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Peony stuck out her tongue but then gathered up her skirt in both fists, hiking the he on the balls of her bare feet
"You look a the fabric ers But then her cheeriness faltered "She should have had one o" Cinder shrugged Peony’s tone had such syue She was usually able to ignore the jealousy she had toward her stepsisters--how Adri doted on them, how soft their hands were--especially when Peony was the only human friend she had But she could not s the twitch of envy at seeing Peony in that dress
She brushed the topic away "What’s wrong with the port?"
"It’s doing that gibberish thing again" Peony pushed so the cleanest spot before sitting down, her full skirts flouncing around her She swung her feet so that her heels beat steadily against the plastic
"Have you been downloading those stupid celeb apps again?"
"No"
Cinder raised an eyebrow
"One language app That’s it And I needed it for class Oh--before I forget, Iko, I brought you so"
Iko rolled to Peony’s side as she pulled a velvet ribbon froht in the roohtened when Iko saw it
"Thank you," said the android as Peony tied the ribbon around her skinny wrist joint "It’s lovely"
Cinder set the portscreen on the work desk, next to Prince Kai’s android "I’ll look at it tobelt for Her Majesty"
"Oh? Where are you going?"
"The junkyard"
"It’s going to be a bundle of fun," said Iko, scanning the ain
"Really?" said Peony "Can I co her sarcas back into that stuffy apartainst a stack ofout, Cinder pulled her back "Careful, your dress"
Peony surveyed her skirt, then the grime-covered shelves, then waved Cinder’s concern away "Really, can I? Sounds exciting"
"It sounds dirty and stinky," said Iko
"Hoould you know?" said Cinder "You don’t have scent receptors"
"I have a fantastic i, Cinder half shoved her stepsister toward the door "Fine, go get changed But be quick I have a story to tell you"
Chapter Four
PEONY SLUGGED CINDER IN THE SHOULDER, NEARLY PUSHING her into a pile of bald android treads "How could you wait so long to tell me? You’ve only been home for, what, four hours?"
"I know, I know, I’ood ti advantage of it"
"Who cares about what Moe of this Good stars, the prince In your booth I can’t believe I wasn’t there Why wasn’t I there?"
"You were busy being fitted in silk and brocade"
"Ugh" Peony kicked a broken headlight out of her path "You should have commed own and all Ugh I hate you It’s official, I hate you Are you going to see hiht be able to stop hating you if you proht, deal?"
"Found one!" Iko called froeted the body of a rusted hover, entrenching the piles of debris behind it in shadows
"So? What was he like?" Peony said, keeping pace as Cinder hurried toward the earthbound vehicle, as if being near her was now on par with being near His Ihness hi the vehicle’s hood and lifting it up on the prop-rod "Ah, good, it hasn’t been scavenged"
Iko scooted out of Cinder’s way "He was polite enough not to point out the giant grease stain on her forehead"
Peony gasped "Oh, you didn’t!"
"What? I’ussied up, he should have coht in here"
Iko tilted her head forward, illuine coue "Maybe he thought it was a mole?"