Page 33 of Cinder's Adventure: Get Me To the Wedding!

“Hush,” said Cress, smacking him on the arm. “Look, there she is! I told you that new tracker was accurate.”

Cinder wanted to feel relief at seeing her friends, but the Jabberwock had prowled so close she could smell the stink of its breath. Distantly, she thought she could hear more arguing from the other people in the patch—the man with the ax yelling something about his wife, the girl in red hollering about a prophecy—but she was too focused on the monster keen on devouring her to pay them much attention.

“A little help?” she cried, her words strung with tension.

“Of course!” said Cress. “We’ve got just what you need. Here, catch!”

Cinder glanced away from the Jabberwock long enough to see something small and round sailing toward her—and plopping into the mud nowhere near close enough to reach.

“Oops,” said Cress.

“Cinder, don’t eat that,” said Thorne. “I don’t even want to know what sorts of germs are thriving in a place like this.” He shuddered.

“What is it?” Cinder said, trying to push herself back, but her ankles kept slipping, her hands kept sinking.

“A macaron,” said Cress. “Scarlet made them. Hold on, we’ve got more.” She disappeared into the body of the ship.

Cinder frowned. “Scarlet can bake?”

“We were surprised, too,” said Thorne.

Cress reappeared. “Here!”

“Wait, let me,” said Thorne. Then—“Here!”

He threw another cookie.

Cinder reached her hand up to catch it…

But it landed with a soft kerplunk right next to the first one.

“Oops,” said Thorne.

Cinder groaned, remembering why it had always seemed so much easier to just save herself.

“Look!” she yelled, pointing in the direction of the group of people, just as the boy in black—Jest, had the girl called him?—did an impressive backflip onto the top of a house-size pumpkin. “There’s a, um, pumpkin. Pie? A pumpkin pie!”

Surprisingly, it worked. The Jabberwock’s head swiveled in the direction she was pointing, giving Cinder just enough time to roll away from its clawed front legs and push herself to her feet. The path to the Rampion was still blocked. She was about to dive for cover behind another humongous pumpkin, when Thorne cried out—“Catch!”

She looked up in time to see the cookie flying toward her head.

Cinder snatched it from the air.

The macaron was orange with green frosting on the inside, and smelled distinctly of spiced pumpkin. White frosting piped onto the top read,EAT ME.

Cinder made a face. “Did it have to be pumpkin?”

But there was little time to think. Evidently having determined there wasn’t really any pumpkin pie to be had, the Jabberwock turned on her once more. This time, still hungry, and now furious.

It screamed and hurtled across the patch, right for Cinder. Jaws open, ready to devour her whole.

If Cinder should eat the cookie, go to Chapter 41.

If Cinder should give the cookie to the Jabberwock, go to Chapter 38.

Chapter 38

As the Jabberwock bore down on Cinder, mouth gaping, she threw the cookie into its maw.

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