Cress

Chapter 60

"I  can't  believe  you  kidnapped   me!" Kai   yelled,   spinning   back   to   face
her  before  Cinder  could  brace   herself. "We're  on  a  spaceship,  Cinder. In
  space!"  He  pointed  at  the  wall. It   wasn't  actually   an   exterior   wall, but
  Cinder didn't feel the need to  point  that  out. "I  can't  be  on  a  spaceship. I
  have a country  to  run  I  have  people  who  need  me. We  are  on  the  verge
  of a war. Do you  understand  that? War. Where  people  die. I  cannot  be  up
  here,  messing  around  with  you  and   your  band of  misfits! Do   you   even
know that you housing one of her mutants up there?"
       "Oh, yeah. That's  Wolf.  He's  harmless." She  rolled  her  eyes. "Well,  not
  harmless." 
         He laughed, but it was  sharp  and   delirious. "I   can't—how  could—what
   were young thinking?"
         "You're welcome," she muttered, defiantly crossing her arms.
          He glowered, rather ungratefully. "Take me back to Earth."
         "I can't do that."
         "Cinder—" he huffed. Reconsidered. Softened ... just a bit.
           The  change  put  an  instant  dent  in  Cinder's  defenses,  prompting a
  strange  tingle  behind  her  rib  cage. She  dug  her  fingertips  into  her  elbows.

     "As  someone  who  understands  why   you  did  this, and admires your
  ability  to  actually  accomplish  it,  I  am—pleading  with  you. Cinder. Please.
  Take me back."
        She filled up her lungs. "No."
           The  softness  was  gone,  instantly. Tipping his head   back,   Kai   strung
   both   hands   through   his   hair.   It   surprised   her   how   familiar    the    gesture
   was.
        "When did you become so frustrating?"
          She scuffed the tow of her boot against the floor.
        "Fine!  As  your  emperor,  I  command  you  to  return  me  to Earth. Immediately."
     Cinder  rocked  on  her   heels.  "Kai ... Your  Majesty. You may   recall  that
    I'm  Lunar. And Lunars are  forbidden from  being    granted   citizenship  in
     the  Eastern   Commonwealth.  Therefore ... you're have  no    idea   how seriously
      I'm taking this." 
            "Are you? Do  you  even  know  what   the  consequences   are going  to   be
      for what you've done?"
            "Yes, actually.  I  know  this  is  a  war. I  am aware  that  more people   are
      going to die before this is over. But we didn't have a choice."
            "Your choice was to stay out  of  the  way! Your  choice  was  to   do   nothing!
      This is my job, my responsibility.  I'm the emperor.  Let me handle it."
          "By letting you marry her? That's handling it?"
           "It's my decision."
           "It's a stupid one!"
             Kai spun away, his hands  carved  into   his   hair. Whatever  product  had
      been used to  style  it  for  the  wedding was   making  it  messier  than  usual,
      and stars, he looked good.
           Cinder smothered the thought, annoyed with herself.
          "Please," he said, his voice strained as he  faced   her  again. "Please  tell
     me this isn't some ... some petty act of jealousy. Please tell  me   this   isn't
    all  because  I  asked  you  to  the  ball, or  that  time  in  the   elevator,  or—"
          "Oh, you can't be serious. I hope you don't really think so little of me."
          "You  shot   me,  Cinder,   and  then  you   kidnapped  me.   I  honestly  don't
     know what to think."
          "Well,  believe  it  or  not, we  didn't   just   do   this   for  you. We're   trying
     to  save  the  whole world  from    your    power-crazy   fiancee.  I   refuse   to   let
     Levana become empress. I  refuse  to  give  her  free  rein  over   the   Commonwealth.
     But we need more time."
         "More   time for   what? All  you've done   is   make    her    angrier,    so  that
  when she  retaliates, her  wrath is   going  to   be   that much    worse.  Was   that
   a   part of your  master plan,   or are   you just making  this up  as  you   go
  along?"
          Cinder's blood began  to boil  and she   desperately,  desperately wished
  she could tell him  that,   yes, of course they had a grand  master  plan that
   was guaranteed   to work. Guaranteed to   rid  them  all    of    Queen   Levana
   and  her  tyranny forever. But  there   was  no  guarantee. Only  a  string   of
   hope, and the knowledge that losing wasn't an option.
         She  swallowed   hard. "I  have  a  plain,  to  end  this for good.   But I  need
   your help."
          Kai  pinch  the  bridge of  his   nose. "Cinder.  I  hate Levana   as   much   as
    you do.   But she's the one pulling the strings   here. She  had   this   army ... it's
    like  nothing  I've  ever  seen  before.  Those    little   skirmishes   that   killed   sixteen
     thousand    people    a    couple     weeks  ago?   Laughable  compared    to    what
    she's  really  capable   of. Plus  she has   an   antidote  to  letumosis,  and   we
    desperately need   it—you    know   much   we   need   it.  So  while   the   idea
   of  marrying   Levana  and crowning her  empress makes   me  want   to   gouge
  out my own eyes, I don't have a choice."
         "Gouge  out  your  own   eyes?"  she said  softly. "She  could   make you   do
   that, you know."
        His expression darkened. "So could you, I'm told."
        She looked away. "Kai—Your Majesty—"
        He waved his arms through the air. "Kai is fine. I don't care."
      Cinder  pressed  her  lips. It  felt  like  a  victory,  but  an  unearned   one. "You
   have to trust me. We can defeat her. I know we can."