do the killing for her.
The queen locked her teeth in concentration, and Cinder felt the muscles in her right arm pull in tight against her bones. The tendons started to cramp, the ligaments tightened.
She grimaced and looked at the gun in her hand. At her finger on the trigger.
She tried to pull the trigger.
Urged her finger to pull. Begged it.
Pull the trigger.
Pull it.
Her hand began to shake, the gun wobbling at the end of her arm. Her breaths came in short, stifled gasps as the trigger dug into the pad of her finger.
But she couldn’t pull it. She couldn’t.
Levana’s terror began to melt away. Her lips twitched in what could have been relief if her brow hadn’t been furrowed with so much concentration. She kept a firm hold of Cinder’s arm, the finger, the gun.
Levana’s tongue snaked out of her mouth, wetting her parched lips.
“Ah,” she whispered, gaze flashing with pride. “You are tired too, I see.”
Cinder snarled. An earthquake rumbled inside her body. She settled her focus on the queen’s trembling hand and lashed out with her thoughts.
Levana’s eyes widened. Her hair clung to the scar tissue on her face. She looked down at her own hand, as much a traitor as Cinder’s.
Cinder forced Levana’s arm to bend. She guided the gun upward, every centimeter a battle. Every moment a struggle.
Levana flushed red. She pinched her teeth in renewed concentration, and Cinder felt her own arm following suit. Her traitor of a hand lifted the gun and pressed the barrel against her own temple. She was the mirror image of her aunt, each of them primed to shoot.
“This is how it should have ended the night of the ball,” Levana whispered. “This is how it should be.” She smiled a mad woman’s smile and stared at the place where the gun pressed against Cinder’s damp skin.
Cinder remembered the night clearly, like a nightmare she’d never forget. Levana had controlled her arm, forcing her to take Jacin’s gun and hold it against her temple. Cinder had been sure she was going to die, but her cyborg programming had saved her.
It would not save her this time.
“Good-bye, niece.”
Cinder could not take back her own arm, but her body burned with resolve. She would keep her finger from squeezing the trigger. She would not let Levana pull it. She would not.
The finger twitched. Throbbed, torn between two masters. Such a tiny limb. A tiny, tiny finger.
The rest of her willpower tightened around Levana’s own hand. She could feel the bioelectricity sizzling in the air between them. She listened to the crackle of energy. There was an ebb and flow to their strengths and their weaknesses. Cinder would think she was making progress, curling Levana’s finger inward, only to feel her own finger twitch against her control. A drop of sweat tickled the inside of her elbow. A stray hair clung to her lips. The smell of iron assaulted her nostrils. Every sense was a distraction. Every moment she could feel herself growing weaker.
But Levana’s brow was drawn too. Levana was sweating too, her face contorted with the strain. They were both struggling for breath, and then—
A snap cracked loud inside Cinder’s head.
She gasped, and her hand dropped to her side. Her muscles ached from the strain, but they were her muscles again. She gulped down a breath, dizzy from the effort.
Levana sobbed with frustration. Her body sagged. “Fine. Fine. I surrender.” She spoke so quietly, Cinder wasn’t sure she’d heard right. Though she was still controlling Levana’s hand and still had the gun poised at Levana’s temple, the queen seemed to have forgotten it was there. Her face crumpled, her body wilting into the enormous gown. “I relinquish my crown to you, my country, my throne. Take it all. Just … just let me be. Let me have my beauty again. Please.”
Cinder studied her aunt. Her scars and her matted hair and her sealed-shut eyelid. Her trembling lip and defeated shoulders. She was too exhausted for even her glamour. Too weak to fight anymore.
A shock of pity stole through her.
This miserable, awful woman still had no idea what it meant to be truly beautiful, or truly loved.
Cinder doubted she ever would.
She gulped, though it was difficult around her parched tongue.
“I accept,” Cinder said, dazed. She kept hold of Levana’s trigger finger but allowed Levana to lower the gun. Cinder held out her hand and Levana stared at it for a moment before reaching forward and setting the gun into Cinder’s palm.
In the
Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 1 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 2 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 3 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 4 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 5 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 6 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 7 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 8 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 9 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 10 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 11 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 12 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 13 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 14 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 15 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 16 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 17 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 18 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 19 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 20 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 21 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 22 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 23 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 24 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 25 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 26 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 27 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 28 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 29 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 30 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 31 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 32 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 33 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 34 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 35 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 36 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 37 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 38 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 39 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 40 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 41 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 42 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 43 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 44 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 45 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 46 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 47 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 48 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 49 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 50 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 51 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 52 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 53 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 54 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 55 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 56 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 57 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 58 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 59 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 60 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 61 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 62 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 63 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 64 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 65 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 66 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 67 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 68 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 69 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 70 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 71 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 72 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 73 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 74 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 75 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 76 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 77 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 78 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 79 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 80 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 81 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 82 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 83 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 84 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 85 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 86 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 87 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 88 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 89 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 90 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 91 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 92 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 93 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 94 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 95 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 96 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 97 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 98 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 99 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 100 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 101 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 102 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 103 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 104 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 105 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 106 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 107 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 108 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 109 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 110 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 111 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 112 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 113 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 114 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 115 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 116 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 117 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 118 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 119 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 120 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 121 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 122 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 123 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 124 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 125 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 126 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 127 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 128 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 129 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 130 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 131 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 132 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 133 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 134 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 135 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 136 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 137 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 138 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 139 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 140 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 141 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 142 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 143 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 144 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 145 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 146 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 147 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 148 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 149 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 150 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 151 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 152 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 153 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 154 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 155 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 156 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 157 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 158 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 159 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 160 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 161 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 162 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 163 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 164 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 165 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 166 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 167 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 168 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 169 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 170 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 171 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 172 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 173 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 174 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 175 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 176 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 177 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 178 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 179 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 180 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 181 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 182 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 183 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 184 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 185 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 186 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 187 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 188 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 189 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 190 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 191 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 192 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 193 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 194 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 195 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 196 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 197 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 198 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 199 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 200 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 201 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 202 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 203 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 204 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 205 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 206 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 207 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 208 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 209 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 210 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 211 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 212 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 213 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 214 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 215 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 216 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 217 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 218 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 219 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 220 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 221 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 222 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 223 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 224 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 225 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 226 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 227 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 228 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 229 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 230 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 231 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 232 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 233 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 234 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 235 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 236 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 237 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 238 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 239 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 240 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 241 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 242 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 243 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 244 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 245 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 246 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 247 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 248 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 249 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 250 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 251 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 252 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 253 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 254 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 255 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 256 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 257 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 258 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 259 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 260 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 261 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 262 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 263 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) - Marissa Meyer - Page 264