Kai faced the camera again and the words that came out of his mouth would later have him scrubbing his own tongue.
“Citizens of Luna, it is my honor to address you as your future king, and my greatest sadness that my introduction to you must be on such tumultuous grounds. As your queen has stated, I have had many interactions with Linh Cinder, and I know with certainty she is not what she claims to be. The truth is that she is a violent criminal, responsible for countless thefts and murders on planet Earth. After developing an obsession with me, she even attempted to assassinate my beloved bride-to-be, your queen, during our annual peace festival in New Beijing. When that attempt failed, she went so far as to kidnap me on the day that had been intended as our wedding, proceeding to hold me hostage against my will and under inhumane conditions until I promised to give up on this union between Earth and Luna and agree to marry her, instead. It is only thanks to Luna’s brave soldiers and Her Majesty’s indomitable spirit that I was safely released. Unfortunately, Linh Cinder has not given up. She continues to live a fantasy in which she is Princess Selene, returned from the dead, in hopes that she might win my affection. Her instability and recklessness have made her a dangerous felon and a threat, not only to my safety, but to the well-being of all who come in contact with her. I would urge you all, if you see Linh Cinder, to report her to officials immediately. Do not speak to her. Do not approach her. As your future king, I am now most concerned with your safety, and it is my hope that Linh Cinder will be found and brought to Artemisia where she can be met with the justice her crimes deserve.”
By the time he had finished speaking, Kai felt like he would have ripped out his own tongue if given the chance.
Levana started again, “Of course, if ever there was found to be any truth to the rumors that my dear niece, Selene, had survived all those years ago, I would joyfully welcome her into my heart and home and place Luna’s crown myself upon her head. Sadly, it is not to be. Selene lies with the stars, and I alone must maintain the security and livelihoods of our people. I know times are difficult. It is with great sadness that I watch our food production diminish year after year, and our limited resources fail to meet the needs of our growing populace. Which is why it has been the topmost priority of my regime to secure this alliance with Earth, so that our future might be brighter and our people taken care of for generations to come. This, my people, is the future that I alone can offer you. Not this cyborg, this impostor, this fraud.” As her tone dipped toward resentment, Levana paused and regathered herself. Her voice carried a smile again as she finished, “I am your queen and you are my people. It is my great privilege to guide us all into a bright new future.”
The technician stopped the recording and Kai’s body throbbed as control was returned to him. He bolted to his feet and rounded on Levana. “I am not a brainless instrument to be used for your propaganda.”
Levana removed the crown and veil and passed them to Aimery. “Be calm, my beloved. You spoke so eloquently. No doubt the people were impressed.”
“Cinder will know it was fake. She’ll know you were controlling me.”
Levana’s eyes flashed. “What do I care what Cinder thinks? Her opinion, like yours, means nothing.” She snapped her fingers at the guard. “I am finished with him. You may take him back.”
Thirty-Eight
As soon as the emperor had been led away by the contingent of guards, Levana swept out of the studio into the control room. “Have that video edited and set to play in all sectors where the cyborg’s message went out. Monitor those feeds carefully. I want hourly reports on how each broadcast is being received. What is the current status of the outer sectors?”
“We are seeing minor upheavals in thirty-one sectors,” said a woman. “Mostly civilians have been refusing to respect curfew laws, and there have been some attacks on sector guards.”
A man added, “We’re also seeing an increase of thefts in two agricultural sectors. Laborers returned to the fields and have been harvesting food rations for their own use. Guards have been incapacitated in both sectors.”
Levana huffed. “Send added security to all sectors showing signs of insurgence. We must quell this immediately. And find that cyborg!”
She stood watching the flicker of surveillance videos for a moment, though her thoughts were far away. As her blood boiled, she found herself back in New Beijing, watching the girl rush past her in that tawdry silver ball gown. She saw her trip on the ballroom steps and tumble down toward the gardens. Her hideous metal foot snapped off at the ankle and the full force of her glamour surged over her, crackling like electricity, rolling off her body like heat waves in the desert.
In her unpracticed state, the girl had done nothing more than call up an exaggeratedly beautiful version of herself, and in so doing, she had turned herself into Channary. Her mother. Levana’s tormentor.
Levana could still see her like a photograph imprinted forever in her memory. Hatred she had not felt in years surged through her veins. Fury sparked in her vision, white and blinding.
Selene. She was meant to die thirteen years ago, yet here she was, disastrously alive. And just as Levana had feared back then, she would take everything from her. Everything that Levana had worked so hard for.
It made her sick. Why couldn’t Selene have died, easily, mercifully, the way she’d planned? When she had coaxed that young nanny into setting fire to the princess’s playhouse, it should have ended it all. No niece. No princess. No future queen.
But she’d been tricked. Selene was alive and attempting to take her throne from her.
Her attention refocused on the screens. “These are my people,” she whispered. “My blood and my soul. I am their queen.”
Aimery appeared at her side. “Of course you are, Your Majesty. The cyborg has no idea what it is to be queen. What choices one must live with. What sacrifices must be made. When she is gone, the people will recognize that you have always been the one to rightly sit upon our throne.”
