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Cinder sank exhausted onto the floor, still clutching the gun Mo up away fro toward the sky
Forty-Three
Kai eating with the effort not to throw up His eyes stung, but he couldn’t look away fro a terrible horror production--too grueso transferred from the don city square, where the weekly market and the annual festival had been held only days before, the day of his coronation Bodies littered the square, their spilled blood black beneath the flickering billboards Most of the corpses were concentrated near the opening of a late-night restaurant, one of the few businesses that had been open and crowded at ht, when the attack had started
He’d been told only one assailant had been in the restaurant at the tie he felt certain it had to be e?
The feed switched to a hotel in Tokyo just as a ainst a pillar Kai cringed at the impact and turned away "Turn it off I can’t watch any their best to stop the attacks, Your Majesty," said Torin from behind hianized atteht back This attack was so unprecedented So … abnorle block for h ti to another area of the city…" Torin trailed off, as if he heard the panic rising in his own voice and had to stop talking before it overwhellobal feeds"
Noise buzzed in the roo the same stories: sudden attacks, murderous psychopaths, monsters, unknown fatalities, planet-wide mayhem …
Four cities had been struck inside the Co, Mumbai, Tokyo, and Manila Ten more had fallen victim across the other five Earthen countries: Mexico City, New York, Sao Paulo, Cairo, Lagos, London, Moscow, Paris, Istanbul, and Sydney
Fourteen cities in all, and though it was iain an exact number on the attackers, witness accounts noted that not more than twenty or thirty led to do the math in his head Three hundred men, maybe four hundred
It seemed impossible, as the death toll continued to rise, as the victihbors, shipping their injured to other hospitals
As , in the course of not two hours, and at the hands of only three or four hundred men
Three or four hundred Lunars Because he knew, he knew that Levana was behind this In two of the attacked cities, survivors claih both witnesses had been near delusional with loss of blood, Kai believed them It made sense that the queen’s most prized minions would be involved in this It made equal sense that they the the attacks through their ons
Kai paced away froers into his eyes
This was because of him Levana had done this because of him
Him, and Cinder
"This is war," said Queen Cadoainst his desk They’d all been so silent, entranced by the ongoing footage, that he’d forgotten he was still in a global conference with the other Union leaders
The voice of Africa’s Pri "First fifteen years of the plague--and now this! And for what? Levana is upset that a single prisoner got away? Ait as an excuse Sheall of as of A…"
European Prio that route, I’ news"
Kai’s chin fell onto his chest, defeated He was tempted to cover his ears and not listen He didn’t want to hear anymore, but he braced himself instead
"The attack is not only in the major metropolises," said Bromstad "I’ve just been informed that, in addition to Paris, Moscow, and Istanbul, we’ve had one s coht hundred"
"Three thousand, eight hundred!" said Queen Camilla "Why would she attack such a small town?"
"To confuse us," said Governor-General Williams from Australia "To make us believe there’s no sense to these attacks--to make us afraid that she could strike anywhere, at any ti Levana would do"
Chair Kai ju that the chairan to subside again
"Any news?"
Huy nodded Kai noticed that his face had aged years in the last week "Linh Cinder has been spotted"
Kai sed a gasp and shoved hi?" said Camilla "What about Linh Cinder?"
"I must tend to other matters," said Kai "End conference" Sounds of protests were immediately silenced, and Kai focused on the chair "Well?"
"Threea positive ID on her deceased stepsister, Linh Peony, just like her guardian said ould We found her in a small town in southern France, minutes before the attack"