Kai laughed, a little awkwardly. He was no longer sure exactly who was trying to impress who … or if either of them were succeeding. “Are you sure you’re Linh Cinder? The mechanic?”
A high-pitched voice interrupted them, along with the crunch of android treads on the street. “Cinder! I’ve got it!”
Kai turned to see a servant android rolling toward them, its blue sensor light flashing excitedly.
The android slammed a second robotic foot onto the table, its plating shiny and clean compared with the old one’s. “It’s a huge improvement over the old one, only lightly used, and the wiring looks compatible as is. Plus, I was able to get the dealer down to just six hundred univs.”
The mechanic grabbed the new foot and dropped it behind the table. “Good work, Iko. Nguyen-shìfu will be delighted to have a replacement foot for his escort-droid.”
“Nguyen-shìfu?” said the android. “I don’t compute.”
With a nervous smile, Cinder tilted her head toward Kai. “Iko, please pay your respects to our customer … His Imperial Highness.”
The android tilted back her bulbous head. Though androids didn’t have genders, many personality chips were programmed to identify more male or female, and it was clear from the high voice that this was a she. It was an easy connection for Kai to make—after all, this Iko had a similar body style to Nainsi, who he’d always thought of as a she as well.
The android’s sensor flashed as she scanned Kai’s face. “Prince Kai,” she said, her voice taking on the unexpected tinge of a sigh. “You are even more handsome in person.”
Kai laughed—a sudden, uncontrollable laugh that burst out of him before he could reel it back.
“That’s enough, Iko,” said Cinder. “Get in the booth.”
The android obeyed, ducking under the tablecloth.
Still grinning, Kai leaned against the sturdy frame of the booth’s rolling door. “You don’t see a personality like that every day. Did you program her yourself?”
Cinder started to smile, too, and though it had a sardonic edge to it, Kai felt like he’d won something. “Believe it or not, she came that way. I suspect a programming error, which is probably why my stepmother got her so cheap.”
“I do not have a programming error!” Iko’s irate voice screeched from behind one of the towering shelves.
Kai chuckled again. Cinder caught his eye for a brief moment before she looked away.
Back at Nainsi.
The reason he was here. The oh-so-important reason.
Why was he so distracted?
He lowered the zipper on his sweatshirt a hair. The heat was becoming unbearable. His shirt would be drenched with sweat by the time he got back to the hover, and he was grateful that it hadn’t yet seeped through the sweatshirt.
“So what do you think?” he asked.
“I’ll need to run her diagnostics. It will take me a few days, maybe a week.” Cinder pushed a strand of hair behind one ear and lowered herself into a chair.
Only then did Kai realize that she’d been trembling a little. Maybe she was dehydrated.
He thought of offering to go get her some water, but then remembered that she had an android assistant to do those things for her. So instead, he held up his ID-implanted wrist and asked, “Do you need payment up front?”
Cinder was waving away the suggestion almost before he’d finished. “No, thank you. It will be my honor.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but hesitated. This wasn’t uncommon when he was dealing with small business owners—they seemed to think that his patronage was payment enough, or maybe the publicity that would be gained from it. Arguing over a payment generally led to the vendor feigning offense and him feeling like a braggart.
He lowered his hand and shifted his attention to Nainsi again. “I don’t suppose there’s any hope of having her done before the festival?”
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” said Cinder, shutting Nainsi’s control panel. “But without knowing what’s wrong with her—”
“I know, I know.” Kai hooked his thumbs on his sweatshirt pockets and rocked back on his heels. Ever since he’d started searching for Princess Selene it had been his dream to announce her survival and imminent reclamation of her throne at the annual ball. It was, after all, a celebration of world peace. He could think of no greater gift to his country than ridding them of Queen Levana, their sneakiest and most deceitful enemy. “Just wishful thinking.”
“How will I contact you when she’s ready?”
“Send a comm to the palace.” Kai paused, remembering Sybil Mira—the Lunar Queen’s own minion. Remembering how important it was that she never suspect he was searching for the missing princess, or doing anything else to undermine Levana’s rule. Quickly, he added, “Or will you be here again next weekend? I could stop by then.”
Iko’s voice chirped from the back, “Oh, yes! We’re here every market day. You should come by again. That would be lovely.”
Cinder winced. “You don’t need to—”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
It wasn’t a lie. Not only would this allow for him to keep the transaction discreet, but it also meant that he would be picking up Nainsi in person, rather than having her dropped off with some nameless assistant at the palace. It meant he was sure to see Linh Cinder again.
Maybe he could learn more about her then.
Maybe he’d make her smile. A real smile.
Maybe …
Maybe he needed another hobby.
He nodded a farewell to her. She returned the nod, but didn’t stand or bow—all professional politeness, without much of the royal courtesy he was used to. It was sort of refreshing.
Pulling the hood over his face again, he turned and slipped back into the bustling crowd.
He felt lighter than he had in days as he made his way back to the hover car. He knew that nothing was resolved, not yet. His father was still dying, his country was still in danger, and Nainsi was still unable to share her secrets.
But there was something about Linh Cinder. Something capable and confident, even if she had been a little nervous to be talking to him. There was something about her that went beyond an unexpected reputation.
The knot in his chest loosened, just a little. Linh Cinder was going to solve this problem. He knew it. She was going to fix Nainsi, and then he would be able to retrieve the lost information about the princess. He would find Selene and, for the first time in generations, Earth would have a true ally in Luna.
He was optimistic as he left the weekly market behind. More optimistic than he had been in weeks.
That mechanic was going to change everything.
Something Old, Something New
Cinder squeezed the suitcase shut with a sigh of finality. Iko had been pestering her all week about what she was and wasn’t going to pack, insisting on a variety of gowns and uncomfortable shoes and rolling her eyes at Cinder’s constant reminders that they would be spending most of this trip on a farm. With cows and chickens and mud.
“Just because you’re not a queen anymore,” Iko had said, her hands fisted on her hips, “doesn’t mean you get to go back to looking like you just rolled out of an engine compartment.”
Together they had finally agreed on a few pairs of comfortable pants and lightweight blouses, plus a simple emerald-green cocktail dress—“Just in case,” Iko had insisted.