Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) - Marissa Meyer Page 0,57
scalpel and tweezers into a blue liquid. “With proper rest, it’s possible that he’ll make a full recovery.”
“Possible,” she repeated dumbly. It wasn’t enough.
She slumped down onto the wooden chair beside Wolf’s bed and slipped a hand into his, hoping he would appreciate the touch, even though she wasn’t Scarlet.
She crushed her eyes shut, the wave of remorse flooding over her. Scarlet. Wolf would be furious when he woke up. Furious and devastated.
“Now perhaps you might deign to tell me how you managed to be in the company of both a Lunar soldier and a Lunar royal guard, of all the possible allies in this galaxy.”
She sighed. It took a while to gather her thoughts and find the beginning of such a story. Ultimately she decided to tell him about tracking down Michelle Benoit, and how she’d been hoping to find out more about the woman who had protected her secret to the death. How she’d been searching for clues about her past, who had brought her to Earth, and why anyone would put so much faith into a child who, at the time, was a mere three years old and on the brink of death after the queen’s attempted murder.
She explained how they’d followed the path of clues to Paris, where she learned that Michelle Benoit was dead, but she found her granddaughter instead. Scarlet … and Wolf. How they became allies. How Wolf was training her to use her mental abilities and to fight.
She told him about the attack aboard the Rampion and how Sybil Mira had taken Scarlet, and now it was only her and Wolf … and this guard, who she wanted to trust, felt she needed to trust, and yet she didn’t even know his name.
“He said that he serves his princess,” Cinder said, the words wispy and thin. “Somehow, he knew about me.”
Erland rubbed at his frizzy hair. “Perhaps he overheard Thaumaturge Mira, or the queen herself talking about you. We’re lucky that his fealty is to the true crown. Many of Levana’s minions would just as soon kill you and claim a reward than see you recognized as queen.”
“I figured as much.”
He sneered, like he wasn’t happy to have to acknowledge the guard could be an ally after all. “And speaking of recognizing you as the true queen…”
She shriveled into her seat, squeezing Wolf’s hand.
“Miss Linh, I have spent years planning for the time when I would find you again. You should have come to me straightaway.”
Cinder wrinkled her nose. “That’s precisely why I didn’t.”
“And what does that mean?”
“When you came to my jail cell and dropped this whole princess thing on me … how was I supposed to react? All of a sudden I went from being nobody to being long-lost royalty, and you expected me to jump up and accept this destiny that you’d worked out in your head, but did you ever consider that maybe that’s not the destiny I want? I wasn’t raised to be a princess or a leader. I just needed some time to figure out who I was … am. Where I came from. I thought maybe those answers were in France.”
“And were they?”
She shrugged, remembering the underground lab they’d found on the Benoit farm, with the suspended-animation tank where she had slept, half alive, for eight years. Where some nameless, faceless person had given her a new name, a new history, and new robotic limbs.
“Some of them were.”
“And how about now? Are you ready to accept your destiny, or are you still searching?”
She frowned. “I know that I am who you say I am. And someone has to stop Levana. If that someone has to be me, well … yes. I accept that. I’m ready.” She glanced down at Wolf and bit back her next words. At least, I thought I was ready, before I ruined everything.
“Good,” said the doctor. “Because it’s time we developed a plan. Queen Levana cannot be allowed to rule any longer, and she certainly cannot be allowed to rule Earth.”
“I know. I agree. I had a plan, actually. We had a plan.”
He raised an eyebrow at her.
“We were going to use the wedding to our advantage, especially with all the media that’s going to be there. We were going to get past palace security, and I was going to sneak into the ceremony and … stop it.”
“Stop the wedding?” Erland said, sounding unimpressed.
“Yes. I was going to tell everyone who I am. With all the cameras and the media and