to be over, happy to claim allegiance to whoever sat on the throne once the chaos had ended.
Thinking it, Kai shut his eyes and bit his tongue against a smirk, knowing the fantasy was petty. But oh, how he would love to see their faces if—when—Cinder became queen and informed the families that their indulgent way of life was coming to an end.
A throat cleared behind Kai, drawing his attention over his shoulder. Torin stood in a formal tuxedo, already dressed for the coronation though it was hours away.
“His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Rikan,” Torin said. It was a code they had devised with the rest of the Earthen guests—to begin each meeting by mentioning some other person who had been present when they had first formally met. It had been Kai’s idea, so they could always make sure they were speaking to the person they believed they were speaking to, rather than a Lunar using a tricky glamour.
Kai smiled at the mention of his father. He didn’t remember meeting Torin, who had been a permanent fixture in the palace since before Kai’s birth.
“My mother,” he said, by way of reply.
Torin’s gaze dropped down to Kai’s bare feet and rolled-up slacks, but didn’t linger. “Any news?”
“Nothing. You?”
“I spoke briefly with President Vargas earlier. He and the other American representatives feel threatened. They feel we’re all being held hostage.”
“Smart man.” A wave crashed into Kai, and he swayed with it, curling his toes into the wet sand. “Levana believes she has us right where she wants us.”
“Is she wrong?”
Kai frowned, and didn’t respond. His silence was followed by a sigh.
Glancing back, Kai saw Torin untying his dress shoes and removing his socks. He rolled up his pant hems before coming to stand beside Kai in the surf.
“I told President Vargas that once Levana has the title of empress, she will feel less defensive and we’ll be able to set rational boundaries around a new Earthen-Lunar alliance.” He hesitated, before adding, “I didn’t say anything about Princess Selene. I felt he would see any hope placed in her as nothing more than a fairy tale.”
Kai bit the inside of his cheek and hoped that wasn’t the case. He had been putting his faith in Princess Selene even before he’d found her. Even before he’d known she was the most capable, resourceful, determined person he’d ever met. Even before he’d started having fantasies of a royal Earthen-Lunar marriage that didn’t involve Levana at all.
“Your Majesty,” said Torin, with a tone that said he was about to broach a subject Kai wasn’t going to like. Kai braced himself accordingly. “Have you given thought to what your next move will be should our hoped-for outcome not come to pass?”
“You mean if Cinder is dead and the people don’t rebel and tomorrow morning I find myself stuck with an empress who wants to kill me and take control of my military and wage war on my allies until they all succumb to her will?”
Torin made a derisive sound in the back of his throat. “I suppose you have been thinking about it.”
“It’s crossed my mind a time or two.” He peered at Torin from the corner of his eye, surprised to find that looking at his adviser felt like looking at an older, wiser version of himself. Not that they looked much alike—Torin had neat, gray-flecked hair, a longer nose, and thin, stern lips. But standing barefoot in the water, each with their hands in their pockets and their faces turned toward the lake, Kai thought it wouldn’t be a bad thing to grow up to be as stable and capable as Konn Torin. Or as thoughtful and intelligent as Kai’s father had been.
He checked that the Lunar guards were out of earshot before asking, “What’s the status of the bombs that could weaken these biodomes?”
“I’m told we have a dozen built and ready for deployment, but it will be weeks before a second batch is complete. The most we could hope for at this point is to weaken them, but I don’t think it would be enough to deter Levana completely.”
“Unless we target the dome that she’s in,” said Kai.
Torin’s lips twitched downward. “That is also the dome that we are in.”
“I know.” With a sigh, Kai curled his toes into the silt. “Prepare the fleet. I want a regiment of armed ships positioned in neutral space, as close to Luna as they can get without warranting concern. After the coronation, if Levana doesn’t allow the