Echoed Lullabies (Lunar Chronicles x Reader)

Chapter 17

"You're Princess Selene," I said firmly.

She looked like she was about to question my statement, deny it even, but she just resorted to looking at the floor. "Yeah."

"You didn't think to tell us?" My words were accusatory, but there was little fire behind them.

"I haven't even known for a week!" She held her hands out pleadingly. "I found out who I was the day after the ball, when I was sitting in a jail cell preparing to be handed over to Levana like a trophy."

I bit my bottom lip. "Do the others know?"

"Yes." Cinder sat back down on the bunk, defeated. She held her head in her hands.

I stared down at the girl in front of me. The cyborg. Fugitive. Lunar Princess.

She was just a child.

A child with an army of beasts and the Commonwealth Military Forces after her.

I sat beside her. "Well, between breaking out of prison, taking me as a hostage, running from the military and saving our lives on numerous occasions, you haven't exactly had the time to overthrow an entire regime."

She chuckled, a sad little sound.

I joined in. "Wow. Hell of a situation we're in."

"Yeah." Our laughs tapered off until the atmosphere was sullen.

"Levana's going to murder Kai after they're married," she said, running a hand through her hair. "She'll be coronated as empress, and then she'll kill him, and she'll have the entire Commonwealth under her control. After that, it will only be a matter of time before she invades the rest of the Union."

"Well that sounds like a shit deal," I said. I clasped my hands together and leaned forward on my knees. "So what are we going to do about it?"

Cinder gulped and opened the compartment on her prosthetic leg. "I'm going to let Wolf train me. I'm going to become stronger than she is." She took the shimmery chip out of the wirey mess and flicked it in the air. It glinted. "I'm going to track down the girl who programmed this chip, and she's going to tell me everything she knows about Luna and its security and all the queen's secrets."

Her eyes were aflame with a newfound resolve.

"And then I'm going to stop hiding."

* * *

"Hello."

I jumped at the rich, deep voice and whirled around, a can of pears raised in my hand as a weapon.

Vibrant green eyes flashed in alarm. "I didn't mean to scare you," Wolf said from the galley doorway, holding his hands out as if trying to calm a frightened animal.

I lowered the can, red spreading to my cheeks. "Sorry. I'm just a bit...on edge, I guess."

He smiled warmly. His gaze slid to the pears in my hand.

I looked between him and the can. "Oh. Do you...want some?"

He stared at it for a moment longer, then nodded.

I watched as he moved to sit at the long table. It was too low for him, and so he had to hunch his shoulders to rest his elbows on the metal surface. I should have been uneasy in the presence of a Lunar operative, but struggling to fit on the too-small chair...well. He didn't look too dangerous right then.

When I had drained the can and divided the pear halves between two metal bowls, I crossed to the table and awkwardly took a seat beside him.

"Here," I said, sliding a bowl in front of him. "I couldn't find any clean forks so we'll have to use our hands."