Страница 40 из 43
Winter’s fingers curled up and settled under her chin. “You said there weren’t any more of them.”
“No. But if we could find the patents for the invention … to even know it’s possible…”
“Now that the queen knows, she’ll do anything to keep more from being made.”
His expression darkened, his body slumped. “I know, but I had to offer something. If only Sybil hadn’t arrested me in the first place, ungrateful witch.” Winter smiled gently, and when Jacin caught the look, his irritation melted away. “Doesn’t matter. Now I know it’s possible, I’ll find a way to do it.”
“The visions are never so bad when you’re around. They’ll be better now that you’re back.”
She thought he flinched, but maybe it was the flicker of torches around the dais.
“I’m sorry I left,” he said. “I regretted it as soon as I realized what I’d done. It happened so fast, and then I couldn’t come back for you. I’d just … abandoned you up here. With her. With them.”
“You didn’t abandon me. You were taken hostage. You didn’t have a choice.”
His brow furrowed and, after a moment, he met her eyes again. This time, there was truth in the look.
She straightened. “You weren’t manipulated?”
“Not the whole time,” he whispered, like a confession. “I chose to side with them, when Sybil and I boarded their ship.” Guilt washed over his face, and it was such an odd expression on him Winter wasn’t sure she was interpreting it right. “Then, I betrayed them.” He leaned his head back against the sundial again, harder than necessary. “You should hate me. I’m an idiot. I made a mistake.”
“You may be an idiot, but I assure you, you’re quite a lovable one.”
He shook his head. “You’re the only person in the galaxy who would ever call me lovable.”
“I’m the only person in the galaxy crazy enough to believe it. Now tell me what happened. What mistake did you make that is worth hating you for?”
He swallowed, hard. “That cyborg Her Majesty wants to find so much?”
“Linh Cinder.”
“Yeah. Well, I thought she was just some crazy girl on a suicide mission, right? I figured she was going to get us all killed with these delusions of kidnapping the emperor and overthrowing the queen … to listen to her talk, anyone would have thought that. So I figured, I’d rather take a chance and come back to you, if I could. Let her throw her own life away.”
“But Linh Cinder did kidnap the emperor. And she got away.”
“I know.” He shifted his attention back to Winter. “Sybil took one of her friends hostage, a redhead girl. Don’t suppose you know—”
Winter beamed. “Oh, yes. Her name is Scarlet. The queen gave her to me as a pet, and she’s being kept in the menagerie. I like her a great deal.” Her brow creased. “Although I can’t tell if she’s decided to like me or not.”
He flinched at a sudden unknown pain and spent a moment re-situating himself. “Can you get her a message for me?”
“Of course.”
“You have to be careful. I won’t tell you if you can’t be discreet—for your own sake.”
“I can be discreet.”
Jacin looked skeptical.
“I can. I will be as secretive as a spy. As secretive as you.”
Jacin set his jaw and Winter scooted in just a bit closer. His voice fell, as if he were no longer so certain those cameras didn’t come with audio. “Tell her they’re coming for her.”
Winter stared. “Coming for … coming here?”
He nodded, a subtle dip of his head. “And I think they might actually have a chance.”
Frowning, Winter reached forward and tucked the strands of Jacin’s sweat- and dirt-stained hair behind his ears. He tensed at the touch, but didn’t pull away. “Jacin Clay,” she said softly, “you’re speaking in riddles.”
“Linh Cinder.” His voice became hardly more than a breath, and she tilted closer yet to hear him. A curl of her hair fell against his shoulder. He licked his lips. “She’s Selene.”
Every muscle in her body tightened. She pulled back. “Jacin. If Her Majesty heard you say—”
“I won’t tell anyone else. But I had to tell you.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, full of sympathy. “I know you loved her.”
Her heart thumped. “My Selene?”
“Yes. But … I’m sorry, Princess. I don’t think she remembers you.”
Winter blinked, letting the daydream fill her up for one hazy moment. Selene, alive. Her cousin, her friend. Alive.
But then she shook her head, casting the hope away and scrunching her shoulders against her neck. “No. She’s dead. I was there, Jacin. I saw the aftermath of the fire.”
“You didn’t see her.”
“They found—”
“Charred flesh. I know.”
“A pile of girl-shaped ashes.”
“They were just ashes. Look, I didn’t believe it either, but I do now.” One corner of his mouth tilted up, into something like pride. “She’s our lost princess. And she’s coming home.”
A throat cleared behind Winter, and her skeleton nearly leaped from her skin. She swiveled her torso around, falling onto her elbow in the process.
Her personal guard was standing just off the dais, wearing a dark scowl.
“Ah!” Heart fluttering with a thousand startled birds, Winter broke into a relieved smile. “Did you catch the monster?”
There was no return smile, not even a flush of his cheeks, which was the normal reaction when she let loose that particular smile. Instead, her guard seemed to be developing a twitch over his right eye.
“Your Highness. I have come to retrieve you and escort you safely back to the palace.”
Righting herself, Winter clasped her hands graciously in front of her chest. “Of course. It’s so kind of you to worry after me.” She glanced back at Jacin, who was eyeing the guard with distrust. No surprise. He eyed everyone with distrust. “I fear tomorrow will be even more difficult for you, Sir Clay. Do try to think of me when you can.”
“Try, Princess?” He smirked, meeting her gaze again. “I can’t seem to think of much else.”
Four
Cinder lay on the ground, staring up at the Rampion’s vast engine, its ductwork and revolving life-support module. The system blueprints that she’d downloaded weeks ago were overlaid across her vision—a cyborg trick that had come in handy countless times when she was a working mechanic in New Beijing. She expanded the blueprint, zooming in on a cylinder that was no longer than her arm. It was tucked near the engine room’s wall, coils of tubing sprouted from both sides.
“That has to be the problem,” she muttered, dismissing the blueprint. She shimmied beneath the revolving module, dust bu
Holding her breath, she pressed her ear against the cylinder, which was right where the blueprint had told her it would be. The metal was ice cold against her skin.
She waited. Listened. Adjusted the volume on her audio sensors.
What she heard was the door to the engine room open.
Glancing back, she spotted the gray pants of a military uniform in the yellowish light from the corridor. That could have been anyone on the ship, but the shiny black dress shoes …
“Hello?” said Kai.
Her heart thumped—every single time, her heart thumped.
“Back here.”
Kai shut the door and crouched down on the far side of the room, framed between the jumble of thumping pistons and spi
“Checking the oxygen filters. One minute.”
She placed her ear against the cylinder again. There—a faint clatter, like a pebble banging around inside. “A-ha.”
She dug a wrench from her pocket and set to loosening the nuts on either side of the cylinder. As soon as it was free, the ship fell eerily quiet, like a humming that she’d never noticed before had vanished, finally drawing attention to itself. Kai’s eyebrows shot upward—nervously, she thought.