Winter

Nineteen

It took a heroic amount of effort for Kai to pretend like he wasn’t sick with nerves. The ship settled with a thud that made him jump. Torin’s presence beside him, at least, was stabilizing, and he could hear the anxious whispers of the Commonwealth ambassadors as they waited to debark the ship’s common room. He could sense five stowaways hidden aboard the ship—even though he didn’t know where, so there was no chance he could give their location away with a stray glance.

If anyone was going to draw suspicion, it would be him. Only he and Torin knew about Cinder and her allies, and Torin’s expression was as unperturbed as ever. The ship’s crew was too busy with their arrival procedures to question the disappearance of America’s secretary of defense, and none of the other passengers knew they’d taken guests aboard in the first place.

Whereas Kai couldn’t stop thinking about these people—his friends—and what he was helping them do. Invade Luna. Start a rebellion. End a war.

He also couldn’t stop counting the thousands of things that could go wrong.

He needed to focus. This would only work if Levana believed Kai was determined to finalize their marriage alliance, once and for all. He had to make her think she had won.

The ramp started to descend. Kai took in a deep breath and held it, trying to clear his mind. Trying to convince himself he wanted this marriage and this alliance to succeed.

Artemisia’s royal port was glowing up from the floor in a way that immediately made him disconcerted. The walls themselves were rocky and black, but lit with thousands of tiny lights like a starry night sky. The port contained dozens of ships in various sizes, mostly Lunar ships that glimmered uniformly white, painted with unfamiliar runes and displaying the royal seal. Kai also recognized Earthen emblems among the ships—some Earthen guests had already begun to arrive. Seeing them gathered together filled him with dread.

Movement drew his gaze and Kai spotted Levana herself gliding along the wide platform that circled the docks. She was surrounded by her entourage: the ever-smug Head Thaumaturge Aimery Park stood to her right and a girl in a pale blue dress followed behind the queen, her head lowered and her face obstructed by an abundance of curly black hair. There were five additional thaumaturges and at least a dozen more guards. It made for an impressive amount of security—overkill, in Kai’s opinion.

Was Levana expecting something to go wrong? Or was this a show of intimidation?

Bracing himself, Kai descended the ramp to meet the queen. His own entourage, including ten of his own guards, followed behind.

“Your Majesty,” said Kai, accepting Levana’s proffered hand. He bowed to kiss it.

“Always so formal,” Levana said in that cloying voice that made his skin crawl. “We cannot refer to each other in such droll terms forever. Perhaps I shall henceforth call you My Beloved, and you shall call me your Sweet.”

Kai hovered over her hand, hatred blistering his skin where it touched hers. After a drawn-out moment, he released her and straightened. “Your Majesty,” he started again, “it is an honor to be welcomed to Luna. My ancestors would have been filled with pride to witness such an occasion.”

“The pleasure is my own.” Levana’s gaze slinked over the ambassadors gathered on the ship’s ramp. “I hope you will find our hospitality agreeable. If you need for anything, please let one of the servants know and they will see that you are well taken care of.”

“Thank you,” said Kai. “We’re all curious about the famed luxuries of the white city.”

“I’ve no doubt of it. I’ll have some servants brought to unload your belongings and have them taken to your rooms.”

“That won’t be necessary. Our crew is already unloading the ship.” He gestured over his shoulder. A second loading ramp had been lowered out of the cargo bay. He had made sure to tell the captain he wanted the crew to make this a top priority. He wanted to be sure the ship was emptied of both people and cargo as soon as possible, so Cinder and the others wouldn’t be trapped in the docks for too long.

“How efficient,” Levana said. “In that case, your ambassadors may follow Thaumaturge Lindwurm to our guest suites.” She indicated a black-coated man. “I’m sure they would like to rest from such a long journey.”

Within moments, Kai’s following of nervous companions were being led to a set of enormous arched doors that glittered with a depiction of a crescent moon over Earth. Though the presence of his Earthen companions had offered no security at all, Kai still felt abandoned as he, Torin, and his guards remained behind.

