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"What do you think hebased on self-preservation?"

"He probably doesn’t want to beladies at the ball this year You know there was nearly a stairls in the whole city, she was…

The most convenient

She forced these words to resonate, to stick She was here and she seemed to be sane and she was a safe bet for him to ask to the ball That was all it could be

Besides, he was in ht

"E else to think about

"Indeed Prince Kai was close to his father, you know"

She lowered her gaze to the screen Dr Erland was hunched over She could see only a sram of a human torso, surrounded by boxes of dense text It did not appear to be hers

"I would be lying," Dr Erland continued, "if I said that I had not harbored secret hopes of finding an antidote in tinosis was made that it was unlikely Nevertheless, we ree hers "Doctor, why haven’t you told the prince about me? Don’t you want him to know that you’ve found someone who’s immune? Isn’t that important?"

He pressed his lips, but he didn’t look up at her "Perhaps I should But it would be his responsibility to share the neith the country, and I don’t think we’re ready to draw attention to this When we have solid evidence that you are…as valuable as I hope, then ill share our neith the prince And the world"

She picked up a portscreen stylus that was lying abandoned on the desk and exa it like a pinwheel over her fingers, she "

The doctor"Ah And that is what you’re most concerned about?"

Before she could confirm or deny, Dr Erland waved his hand as if to dismiss her defensiveness "Do you think I should tell hi? I will if you want me to But I frankly didn’t see that it was any of his business"

Cinder dropped the stylus into her lap "No, that isn’t--I just--"

Dr Erland snorted He was laughing at her

Cinder huffed in irritation and glared out theThe city was al sun "Not like it matters He’ll find out eventually"

"Yes, I suppose he will Especially if he continues to show, erm, interest in you" Dr Erland pushed his chair back fro has been completed Shall we make our way to the lab room?"

She followed him into the sterile hallway It was a short walk to the labs, and they entered lab room 11D this time, which looked exactly like lab roole exam table Notold "I went to the quarantines today…to visit my sister"

The doctor paused, his hand on the netscreen’s power button "That was so of a risk You understand that people aren’t supposed to leave once they arrive, don’t you?"

"I know But I had to see her" She swung her legs, beating her feet against the table’s legs "One of the med-droids ran a blood test on me before I left, and I was clear"

The doctor fiddled with the netscreen’s controls "Indeed"

"I just thought you should know, in case that ue out the corner of his mouth A second later, the screen blazed to life His hands ski up Cinder’s file It was more complex today, filled with information even she didn’t know about herself

"And I saw sorunted, more focused on the screen than her

"One of the med-droids took an ID chip frorammed to take it It had dozens of them"