men were making jokes about Cinder at the ball. You called them swine and you got up on the bar and defended her even though she was Lunar, and that was the moment I started to fall in love with you.”
Heat rushed into her cheeks. “Why are you…?”
“No Lunar would know that.” His grin turned impish. “So I can’t be a Lunar trick.”
Her lips parted in understanding, and another sniff turned into a laugh. “You’re right.” She thought back, to a time before she knew about mutant soldiers and missing Lunar princesses. “When you came to the farm and I thought I would have to shoot you. You told me to aim for the torso because it’s a bigger target, then laughed when I said your head looked big enough to me.” She dug her fingers into his shirt. “That’s when I…”
He kissed her again, molding their bodies together.
A high-pitched whistle sounded over the clattering rocks, startling her. Pulling away, she saw Cinder and Thorne—the source of the whistle—along with a dark-skinned girl with blue hair who had her hands pressed dreamily against her cheeks.
It was such a welcome sight, Scarlet started crying again. Disentangling herself from Wolf’s arms, she hobbled to her feet. He was quick to join her, one arm encircling her shoulders. “I can’t believe it. You’re here. On Luna.”
“We’re here,” agreed Thorne. “And if you’d bothered to RSVP, we would have brought you a snack.” His eyes skimmed down her body. “When was the last time you ate?”
Scarlet glanced down. Her clothes hung from her bones, her muscles withered to almost nothing in the tiny cage. Still, he didn’t need to point it out.
“You look lovely,” said the blue-haired girl. “A little rough around the edges, but it adds character.”
“Um, thanks,” said Scarlet, swiping the tears from her cheeks. “And you are…?”
The girl bounced on her toes. “It’s me, Iko! The captain found me a real body.”
Scarlet’s eyebrows jotted upward. This was Iko? Their spaceship?
Before she could reply, a sweet singing voice floated through the alley.
“The parakeets sing ta-weet-a-weet-a-weet, and the stars twinkle all the night…”
Four pairs of eyes swiveled toward the cart that was now full of shimmering white rock, though the shaft from the building had fallen silent. At some point, Winter had crawled behind it, wedging herself between the cart and the wall. Scarlet could see the top of the red hood pulled over Winter’s hair.
“And the monkeys frolic a-eet-eet-eet, while the rockets fly on by…”
Cinder approached the cart with her brow drawn and rolled it away. Winter was curled up on her side, facing the wall and drawing little designs into the dust. The tablecloth had fallen open, revealing her blood-covered skirt.
“And the Earth is full tonight, tonight, and the wolves all howl, aa-ooooooooooh…”
The dainty howl faded away.
Scarlet could feel everyone’s curious gazes switching between her and the princess. She cleared her throat. “She’s harmless,” she said. “I’m pretty sure.”
Winter rolled onto her back so she was staring at Cinder upside-down.
Cinder’s eyes widened. The others crept forward.
After three slow blinks, Winter rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up to her knees. She turned down the hood, letting her thick hair tumble out around her shoulders. “Hello.”
Scarlet started laughing again. She remembered what it was like seeing the princess for the first time. Her full lips, delicate shoulders, huge eyes flecked with shavings of gray, all paired with the unexpected scars on her right cheek that should have made her less stunning but didn’t.
It occurred to Scarlet that Wolf hadn’t seemed to notice. She felt a little twinge of pride.
“Stars,” whispered Iko. “You’re beautiful.”
A loud click echoed through the alley. “Drop your glamour,” demanded Thorne, aiming a gun at the princess.
Scarlet’s pulse hiccuped. “Wait—” she started, but Cinder had already put a hand on his wrist and was pressing the gun back down.
“It’s not a glamour,” she said.
“Really?” Thorne leaned toward Cinder and whispered, “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
This statement was followed by another long, heady silence, during which Winter passed her sweetest smile between each of them.
Thorne clicked the safety on and shoved the gun back into its holster. “Holy spades, you Lunars have good genes.” An awkward pause followed, before he added, “Who is she?”
“This is Winter,” said Scarlet. “Princess Winter.”
Thorne guffawed and pushed a hand into his hair. “Are we running a boardinghouse for misplaced royalty around here, or what?”
“Princess Winter?” said Cinder. “They just announced that you were murdered.”
“Jacin faked the murder,” said Scarlet, “and helped us escape.”
Cinder’s eyes