Winter’s head rolled against the shoulder of the man who was holding her. “It is a most profound pleasure to meet you all,” she murmured, sounding half-drunk. Scarlet was proud of her for making the effort.
The people tightened their grips around their staffs, or spears, or whatever those were supposed to be.
The bearded man pushed his way to the front of the crowd, looking both tough and anxious at once. “Princess Winter is dead.”
“No, she’s not,” said Scarlet. “The queen tried to have her killed, but she failed. Everything she’s told you has been a lie.”
The man stared at Winter for a long time, his face contorted with suspicion.
“It’s not a glamour,” said Scarlet. “It really is her.” She hesitated, rolling her eyes. “Not that I have any way to prove that. But if we wanted to kill you, why bother with this charade? Look, we’re here to join you in your siege on Artemisia. These men have agreed to fight on our behalf.”
The man studied her. “Who are you?”
“My name is Scarlet Benoit. I’m—” She struggled to think of what to call herself. The pilot? The alpha female?
“She’s an Earthen,” someone said. It annoyed her that they could tell so easily, like she was branded somehow.
“I’m a friend of Princess Selene’s,” she said. “And I’m a friend of Princess Winter’s. And not very long ago I was a prisoner of Queen Levana. She took my finger”—she held up her hand—“and she took my grandmother, and now I intend to help Selene take everything from her.” She gestured at the soldiers. “These men have chosen our side over Levana’s, just like you have, and they’re the best a.s.sets we’ve got. Maybe they can help with your combat training.” She turned to Strom. “Right?”
Strom’s expression, though, was not appeasing as he stepped up beside her. “We said we would help and we will, but we’re not going to stand out here all night listening to negotiations with a bunch of lumberjacks. If they don’t want us here, we’ll find a sector that does.”
Scarlet snorted. “Good luck.”
He growled at her. Scarlet growled back.
Lips pressed into a thin line, the bearded man glanced from the nervous civilians with their sharpened sticks, to the brawny, fur-covered soldiers. “We’ve been sending messengers to the nearest sectors when we can, but it’s difficult trying to coordinate the attack. The shuttles are all down. And we aren’t warriors.”
“Clearly,” one of the soldiers grumbled.
Someone in the crowd hissed, “Tell them about the guards.”
Scarlet raised her eyebrows as the crowd’s fear was replaced with puffing chests and straightened spines. “Guards?”
“We’ve had a regiment of armed guards stationed here for years, and we’ve talked about trying to overwhelm them, even made plans for it before, but it always seemed pointless when Levana would just send more. But as soon as Selene’s message came through…” He grinned back at his peers. “Our plan worked. We had them disarmed within minutes, and now they’re locked up in one of the storerooms in the mill.” He crossed his arms. “There were fatalities, but we knew there would be. We’re willing to do what must be done, just like the people in RM-9. I believe Selene has given us what might be our only chance.”
Scarlet blinked. “What about the people in RM-9?”
“They say Selene was there, and there was a woman housing her. She was just a miner, no one special, like us, but she proved how brave we can be.”
“Maha Kesley,” whispered Scarlet.
The man jolted in surprise. “That’s right.” He glanced back at the gathered people, his jaw set. “She was killed for offering her home to our true queen, but her death won’t be in vain, just like the deaths of all those who stood up to Levana in the past.”
Scarlet nodded, though she was still reeling. Aimery had intended for Maha’s death to act as a warning to anyone who sided with Cinder, but here, at least, it had the opposite effect.
Maha Kesley had become a martyr.
“You’re right,” she said. “Selene doesn’t need you to be warriors. Maha Kesley certainly wasn’t, but she was brave and believed in our cause. That resolve is what this revolution needs.”
“A few more warriors wouldn’t hurt,” Strom muttered, grabbing a stick away from the nearest civilian, who shrank away. “Everyone—back in formation! Let’s see if we can’t make you look a little less pathetic.”
Sixty
“The residents of GM-3 have overpowered the guards sent to quell the uprising that began in the factories yesterday afternoon,” said Aimery, reciting the information from a portscreen as if this were business as usual. Levana allowed the charade, keeping her face calm as she listened to the report. Only her foot tapped against the glistening tiles of her solar, shaking with restrained fury. “We are sending a new regiment of guards, along with a thaumaturge this time. The uprising in WM-2 has been put down, with sixty-four civilian casualties and a loss of five guards. We are conducting a full census on the sector, but we estimate close to two hundred civilians escaped prior to the insurrection along with an unknown amount of stolen weaponry and ammunition. The guards in all neighboring sectors have been put on high alert.”
Levana downed a long, thin breath. She paced to the ma.s.sive windows overlooking the city. Her perfect, pristine, tranquil city. It seemed impossible that so much chaos was happening on her planet, not when everything here was so calm, so normal.