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"That’s beside the point," said Cinder "With Wolf, there’s soe, soet it But what can I do? I feel so useless,on, and you’re all rimaced at the frustration in his tone Kai was responsible for billions of people, and she knew he felt like he had abandoned theiven hiument after he’d woken up aboard the Rampion, he was careful not to blah He knew it and she knew it and soht in a dance Cinder didn’t know the steps to Each of the this obvious truth so they didn’t disrupt the round they’d discovered The all-too-uncertain happiness they’d discovered

"The only chance we have of succeeding," she said, "is if you can persuade Levana to host the wedding on Luna So right now, you can be thinking about how you’re going to accoainst his reat talker"

Five

Scarlet pressed her body against the steel bars, straining to grasp the tree branch that dangled just outside her cage Close--so close The bar bit into her cheek She flailed her fingers, brushing a leaf, a touch of bark--yes!

Her fingers closed around the branch She dropped back into her cage, dragging the branch closer Wriggling her other ars, then broke off the tip and let go The branch swung upward and a cluster of tiny, unfamiliar nuts dropped onto her head

Scarlet flinched and waited until the tree had stopped shaking before she turned the hood of her red sweatshirt inside out and shook out the nuts that had attacked her They sort of looked like hazelnuts If she could figure out a way to crack into theht not be a bad snack later

A gentle scratching pulled her attention back to the situation She peered across theon his hind legs and batting at the bars of his own enclosure

Scarlet had spent a lot of ti Ryu could leap over those bars His enclosure’s aist high and he should have been able to clear it easily Then Scarlet could pet his fur, scratch his ears What a luxury it would be to have a bit of contact She had always been fond of the anihter theoût--but she never realized how much she appreciated their simple affection until she had been reduced to an ani his confine to Princess Winter, he had a chip eive him a painful shock if he tried to jump over the rail The poor creature had learned to accept his habitat a long tio

Scarlet doubted she would ever accept hers

"This is it," she said, grabbing her hard-earned treasure: three ss and a splintered branch She held them up for the wolf to see He yipped and did an enthusiastic dance along the enclosure wall "I can’t reach any more You have to take your ti to her knees--as close to standing as she could get inside her cage--Scarlet grabbed hold of an overhead bar, took ais, and threw

Ryu chased after it and snatched the stick from the air Within seconds, he pranced back to his pile of sticks and dropped the twig on top Pleased, he sat back on his haunches, tongue lolling

"Good job, Ryu Nice show of restraint" Sighing, Scarlet picked up another stick

Ryu had just taken off when she heard the padding of feet down the path Scarlet sat back on her heels, instantly tense, but relieved when she spotted a flowing creaown between the stalks of exotic flowers and drooping vines The princess rounded the path’s corner a moment later, basket in hand

"Hello, friends," said Princess Winter

Ryu dropped his newest stick onto the pile, then sat down, chest high as though he were showing her proper respect

Scarlet scowled "Suck-up"

Winter tilted her head in Scarlet’s direction A spiral of black hair fell across her cheek, obstructing her scars