“Stars above,” she heard the doctor moan, grumbling as he joined them on the ground. “I’m too old for this.”
Hot and uncomfortable, with rough pebbles pressing into her stomach, Cress set her palms on top of her head.
The officer waited until they were on the ground before speaking again. “Linh Cinder. We have you surrounded. Come to the front exit immediately with your hands on top of your head and no one will be hurt.”
* * *
Cinder released a string of the most creative curses she could think of as the man’s voice died away. She left Wolf in the hallway, where he’d been unresponsive to her reminders that having a mental breakdown now wouldn’t do anything to help Scarlet. He had only sat curled in on himself with his head tucked against his knees, saying nothing.
Ducking into the doctor’s hotel room, Cinder inched her way to the window and peeled open the blinds.
The rooftop directly opposite the alley had two armed military officers with guns pointed right at her.
She dropped the blinds and cursed again, plastering herself to the wall.
A comm from Iko appeared in her vision. She pulled it up, already fearing what it would say.
RADAR IS PICKING UP MILITARY SHIPS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH. I THINK WE’VE BEEN SPOTTED.
“Do you think?” she muttered. Shutting her eyes, she jotted back a fast message, words scrolling across her eyelids as she thought them.
AT THE HOTEL, SURROUNDED BY EC MILITARY. PREPARE FOR IMMEDIATE TAKEOFF. WE WON’T BE LONG—I HOPE.
Letting out a slow breath, she pried open her eyes again. How was she supposed to get a mid-crisis wolf operative, a blind man, and an elderly doctor past all those soldiers without getting anyone killed?
She doubted the girl would be much help. Cress didn’t strike Cinder as the bold, risk-taking type, and Cinder doubted she’d had much experience fighting her way out of situations like this.
She could abandon her friends and make a run for it herself. She could try to control Wolf and use him as a weapon, but even he couldn’t take on that many soldiers at once, and they wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. She could try to brainwash the soldiers so they would let them pass, but she’d have to abandon Wolf if he didn’t come willingly.
Outside, the officer repeated his commands again and again, like a robot.
Squaring her shoulders, she returned to Wolf in the hallway. “Wolf,” she said, stooping beside him, “I need you to help me out here.”
He shifted enough to peer at her over his arm. His green eyes looked dull and faded.
“Wolf, please. We need to get to the ship, and there are a lot of people with guns out there. Come on—what would Scarlet want you to do?”
His fingers curled, nails digging into his thighs. Still, he said nothing, made no move to get up.
The officer’s voice boomed again. You are under arrest. Come out with your hands on your head. We have you surrounded.
“Fine. You leave me no choice.” Standing, she forced her shoulders to relax. The world shifted around her as she flipped off the panic and desperation and reached out instead for the energy crackling around Wolf.
Except this time it wasn’t crackling. Not like usual.
This time, it was like controlling a corpse.
* * *
They stepped into the doorway together.
At least sixty guns pointed at them that she could see—no doubt more hidden behind buildings and vehicles.
Jacin, Thorne, Dr. Erland, and Cress were all lying on the ground.
Two streets separated them from the ship.
She kept feeding lies to Wolf like medicine from a drip. Scarlet will be fine. We will find her. We will save her. But, first, we have to get out of this mess. We have to get to the ship.
From the corner of her eye, she saw his fingers twitch, but she didn’t know whether he was acknowledging that there was still hope out there, or whether he was just ticked at her for using him like this. Turning him into a puppet, just like the thaumaturge that had turned him into a monster.
Standing on the hotel step, with sixty guns trained on her, Cinder realized she was no better than that thaumaturge. This really was war, and she really was in the middle of it.
If she had to make sacrifices, she would.
What did that make her, anyway? A real criminal? A real threat?
A real Lunar?
“Put your hands on your head and walk away from the building. Do not make any sudden movements. We are authorized to kill if necessary.”
Cinder coerced Wolf to stay beside her. They walked in unison. The dusty air clouded around them, sticking to her skin. A dull ache was spreading through her head, but it wasn’t anywhere near as difficult to control Wolf as it used to be. In fact, how easy it was made her sick. He wasn’t even trying to fight her.
“About time,” Thorne muttered as she passed.
“Cinder—save yourself,” hissed Dr. Erland.
She tried her best not to move her lips as she spoke. “Can you glamour them?”
“Stop right there!”
She obeyed.
“On your knees, now. Keep your hands up.”
“Only a few,” said Dr. Erland. “Maybe together…”
She shook her head. “I’ve got Wolf. On top of that … I can control one Earthen, maybe two.”
She clenched her teeth. Despite what the doctor had said, she couldn’t just save herself. It wasn’t only loyalty and friendship that made every fiber of her body rebel against the notion that she could abandon them all.
It was the knowledge that without them, she was useless. She needed them to stop the wedding and rescue Kai. She needed them to get her to Luna. She needed them to help her save the world.
“Jacin? Can you control any of them?”
“Yeah, right.” She could practically hear his eyes roll. “The only way through this is to fight.”
Thorne grunted. “In that case, has anyone seen my gun?”
“I’ve got it,” said Jacin.
“Can I have it back?”
“Nope.”
“I order you to stop talking!” the man bellowed. “I see any more lips move and that person gets a bullet in their head, understand? Get down!”
Cinder made a point to glare at the man as she took another step forward.
Like dominoes pushed over, she heard the unlatching of sixty safety mechanisms around her.
Cress whimpered. Thorne’s hand fumbled around until it was gripping hers.
“I have six tranquilizers,” Cinder said. “Let’s hope it’s enough.”
“It won’t be,” muttered Jacin.
“This is your last warning—”
Cinder tilted her chin up, fixing her gaze on the man. Beside her, Wolf lowered himself into a fighting position, his fingers curled and ready, all at Cinder’s urging. For the first time, she felt a spike of new emotion from him. Hatred, she thought. For her.
She ignored it.
“This is your first warning,” she said.
Holding Wolf at the ready, she pinpointed one of the Earthen soldiers who was standing at the front of the line and plucked out her willpower. The young woman swiveled and pointed her gun at the man who was evidently in charge. The woman’s eyes widened in shock as they took in her own rebellious hands.
Around her, six more soldiers changed targets, aiming at their own comrades, and Cinder knew they were under Dr. Erland’s control.
And that was all they had. Seven Earthen soldiers at their disposal. Jacin’s gun. Wolf’s fury.
It would be a bloodbath.
“Stand down and let us pass,” Cinder said, “and no one will get hurt.”
The man narrowed his eyes at her, making a point not to look at his own peer now holding him at gunpoint. “You can’t win this.”
“I didn’t say we could,” said Cinder. “But we can do a lot of damage trying.”
She opened the tip of her finger, loading a tranquilizer from the cartridge in her palm, just as a wave of dizziness crashed over her. Her strength was waning. She couldn’t hold on to Wolf much longer. If she dropped her control and he snapped again … she didn’t know what he would do. Become comatose all over again, or go on a rampage, or turn his anger on her and the rest of their friends?
Beside her, Wolf growled.
“Actually, we can win,” said a female voice.
Cinder tensed. There was a pulse in the air. A ripple of uncertainty. The man with the portscreen swiveled around as silhouettes began to emerge from around the buildings, creeping down alleyways, materializing in windows and doorways.