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"You’re doing everything you can?" Levana flattened her pallares battled over the netscreen that still showed the e emperor, that you didn’t assist her escape? That your intention from the start hasn’t been to humiliate me on your soil?"

Kai sensed that she wanted hiiveness, to proer overwhelmed his fear With his ability to speak removed, he folded his arms over the back of his chair and waited

From the corner of his eye he could see Torin and Huy, still as statues but for dark scowls Sybil Mira, with her hands innocently tucked into her ivory sleeves, ic

Nainsi, the only being in the roo physically held by the blond guard, turned so that her sensor--and built-in caertips whitened against the desk "You expect e this escape? That you had nothing to do with it?" Her expression tightened "You certainly don’t seem too upset about it, Your Majesty"

Bewilderut, but his face remained neutral Years of ruhts--ru about her, anywhere on Luna, even on Earth--but he suspected a much more plausible reason for her uncanny ability to knohat she shouldn’t know

She’d been spying on him, and his father before He knew it--he just didn’t kno

Realizing that she aiting for a response, Kai quirked an eyebrow and flourished a hand toward his mouth

Levana seethed and pushed herself back fro down her nose at him "Speak"

Sensation returned to his tongue and Kai threw a thankless smile at Ai he could think of--he pulled his chair back fro back, he folded his hands over his stoer sizzled behind Levana’s charcoal eyes until she was almost--briefly--unbeautiful

"No," Kai said "I did not encourage the fugitive to escape or assist her in any way"

"What reason do I have to believe that, after you seemed so enchanted with her at the ball?"

His broitched "If you’re going to refuse to take my word, why don’t you just force a full confession out of me and be done with it?"

"Oh, I could, Your Majesty I could put any words into that mouth of yours that I wanted to hear But, unfortunately, we are not mind readers, and I aive it to you" Kai hoped he seeation has shown that she used both her Lunar and cyborg abilities to escape from her cell, and while she may have had assistance froe I’m afraid ere unequipped to keep a prisoner who is both cyborg and Lunar We will, of course, be working on strengthening our prison syste in our power to track down the fugitive and apprehend her I ain with you, Your Majesty, and I do intend to keep ain," she spat, but then her face softened "Young emperor, I certainly hope you didn’t fancy yourself in love with this girl"

Kai’s grip tightened until his knuckles screained for Linh Cinder were clearly nothing nize that" Levana folded her own hands demurely before her "I a to Luna, iirl and deliver her to me If you fail, I will send my own army to find her, and they will tear apart every spaceship, every docking station, and every home on this pathetic planet until she is found"

White spots flashed in Kai’s vision and he shoved himself back to his feet "Why don’t you say what youa reason to invade Earth for ten years and now you’re using this one escaped Lunar, this nobody, to accomplish it"

The corners of Levana’s lips tilted "You seem to misunderstand my motives, so I will say precisely what I mean I will someday rule the Commonwealth, and it is your decision whether that is to be through a war or through a peaceful and diplo to do ar and politics I want this girl, or I want her corpse I will burn your country to the ground looking for her if I must"

Levana pulled away froe falling in step behind her with neither expression nor coone, Huy and Torin eachlike they hadn’t taken a breath since the queen’s entrance And perhaps they hadn’t--Kai didn’t knohat Sybil had been doing to theuess it hadn’t been comfortable

Nainsi swiveled on her treads "I aiven her access, but the door was already open"

Kai silenced her with a wave "Yes, how coincidental that she chose the one tie in here, isn’t it?"

Nainsi’s processor whirred, no doubt running the odds