Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) - Marissa Meyer Page 0,62
her whole army here and let them make themselves right at home.” Saying the words out loud made him flinch with how naïve he sounded. Kai cursed beneath his breath. “You know, I’m beginning to think I entered into this marriage thing a bit hastily.”
“You made the best decision you could at the time.”
Kai rubbed his hands together, attempting to dispel the feeling of vulnerability the thaumaturge’s presence had given him. “Torin,” he said, sliding his eyes toward his adviser, “if there was a way to avoid this marriage and keep us from going to war and get that antidote … you would agree that that would be the best course of action, wouldn’t you?”
Torin lowered himself slowly into the chair that the thaumaturge had vacated. “I’m almost afraid to ask, Your Majesty.”
Clearing his throat, Kai called for Nainsi. A second later, her short, glossy-white body appeared in the doorway. “Nainsi, have you found anything new?”
As she approached the desk, her sensor flashed, once at him, and once at Torin. “Permission clearance for Adviser Konn Torin requested.”
Torin’s eyebrow jutted up, but Kai ignored it. “Clearance granted.”
Nainsi came to a stop beside the desk. “I’ve run a full report on Michelle Benoit, including a detailed timeline of her activities, occupations, achievements, and military service, and biographical information on eleven persons who seemed close enough to warrant attention. My data retrieval system is broadening the search to neighbors and potential acquaintances beginning in the year 85 T.E.”
“Who is Michelle Benoit?” Torin asked, in a tone that suggested he didn’t really want to know the answer.
“Michelle Benoit was born in 56 T.E.,” said Nainsi, “and is noted most for her twenty-eight years of service in the European Federation armed forces, twenty of which were served as wing commander. She received a Distinguished Service Medal for piloting the diplomatic mission to Luna in the year 85 T.E. The mission included—”
“We think she might have something to do with Princess Selene,” Kai interrupted, tapping some fast instructions into the built-in netscreen on his desk. A moment later, a satellite photo of farmlands in southern France appeared across the screen. “She owns this farm”—he pointed to a dark spot, where the ground had been recently scorched—“and this field is where Cinder landed the first time she returned to Earth, right before the attack. So, we assume that Cinder believes that Michelle Benoit is attached to the princess as well.”
Torin’s face darkened, but he seemed to be withholding judgment until Kai finished. “I see.”
“Nainsi, have you found anything useful?”
“Useful is a subjective term relative to the actions that are taken prior to receiving information and the resulting—”
“Nainsi. Have you found anything relevant?”
“Relevant to what?” said Torin. “What are you hoping to find?”
“Princess Selene.”
Torin sighed. “Again?”
“Yes. Again,” said Kai. He gestured toward the sky. “Aren’t you the one who told me we had to try to stand up against Levana?”
“I didn’t mean by chasing ghosts.”
“But think about it. She’s the true heir to the Lunar throne. You honestly don’t think finding her would give us an advantage?”
Torin’s mouth pressed into a thin line, but to Kai’s relief, he seemed to be considering the question. “I don’t want you to be distracted from the things that are truly important.”
Kai snorted. “The important things, like jade centerpieces and whether my wedding sash should have flying bats or a pair of cranes embroidered on it?”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“Clearly.”
Rubbing his forehead, Torin eyed Nainsi for a long moment, before casting his gaze toward the ceiling. “Your Majesty. According to Linh Cinder’s own warnings, Queen Levana already means to murder you because you were attempting to find the princess before. What will her retaliation be when she realizes you haven’t stopped?”
“It doesn’t matter—she already intends to kill me, so what else can she do? And Princess Selene would be the true heir. Her existence would negate any claim Levana has to her throne.”
Torin dropped his shoulders. “And you think that by finding a girl who’s, what? Fifteen years old?”
“Sixteen.”
“A sixteen-year-old girl. You believe that finding her is what the Commonwealth needs right now, more than anything else?”
Kai gulped, but his answer was solid. “I do.”
Torin settled back in his seat, resigned. “All right. Fine. I won’t try to dissuade you.” He eyed Nainsi again, this time with distrust, as if this were all the android’s fault. “Please, continue.”
Nainsi launched back into her report. “Michelle Benoit disappeared from her farm on 11 August; her identity chip was left in her home, having been removed