“I hope you won’t think it rude that I didn’t offer full introductions to your guests,” said Levana. “My stepdaughter is easily distressed, and too many new faces could unnerve her.” She floated a hand out to her side, like she was conducting a symphony. “But do allow me to introduce you, at least, to my stepdaughter, Princess Winter Hayle-Blackburn of Luna.”

“Of course. I’ve heard so much … about … you.”

Kai trailed off as the princess lifted her head and peered at him through a fringe of thick lashes. It was a brief look, barely a glance, but that was all it took for a rush of heat to climb up Kai’s neck and into his ears. He had heard of the princess’s legendary beauty. Beauty that was not created by a glamour, they said, unlike Levana’s. The rumors weren’t exaggerated.

Clearing his throat, Kai forced a composed smile. “I’m honored to meet you, Your Highness.”

The princess’s eyes were teasing as she stepped beside the queen and lowered into a curtsy with the grace of a dancer. When she rose again, Kai noticed her scars for the first time. Three uniform scars cut down her right cheek. These, too, were legendary, along with the tale of how out of envy Levana had forced the princess to mutilate her own face.

The sight twisted his stomach.

Princess Winter offered him a docile, close-lipped smile. “The honor is mine, Your Imperial Majesty.” Drifting closer, she pressed a light kiss to Kai’s bruised cheek. His insides turned to goo. He had the presence of mind to be grateful Cinder wasn’t witnessing this exchange, because something told him he’d never hear the end of it.

The princess stepped back and he was able to breathe again. “With our introductions complete, I feel it is safe for us to drop any future formalities. After all, with your upcoming nuptials, you’re practically my father.”

Kai reeled back, his jaw dropping open.

Silent laughter glimmered in the princess’s gaze as she took her spot behind her stepmother again. She seemed neither distressed nor unnerved.

The queen gave her stepdaughter an annoyed look, before gesturing to the man on her other side. “You will of course remember my head thaumaturge, Aimery Park.”

Snapping his mouth shut, Kai inclined his head, though the thaumaturge offered only his signature smugness in return. “Welcome to Luna,” he drawled.

Scanning the rest of the entourage, Kai recognized two of the guards too. Seeing the queen’s captain of the guard was no surprise, but his teeth clenched when he spotted the blond guard who had been like a shadow to Sybil Mira when she’d been a guest in New Beijing.

Distrust twisted his insides. Cinder had thought this guard was an ally, but she now suspected he’d betrayed them to Sybil when they were trying to make their escape from the palace. His presence here, in uniform again, confirmed her suspicions.

No matter, he thought. Cinder had succeeded, despite his betrayal.

Levana grinned, like she detected the rebelliousness of Kai’s thoughts, despite all his attempts to appear complacent. “I believe that leaves only one matter of business to tend to before we show you to your rooms.” She snapped her fingers, and two of her thaumaturges and six guards snapped to attention. “Search their ship.”

Despite all his attempts at normalcy, Kai couldn’t keep away the panic that flared in his chest. “Excuse me?” he said, swiveling his head as the entourage marched past him. “What are you doing?”

“My dear beloved, you didn’t think I would blindly trust your word after you’ve shown so much sympathy to my enemies, did you?” She laced her fingers together. They might have been discussing the weather. “In monitoring your fleet, we noted that you took aboard some passengers from the American Republic, but it seems they’re too shy to show themselves.”

Kai’s stomach sank as one of her guards pulled him and Torin behind the queen, and he was left to watch helplessly as Levana’s men boarded his ship. If his own guards thought to offer any protection, they were already under Lunar control.

Kai tightened his fists. “This is absurd. The Americans were with that group you just sent away. There’s nothing on that ship but luggage and wedding gifts.”

The queen’s face hardened. “For your sake, Emperor Kaito, I hope that’s true. Because if you came here to betray me, I’m afraid this will be a remarkably unpleasant visit.”