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She was a walking disaster and she knew it She’d be lucky if they let her into the ball at all

But she would deal with that when she got there

The elevator was ee She rushed toward the abandoned car, the boots clipping aardly on the concrete floor as she tried not to trip on the too small foot and sprain her ankle She could feel it precariously attached at the end of her leg Not having had time to connect it to her wired nervous systeht She tried to ignore it, thinking only of Kai and the announceht

She reached the dark corner of the garage, already sweating froot out into the city’s relentless humidity Before her, the car was sandwiched between two sleek, chroarage’s flickering lights It didn’t belong

Cinder kne it felt

She slipped into the driver’s seat, and the se and mildew e and covered it in a scavenged blanket so she didn’t have to worry about sitting on rat droppings Still, she could only iine what stains the car’s fra on Peony’s dress

Shoving her thoughts to the back of her rasped the power supply and circuit wires she’d already stripped and wrapped She fu her breath, she tapped the wires together

Nothing happened

A drop of sweat rolled down the back of her knee She flicked theain "Please, please, please"

A spark lashed out froine

"Yes!" She pressed her foot down on the accelerator, revving the engine, feeling the car thrum and ru cry of relief, then jammed her foot into the clutch and pulled the trans the instructions she’d downloaded a week ago and had been studying ever since How to drive

Maneuvering out of the garage proved the uided by solar streetlalow fro, as the car’s headlights had been busted out Cinder was surprised at how rocky the roads were, how e and debris littered the paveer required an open path The ride was jerky and harsh, and yet Cinder felt a surge of poith every turn of the wheel, press of the accelerator, rattle of the stick shift, screech of rubber

A war Cinder’s hair The clouds had reached the city and hung threateningly above the skyscrapers, casting the evening in a gray shroud Toward the other horizon, the sky was still wide open and proudly displaying the ninth full moon of the year A perfect sphere in the blackened sky A white, o it, Cinder floored the accelerator, pushing the car to go faster--to fly

And it flew Not sracefully like a hover but with all the roar and power of a proud beast She couldn’t help a grin, knowing that she had done this She had brought this monstrosity back to life It owed her now and it seeht, as the palace caed cliff She would have been nearing the city lihts blur past Racing for the horizon and never looking back

A splatter of rain hit the cracked windshield

Cinder gripped the steering wheel tighter as she started up the twisting, winding drive to the palace entrance There were no hovers to couest to arrive

She crested the hill, reveling in the rush of escape, of freedoan Rain drenched the car, blurring the palace’s lights The sound pounded against the hts, the world disappeared beyond the windshield

Cinder ja happened

Panic surged through her and she desperately puainst the storm Cinder screamed and covered her face

The car collided with a cherry blosso Cinder with a jolt Metal crunched around her The engine sputtered and died The seat belt burned across her chest

Shaking, Cinder gaped at the storainst the windshield Wet maroon-colored leaves fell frolass She reh her veins Her control panel’s recommended course of action: take slow, measured breaths But the breaths choked her ashand toward the latch and peeled it off her

A leak revealed itself along the weather stripping of her door’s , dripping down onto her shoulder

Cinder fell back against the headrest, wondering if she had the strength to walk Maybe if she just waited out the ; it would be a drizzle in a blink