Unexpected

Chapter Twenty-Seven

A/N: Just a short author's note. Clover again, somehow she's my favorite in the story. Her story is more than you think it is. Enjoy, and please vote and comment.  

CLOVER

"Bring it in closer," Clover ordered. Her voice was grated, shards of ice trickling over her tone. The rest of the thaumaturges under her command simultaneously stiffened, cautious over the change in Clover's attitude. "Focus on the girl."

"Linh Cinder?" One white-coated thaumaturge asked nervously, fingers hovering on the keyboard. It seemed he was in charge of the zoom in and zoom out control of the main netscreen. Clover focused her gaze on the man, and curled her lip in disgust.

"What other girl is there, Thaumaturge Mcairney? Do tell me if you see another female on the netscreen," Clover revoked in a sweet voice, a voice that could create shivers of fear. She turned her attention to another thaumaturge, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Anita. Zoom in on Linh Cinder, and turn up the volume. I want every word those two are saying recorded."

Anita nodded, and in seconds Clover could see Linh Cinder's features. The camera her base was watching from was placed in Cinder's bedroom, when Clover had gained access with the petty Emperor Kaito and was able to plug in the spying bug. Kai had had no idea. Proof that Linh Cinder and Emperor Kaito were incompetent. Linh Cinder was going to lead the great nation of Luna to destruction, and Kai was so hopelessly in love with her he would be blind to anything else that could go wrong.

Meanwhile, Kai and Cinder were conversing. 

"When will I be able to go back to Luna?" Cinder asked, pacing anxiously in the room, while Kai watched with a sympathetic gaze. "My palace and friends will be vulnerable to the threat. Has Torin found anything yet?"

Kai placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Sweetheart, you have to be patient. Your palace will be fine. Winter and Jacin are looking after it. They know what they're doing." He pressed his lips to her forehead, and she drooped in his arms.

Your palace, Clover seethed silently. Her bioelectricity spiked to high levels, causing the other people near her to flinch and instinctively shift away. Clover's fingers curled. It was not the cyborg's palace. The girl was basically a Earthen.

A simple minded Earthen who had gotten her father killed. 

Clover licked her lips, the sharp edges of her upper teeth digging into her tongue. The girl would suffer the same fate as her father, who had not deserved to die. She spat out spots of blood and reached up to touch the protruding edges of her teeth that was revealed as she parted her lips. Cinder narrowed her amber eyes, staring at the screen with a frightening intensity. "Are you recording this, Anita?" 

"Yes, Clerare." 

Cinder continued talking. "We should contact Cress and Thorne. Cress can help us figure it out. Or Scarlet and Wolf," she said, sounding uncertain. "Oh wait no. They're going to wed soon." Cinder looked up hopefully at Kai. "We'll be able to make it to their wedding, right?"

Kai shook his head. "I don't know, sweetheart. With this unknown threat, I don't think we should leave the palace at all. We don't know if someone's taking a hit at us, and we can't afford to make the public agitated again, not after the Mad Queen incident." 

Cinder chuckled bitterly. "Mad Queen incident," she echoed. "Is that what the people are calling the war with my aunt Levana? Mad Queen. Fitting name." 

"I agree. Cress should not be so hard to reach, but there is the problem of networking. If we can't even make a proper call to Luna, I don't think it'll work anywhere else," Kai explained regretfully. Cinder sighed, and ran a hand through her knotted hair.