#usermaven

“i need to go.” cinder said, scrambling off her bedroom floor and grabbing her boots. as she started to put them on, her best friend rolled towards her.

“go? you can’t leave, adri won’t let you.” iko said. 

cinder quickly threw on kai’s jacket and zipped it up. “just tell her that i needed to get some more parts, or that i needed to go to the market place.” she suggested as she made her way to the door. “i have to go to kai, so please, just cover for me.” 

iko’s fans let out a sound similar to a sigh. “you got it. just come back soon.” 

cinder nodded and went out the door, then ran out of the apartment. she was outside the building in seconds and was making her way to the palace. she thought of kai with sad eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks, and her heart broke. the least she could do was be there for him. 

once she arrived at the illustrious palace, she scanned her wrist at the employee entrance and walked in. everyone inside was walking around in a hurry. they all had disheartened expressions, ones filled with grief and shock. cinder made her way past them and started to make her way to the emperor’s quarantine. 

the floor was crowded, almost every inch of space taken up by someone in a hazmat suit. cinder’s anxiety started to strangle her, but she shoved it down, keeping a look out for messy black hair among the crowd. 

it wasn’t hard to notice kai. he was one of the few people dressed normally, including the man in the suit beside him. cinder knew it was torin even though she had barely seen him in person. she took quiet steps towards kai, scared to make a wrong move. once she had gotten a few feet closer, he turned around, and his tear ridden eyes connected with hers. 

she didn’t speak, she didn’t know what to say. kai had never looked like this before. he was always so put together, always ready for anything. but now he just looked lost. 

cinder took a few steps forward and wrapped her arms around kai. she didn’t care about the crowd of people around them, they didn’t even cross her mind. she didn’t care if they saw her attire and thought she was too dirty to be embracing the prince, she didn’t care that his advisor was giving her a weird look, and she didn’t care if adri found out she wasn’t home and grounded her for life. all that mattered was kai. 

he hugged her, his face buried in her neck. hot tears hit her skin and she felt a headache telling her that she should be crying too. there was no space between them, except the realization that it actually happened. the emperor was dead. kai was going to be coronated in two weeks. cinder hadn’t given him an answer yet. 

she knew it was now or never, she wouldn’t be able to wait much longer. kai held her tighter and her heart stopped in her chest. he was crying silently, not letting any audible sobs leave his mouth. cinder didn’t know if that was him trying to act like royalty or if he was trying to convince her that he was okay. 

they pulled away, cinder keeping her hands on his forearms. they didn’t stay too close together even though she desperately wanted to wipe the tears off his face. his copper eyes met hers once again and the sadness in them made her decision perfectly clear. there was no possibility she could leave him, not in this life or the next. 

“yes.” she whispered. he looked confused for a moment but then he understood, and the smallest of smiles touched his lips. it was the beginning of a very long and difficult plan, but cinder was ready, and she would be with kai every step of the way. 

***