“‘When she is gone,’” Levana repeated, grasping at the words. “But how will I ever know that she is gone if I cannot find her?”
It was infuriating. She had known the cyborg was a threat from the moment she recognized her on Earth. But for her to attempt to turn Levana’s citizens against her was a blow she couldn’t fathom. The thought of their love turning to biased hatred stole the air from her lungs and left her feeling hollowed out to her core.
That was the cyborg’s plan too. To turn as many people’s minds against Levana as she could, knowing that large numbers would be her greatest advantage. Levana could control hundreds, perhaps thousands of her citizens when she had a need to do it. With her thaumaturges behind her, they could control entire sectors, entire cities.
But even she had limits.
She shook her head. It mattered not. The people would not revolt against her. The people loved her.
She rubbed two fingers against her brow. “What will I do?”
“My Queen,” said Aimery, “perhaps I can offer a bit of good news.”
Releasing her breath, she turned to the thaumaturge. “Good news would be very welcome indeed.”
“I received an interesting report from your laboratories this morning, but had not had a chance to share their discoveries in the wake of the cyborg’s broadcast. However, it has been confirmed that we are capable of duplicating the mutated letumosis microbes that were recovered from the body of Dr. Sage Darnel on Earth, and that our immunity to the original disease has in fact been compromised by this mutation.”
It took Levana a moment to change the direction of her thoughts. “And the antidote?”
“Still effective, though there is a much shorter window in which it can be used.”
Levana tapped her fingers against her lower lip. “That is interesting.”
Years ago, Levana had unleashed this plague on Earth, and she would soon embrace the results. Earth was weak and desperate. Desperate to cure the plague. Desperate to end the war.
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When she gave them the antidote, they would be unspeakably grateful to their new empress.
She had never expected her lab-created disease to mutate in the wild, though. Now, no one was immune, not even her own people. What a strange, miraculous thing.
“Thank you, Aimery. This could be the answer I’ve been seeking. If the people do not see their errors and come crawling back to my good graces, I may have to employ new means of persuasion. It would break my heart to see my people suffering, but that is one of those difficult decisions a queen finds herself making from time to time.”
Her heart fluttered as she imagined the people filling up the courtyard beyond the palace walls and kneeling before her, tears on their faces. They would worship her for having saved them. She would save them all with her goodness and charity.
Oh, how they would adore her, their savior, their rightful queen.
“Your Majesty!”
She pivoted toward the voice. A woman had stood up and was adjusting an invisi-screen. “I think I’ve found something.”
Levana shoved past Aimery to get a better view. The screen showed the central square of an outer sector—regolith mining, perhaps, judging by the dust that covered every surface, smudging even the camera lens. The fountain depicting her likeness could be seen in the footage, a thing of beauty in their drab world.
The square was full of people, a rarity in itself. Her mandated curfew ensured that the people focused on their work and their rest without being tempted to converge with their neighbors during off-work hours.
“Is this live?” she asked.
“No, My Queen. This was filmed not long after the end of the workday.” She hastened through the footage, and Levana squinted to try to make sense of it. Guards, civilians, a just punishment, and then …
“Pause the video.”
The woman did, and Levana found herself staring into the face that had haunted her for months. If there had been any doubt, the monstrous metal hand dispelled it.
“Where is this?”
“Regolith Mining 9.”
Levana’s lips curled upward.
The cyborg was hers.
“Aimery, assemble a team for immediate deployment to this sector. Linh Cinder is to be arrested and brought to me for a public trial and execution. Use whatever methods you see fit to detain her.” Her vision bled with loathing as she stared at the screen. The haughty girl with her ignorant words and her proud displays. “We are not to tolerate any sympathizing with her or her allies. This uprising must be brought to an end.”
BOOK
Three
“Your stepmother will soon know you are here,”
warned the kindly dwarfs. “Do not let anyone in.”
Thirty-Nine
Levana’s rebuttal video was playing for the third time that hour. Cinder was doing her best to ignore it, but every time Kai started speaking the sound of his voice made her jump, only to be reminded all over again that he wasn’t here. He was under Levana’s control, as Levana had so deftly illustrated.
From her spot around a worktable on the third floor of a regolith factory, Cinder could see most of one of the screens embedded on the dome. It showed a contented Levana and a peaceful Kai. So happy together. There was one moment when Kai turned to Levana and smiled all dreamy-like that made Cinder’s skin crawl. For the billionth time, she wished Cress was with them. She would have known how to turn it off.
Cinder turned away from the video to concentrate. She had no way of knowing how Levana’s message was being received across Luna, just as she had no way of knowing how her video was being received. The best she could do was move forward.
She was gathered among her allies—Iko, Thorne, Wolf, and Scarlet. Wolf’s mother was there, too, along with a handful of sector residents who had been nominated to represent the others. They had worked through the night, plotting and organizing, too energized to sleep.
