She pried her startled attention off the womana strangerand turned to Kai.

Blinked. Noticed first how handsome he looked, and second how exhausted.

A spurt of data began to scroll against her vision in sterile green text.

EMPEROR KAITO OF THE EASTERN COMMONWEALTH

ID #0082719057

BORN 7 APR 108 T.E.

FF 107,448 MEDIA HITS, REVERSE CHRON

POSTED 13 NOV T.E.: IN A STATEMENT RELEASED THIS MORNING, EMPEROR KAITO INFORMED THE PRESS THAT HE HAS DELAYED HIS RETURN TO EARTH FOR AN INDETERMINATE AMOUNT OF TIME, STATING THAT HIS PRESENCE IS NECESSARY AT THIS TIME TO OVERSEE THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE LUNAR CAPITAL

Cinder squeezed her eyes shut and willed the text to descend out of her vision. She waited for her heart rate to calm before opening her eyes again.

Her lap was draped with a white linen blanket so thin she could see a groove in the fabric where the flesh of her left thigh met the top of her prosthetic leg. Her left hand was splayed out, palm up, on top of the blanket. The palm chamber was open, revealing a multitude of disconnected wires inside.

What are you doing to my hand? she croaked.

The woman climbed to her feet and straightened her white lab coat. Fixing it.

Here, drink this. Kai held out a glass of water. Cinder stared at it for longer than she should have, her brain working through mud, before she took it from him. This is Dr. Nandez, Kai said, watching her drink. Shes one of Earths best cybernetic surgeons. I had her flown up yesterday to to look at you. His lips tightened, as if he wasnt sure if hed overstepped some boundary between them.

Handing the glass back to Kai, Cinder studied the doctor, who stood with her arms crossed, tapping the fuse pullers against her forearm. Cinder reached for the back of her head, where her panel was shut tight.

Im not dead?

You almost were, said Kai. The knife penetrated one of your prosthetic heart chambers, which drove your body into survival mode. That chamber shut down while the rest of your heart was able to keep functioning more or less. Kai glanced at the doctor. Did I get that right?

Close enough, said Dr. Nandez with a weak smile.

Cinders heart throbbed with every breath. My retina display is functioning again.

The doctor nodded. You were in need of a new processing unitthe one you were installed with wasnt designed for full underwater submersion. You were lucky it went into preservation mode, otherwise you wouldnt have had any function over your hand or leg either.

I didnt, for a while. Cinder tried to move her cybernetic fingers, but they sat unmoving on the bedspread. Im sorry I scared you.

Your reaction was warranted. Dr. Nandez gestured at Cinders hand. May I?

An awkwardness started to creep up Cinders spineher palm open and vulnerable, right in front of Kai.

But then she felt silly and vain, so she nodded.

Dr. Nandez wheeled herself back to Cinders side and set a portscreen on the bed. A holograph flickered in the air above the screenan exact replica of Cinders hand and internal wiring. The doctor adjusted the image and bent over Cinders hand again.

You should lie back down, Kai said. You were stabbed, you know.

I remember. Grimacing, she pressed her hand harder against her wound. The pressure eased some of the throbbing.

Forty-two stitches, and something tells me you may have just pulled some of them out. Here, lie down.

She allowed Kai to guide her back onto the pillows. She sank into the soft, crisp bedding with a sigh, though the doctors surgical light was once again blinding her and Kai had taken on a supernatural glow.

Levanas dead? she murmured.

Levanas dead.

With that confirmation, and the stark memory of a gunshot and a splatter of blood burned into her mind, she opened her brain to all the other questions. They tumbled like a waterfall into her thoughts. Cress, Thorne, Scarlet, Wolf, Winter, Jacin, Iko

Everyones alive, Kai said as if her thoughts were written in plain green text on her irises. But Cress is her vitals are stable, and theyre hopeful for a recovery, but she hasnt come out of suspension yet. Scarlet had a mild concussion, but shes all right. Thorne lost two fingers, but hes a prime candidate for prostheses if he wants them. Wolf is well, they cant undo the bioengineering without risking serious damage, but hes alive and seems, you know, like Wolf. Jacin suffered some injuries, but nothing life threatening, and Princess Winter His gaze dropped.

Cinder felt a jolt in her wrist, and her thumb twitched uncontrollably for a moment before there was another zing and it stopped.

Shes been inconsolable since the revolt. Theyve had to keep her restrained. And a lot of people died, on both sides, but it worked. The outer sectors responded in droves, far too many for the thaumaturges to control at once. People were still coming in from the outer sectors for hours after the fighting was over.

Another zap of electricity, then the snap of a metal latch. Give that a try, said Dr. Nandez, turning off the holograph.

Cinder lifted her hand. It had been polished to a sparkling finish and she could see echoes of her dark hair in the surface. She curled her fingers one at a time, then rolled her wrist back and forth. Spreading her fingers, she tested the functionality of the tools inside themall except the gun, which she hoped to never fire again.