again  and  stood  up. "I  understand  that  you have   no reason 
to trust me, but I'm going to ask you to anyway. I promise, no   harm  will
            come  to  Kai while he's with us."
    She was met with silence and a simmering glare.
  She nodded. "Fair enough. Iko?"
   Iko  stooped  and  grabbed  Kai's elbow. Together,  they  hauled  him up,  an
  arm over each of their shoulders.
    They dragged him four, five steps toward the door.
             "He has another chip."
   They paused.
    The   adviser,   still  seated    on    the   glaring,   sneered    as   if  irritated   
with himself.
"What do you mean?"
"There is a second tracking device embedded behind   his  right  ear. In
case anyone ever tried to kidnap him."
       Allowing Iko to  take  the   brunt   of    Kai's weight,  Cinder   tentatively
reached  for his drooping head. She brushed his hair  out  of   the   way  and
       pressed  her  fingers into  the  indent  between  his  spine  and  soul. Something 
              small  and  hard  rested against the bone.
She nodded  at the adviser. "Thank you," she said, ejecting the knife
              again.
  He  grunted. "Anything happens  to  him,  Linh-mei,  I  will  hunt  you
down  and kill you myself."