Two runners had returned that morning from neighboring mining sectors and were reporting good news. The guards had been restrained, their weaponry confiscated, and the people would join Cinder on her march to Artemisia. Additional messengers had taken on the dangerous assignment of traveling through the mines, lava tubes, and maglev tunnels to confirm the truth of Cinder’s video and rally as many sectors as they could to the cause.
It was a promising start.
The rest of the sector residents had been sent home after Cinder encouraged them to get some rest. In truth, she needed space from their curiosity and awestruck whispers. Space to think.
When they regathered, she would divide the people into teams and assign each team a task. Though some volunteers had already been put on watch guarding the maglev platforms, she would soon have to establish a rotation to make sure they stayed alert. Some groups would be tasked with gathering what food and medical supplies they could find, another would watch the guardhouse, and still others would be sent to ransack the mines for potential weapons and tools. Wolf promised to spend time training any able-bodied citizens in basic combat techniques, to commence that afternoon.
She stared up at the holographic map of Luna, her brow drawn, as Wolf indicated what routes he thought they should take to the capital. Everyone agreed they should come at the city from as many directions as possible to force Levana to divide her own defenses against them.
“We should avoid Research and Development, and also Technical Services,” Wolf said, pointing out two sectors in Artemisia’s near vicinity. “Most people there will be Levana supporters.”
“RD-1 seems easy enough to get around.” Cinder spun the holograph for a better view. “But TS-1 and 2 are right in our path if we’re going to hit these agricultural sectors on the way.”
“Maybe we don’t avoid them,” said Thorne. “Is there some way we can blockade the platforms under those sectors, trapping anyone inside? It would allow us safe passage through, and also keep anyone from sneaking up behind us afterward and trapping us in these tunnels.”
Cinder tapped a finger against her lower lip. “That might work, but what do we block them with?”
“Doesn’t this sector manufacture building materials?” asked Scarlet, gesturing to a sector labeled GC-6: GENERAL CONSTRUCTION. “Maybe they’ll have something we can use.”
Cinder turned to one of the miners. “Can I appoint you to look into that?”
He clapped a hand to his heart in proud salute. “Of course, Your Majesty. We can take some of the mining carts to transport the materials too.”
“Perfect.” Trying not to feel awkward about the Your Majesty part, Cinder turned back to the group.
Wolf stiffened—a small change that sent an alarm through Cinder.
“What is it?”
He started to shake his head, but stopped, his frown deepening. His piercing eyes turned toward the window. The screens on the dome had once again fallen silent.
“I thought I … I smelled something.”
Hair prickled on the back of Cinder’s neck. If it had been anyone other than Wolf, she would have laughed. But his senses were uncanny, and his instincts hadn’t led them astray yet.
“What sort of something?” she asked.
“I can’t place it. There are a lot of bodies here, a lot of scents. But there was something…” His fists tightened. “Someone is near. Someone who was also on the rooftop in New Beijing.”
Cinder’s heart thumped—Kai!
But, no, Wolf would have recognized Kai for sure.
It had to be one of the royal guards who had attacked them.
Iko grabbed the portscreen—a device that had stunned and awed the civilians—and shut off the holograph.
A shrill scream echoed through the streets outside.
Cinder ran for the window, pressing her body against the wall, ready to duck out of view. Thorne plastered himself to the wall beside her. “You should hide,” he whispered.
“So should you.”
Neither of them moved.
She watched the
scene below, trying to make sense of it as horror built inside her. Countless guards were marching through the streets, along with at least half a dozen thaumaturges that she could see.
A white coat drew her attention and her stomach sank. Thaumaturge Aimery stood on the edge of the central fountain, right where Cinder had stood before. He carried himself like a prince with his beautiful face and proud stance.
More reinforcements kept pouring in from the narrow streets that stretched out from the square like spokes on a wheel. Far too many reinforcements to quell a simple uprising in a nonthreatening mining sector.
Cinder’s gut knotted.
They knew she was here.
The guards were dragging the people out of their homes, corralling them into uniform lines around the fountain. She recognized the man who had been beaten by the guards, still bruised and limping. There was the old woman who had been stockpiling what she could of her meager rations for years and who had already offered to give it up to those who would be fighting in Artemisia. And there was the twelve-year-old boy who had trailed Iko around all morning with a swoony expression on his face.
“They’re rounding up everyone in the sector,” whispered Maha, peering out of the next window. “No doubt they’ll search these buildings too.” Her expression was fierce as she stepped back. “You should all hide. The rest of us will give ourselves up. They might not search these upper floors if they think everyone is accounted for.”
Cinder gulped. “They won’t stop looking.”
Maha squeezed her hand. “Then hide well.”
She wrapped Wolf in a tight embrace. He bent down to accept it, his knuckles going white as he held her.
They heard the factory door bang open on the first floor. Cinder jumped. She wanted to grab Maha and force her to stay, but Maha extricated herself from her son’s embrace and walked away with her head up. The remaining citizens followed. Without a word from Cinder, it seemed they had unanimously agreed that keeping her safe was the priority.
A chill washed down her spine as she watched them go.