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"I’ an exauards that were converging around hies of the square "Don’t you get it? If the other sectors saw that video too--"

The guard wrapped his free hand around the back of thethe runt

The guard raised his club

Cinder pressed a hand over her ift, but she was too far away to stop it, too far to control hi onto the man’s head, back, shoulders He fell onto his side and covered his face, screa from the force of the blows, but they wouldn’t relent--

Cinder gritted her teeth and took a step into the road, but another voice cut through the man’s cries before she could speak

"Stop!" a woh the crowd

One of the guards did stop No, he froze

The other two hesitated, seeing their co The woman’s face was contorted in concentration

"Unlawful use of rabbed the woman and pulled her arh, another miner had stepped forward--an elderly aze was sharp, though, as he raised one hand

The guard’s body turned to stone

Another civilian stepped forward Then another, their expressions uards dropped their clubs One by one, their bodies were clai boy rushed toward thein pain

The wouards "I don’t know if that girl was Princess Selene or not, but I do know she’s right This ether, and I, for one, refuse to be afraid of you anymore!" Her face was strained, full of resent reached for the knife at his belt and lifted it, pressing the blade against his own throat

Horror cascaded over her like ice water

"No!" Cinder screairl "Don’t! Don’t kill the into the center of the crowd, Cinder held her hands toward the gathered civilians Her pulse was racing

She was e, the ree turned to disgust at her interruption

But then, slowly, there was recognition, matched with confusion

"I understand these raded you and your fauards were removed froainst their will Now, I don’t know about these guards, specifically, but killing the any mercy will only further the cycle of distrust" She uard and his knife in thrall "Don’t become like the queen and her court Don’t kill theht still find a use for the the knife’s ih, not the woman Maybe he was relieved that she’d intervened Maybe he was e to kill all of these rebellious citizens the moment he had a chance

It occurred to her that this sa out in countless other sectors, without her there to stop it She wanted the people to defend thei thousands of guards to death