Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) - Marissa Meyer Page 0,71
this invitation?”
Looking like he might keel over from exhaustion, Kai shook his head. “No. Of course not. I—naively, it seems—was under the impression that there were no Lunars in the Commonwealth. Other than our diplomatic guests here at the palace, of course. Now that it’s been brought to my attention how easy it is for them to blend in with the populace, we will be taking additional security measures to both keep Lunars from emigrating here, as well as to find and export any that may be within our borders. I have every intention to comply with the statutes of the Interplanetary Agreement of 54 T.E. on this matter. Yes, second row.”
“Regarding Her Majesty, Queen Levana, has she or any of the Lunar court commented on the escape of the convict?”
Kai’s jaw tensed. “Oh, she’s had a thing or two to say about it.”
Behind Kai, a government official cleared his throat. The irritation quickly evaporated from Kai’s face, replaced with tactful vacancy.
“Queen Levana wants Linh Cinder to be found,” he amended, “and brought to justice.”
“Your Majesty, do you think these events may have harmed the diplomatic proceedings between Earth and Luna?”
“I don’t think they helped.”
“Your Majesty.” A man stood, three rows back. “Witness accounts from the ball seem to indicate that Linh Cinder’s arrest was part of an agreement between yourself and the queen, and that letting her go could be cause for war. Is there reason to believe the cyborg’s escape could lead to a greater threat to our national security?”
Kai moved to scratch behind his ear, but caught the nervous tick and placed his hand back on the podium. “The word war has been thrown around between Earth and Luna for generations. It is my prerogative, as it was always my father’s, to avoid that at all costs. I assure you, I am doing everything in my power not to further unravel our fragile relationship with Luna, starting with finding Linh Cinder. That’s all, thank you.”
He stepped off the stage to a wave of unanswered questions, and was pulled into a whispered conversation with a group of officials.
Pouting, Thorne slumped into the copilot’s seat. “He didn’t mention me. Not once.”
“Me either,” said Iko, without pity.
“You’re not an escaped convict.”
“True, but His Majesty and I met once, at the market. I felt like we had a really strong connection. Didn’t you think so, Cinder?”
The words slipped meaninglessly through Cinder’s audio interface. She didn’t respond, unable to tear her focus away from Kai.
He was being forced to take responsibility for her actions. He was being unfairly faced with the repercussions of her decisions. In the aftermath of her escape, he alone had to deal with Queen Levana.
Shutting her eyes against the sight of him, she rubbed her throbbing temple.
“But I’m a wanted fugitive, like Cinder,” Thorne continued. “They do realize I’m missing, don’t they?”
“Maybe they’re grateful,” Cinder muttered.
Thorne grumbled something incoherent, followed by a long silence during which Cinder massaged her brow and tried to convince herself she’d done the right thing.
Spinning, Thorne kicked his feet onto the armrest of Cinder’s chair, nudging her elbow off it. “Now I understand why you’ve been so immune to my charms. I had no idea I was competing with an emperor. That’s a tough hand to beat, even for me.”
She snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. I hardly know him, and now he despises me.”
Thorne laughed, hooking his thumbs behind his belt loops. “I have great instincts when it comes to amore, and he does not despise you. Plus, he asked a cyborg to the ball? That takes guts. I generally dislike royalty and government officials on principle, but I have to give him credit for that.”
Standing, Cinder shoved Thorne’s feet off her chair, freeing her path to the door. “He didn’t know I was cyborg.”
Thorne tilted his head as she passed. “He didn’t?”
“Of course not,” she said, marching out of the small cockpit.
“But he knows you’re cyborg now and he still likes you.”
She spun back to him, pointing toward the screen. “You got that from a ten-minute conference in which he said he’s doing everything in his power to hunt me down and turn me over for execution?”
Thorne smirked. In a terrible, snotty voice that Cinder guessed was meant to be a Kai impersonation, he said, “‘I don’t see that her being cyborg is relevant.’”
Rolling her eyes, Cinder spun away.
“Hey, come back!” Thorne’s boots hit the ground behind her. “I have something else to show you.”