I haven’t even known for a week! I found out who I was the day after the ball, when I was sitting in a jail cell preparing to be handed over to Levana like a trophy. So between breaking out of prison and running from the entire Commonwealth military and trying to save your life, I haven’t had much time to overthrow an entire regime. I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you, but what do you want me to do?
The story had already taken on a legendary air from the waitstaff’s telling of it. According to the cooks, the street fighter had broken a bottle over Roland’s head, knocking him unconscious and crushing a chair in the process. He would have taken out Gilles too, if Emilie hadn’t calmed him down with one of her pretty smiles.
Thorne’s gaze swooped down over Cinder’s bloodstained clothes and the weapon in each of her hands. One eyebrow tilted up. “Rough day?” Cinder.
That won’t satisfy them at all.” “I know. That’s half the appeal.” Cinder.
His prison photo showed him flippantly winking at the camera. Kai hated him immediately.
He was holding a bouquet of blue daisies and looking immensely guilty. “I was eavesdropping,” he confessed, hunching his shoulders beside his ears. She smirked, teasingly. “What’s the point of superhuman hearing if you don’t eavesdrop once in a while?
You should lie back down,” Kai said. “You were stabbed, you know.
He tipped forward and kissed her on the forehead. The gentleness stilled her. “You were still the girl who fixed Nainsi,” he said. “You were still the girl who warned me about Levana’s plans. You were still the girl who wanted to save her little sister.” She.
First,” said Adrian, “you missed a sprinkle.” He reached out and brushed a thumb across the corner of Nova’s mouth. She froze, the touch sending a quiver through her insides. When he pulled back, a small orange sprinkle was resting on the pad of his thumb, which he popped into his mouth, eyes teasing. “Second, you’re absolutely right.
When all three of us are safely out of the dock, shut the door and open the hatch.” Sweat dripping into her eyes, she rushed back into the dock. All she needed was to get Scarlet and let Iko open the hatch. The vacuum of space.
Besides, I did work for it. Thievery isn’t easy, you know.
You have the right to flirt with and kiss and proclaim your love for whoever you want to. Which is good, because you do. All the time.” Thorne.
Cinder grinned at him. He was usually so self-assured that in the rare moments when he was flustered, it made all of her insides swap wrong side up.
His eyes softened into something almost like amusement, as if such a ragged appearance was all one could expect from a renowned mechanic.
Just stay with me. Protect me, like you said you would.
Despite all odds, she still had this one precious life. She still had a chance to do things differently. Which meant they all could do things differently. They could choose a different future, a different fate. Together, they could end this senseless destruction. They could choose to rebuild, to create, rather than tear down and destroy.
Earn their trust. Learn their weaknesses. Then, destroy them.
The question felt more personal than professional. A father disappointed that his son had broken a promise. And in this case, a broken promise might have gotten him killed.
The door to the sublevel hatch burst open, crashing against the wall. Thorne heaved himself up the ladder and immediately rounded on Cinder, who took a startled step back. “You painted my ship?” he yelled. “Why – what – why would you do that?” Cinder opened her mouth, but hesitated. She had clearly expected a different sort of greeting.
She had been forced to choose her battles, but choose them she had, and both her losses and her victories had cost her so much.