Page 36 of Cinder's Adventure: Get Me To the Wedding!

“And our rulers are both competent and likeable,” said Cress.

“Plus,” added Cinder, “the market in New Beijing has been lacking a good bakery for years.”

“What do you say?” said Thorne.

Looks were traded. Hopeful silences were considered. Uncertainty was replaced with hopeful smiles.

“What about a hat shop?” said Hatta. “Do people in this New Beijing place have much fashion sense?”

Cinder laughed. “Just wait until you meet my best friend. You and Iko will get along great.”

“Well, then.” Hatta took out a pocket watch. “I’ve been running from Time for so long. Why stop now?”

He strode up the ramp into the ship, and was followed fast by a giddy Mary Ann.

Jest lifted Cath’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her thumb. Her eyes glistened.

“We beat the prophecy,” she whispered. “We can be together.”

“Finally,” he whispered back. He glanced at the bird perched on his shoulder. “What do you say, Raven? Shall we embark on a new adventure?”

The raven cawed. “With good friends and a life full of laughter, what else can we ask for, but happy ever after?”

Together, they boarded the ship and took off toward the stars.

Proceed to Chapter 8.

Chapter 41

Cinder squeezed her eyes shut and bit into the macaron.

She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but it definitely wasn’tthis.

The macaron was heaven distilled into sugar and almond. It crumbled beneath her teeth, then melted on her tongue. Cinder moaned, sure she’d never tasted anything so delectable.

Just as she polished off the cookie, she felt her body changing.

Transforming.

Shrinking.

She had hardly blinked before all the world altered around her. Everything else grew enormous—

While she became as small as a mouse.

Once the world stopped shifting and her body’s size seemed to regulate, Cinder glanced around, amazed at how different everything looked from this point of view.

Until she turned in a full circle and spied—herself, staring back.

She gasped and, adrenaline running high, prepared to attack the impostor. But the impostor made the same surprised face and sank into a perfect imitation of Cinder’s stance.

A reflection, she realized. Stepping closer, she studied herself in the mirror—what must have been a small hand mirror left in the dirt. She looked haggard from all the running around and general absurdity of her day, but she could deal with looking haggard.

“What am I supposed to do now?” she said, pressing a hand against the mirror’s smooth surface.

But she leaned against it too hard, and the next moment, she had tumbled straight through the glass.

Proceed to Chapter 30.

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