Page 78 of Cinder
“You’ve done it, my Menace,” he whispered. “You’re free.”
The breath Cin took then felt like his first in ages. It cracked in a sob at the end.
Around them, his birds barreled outward. They shot through the windows, glass shattering outward in a crystalline rain, and the back door tore open under their weight, peeling back with such a fury that it was dragged off its upper hinges. Cin sobbed again, clutching Lorenz’s shirt.
His family’s moans still whispered through the space, but the weight of his wrath felt lighter. Emma sniffled, burying her face into the side of Cin’s leg, clearly terrified, but safe. Free. They were, both of them, free.
Almost, anyway.
From the hall to the parlor rushed the final member of the original watch team, the one who’d been continuing through the house even as the others had all turned their searches outside.Behind him, Cin could just make out the queen, her face pale as she stared at the scene in horror, three of her personal watch members surrounding her. When her gaze landed on her son, the bonds of his chest on full display, a new terror appeared, followed by fury.
Cin tensed. His flock careened by the windows, birds flying through the open back door to fill the space behind him like a deadly throne, a weapon prepared to launch. Those before him weren’t villains, though—and Cin wasn’t a victim in this. He’d made his choices, and he had no regrets.
As the watch member lifted his sword point for the charge, Cin held his ground, his flock alert but unmoving behind him. It was Lorenz who stepped forward.
“You will not touch him!” The desperation in his voice made Cin’s heart lurch, Lorenz growing hoarse as his shouting continued, thick and painful with emotion. “You will not touch the man I l-l—”
The word cut off in a cry. Between the strands of his ripped shirt, the serrated bonds that locked his heart pulsed with darkness as they writhed deeper into him. He grabbed for them, blood welling between his fingers, and Cin grabbed with him. Lorenz’s eyes met Cin’s, endless and open, no longer a pool but the completeness of the night sky, brimming with something so precious Cin did not have to guess at it.
“I love—” Lorenz managed, crying out in pain at the final word.
And Cin whispered back, “I love you, too.”
With everything within him and everything outside himself, every feather of his flock and sparkling drop of their shared magic, he pulled. He could feel his will collide with that of the monstrous dark thing. His mind went numb, like a mile of water lay above him, murky and muggy. A heartbeat pounded in his ears. He could sense more than see: the forest, a fight, a splatterof blood and a scream of agony. But the heartbeat remained, through the shimmer of golden sun on green. The croaking of frogs bubbled in the distance. Hope and fear caught in Cin’s throat. He tightened his grip.
He could sense his flock around him again, their strength flooding his veins. He shoved against the vile magic once more, and its darkness broke for him. It moved like a living thing beneath his fingers. It left gaps of bloody flesh in its wake as it peeled itself off Lorenz’s chest, coming free into Cin’s hands.
With one final shove of power, he hurled it across the kitchen. The dying metal collided with the kitchen hearth. Sparks flared through the chimney and rolled across the stone, unfurling like vines until they met wood. The wall caught fire.
Cin grabbed Emma’s hand in one of his and Lorenz’s shoulder in the other and pulled them toward the back door. The queen and her guard followed on their heels, a flood of birds pushing them all toward safety. Behind them, Louise’s corpse already smelled of burning fat and seared muscle as the magic-sparked fire spread in a rampage. Floy and Manfred whimpered and wailed as they scrambled away, their father catching flame silently behind them.
Cin ignored them all. He dragged Lorenz and Emma far enough into the garden that he couldn’t feel the fire as it curled up the kitchen walls and ascended through the house’s too-many rooms. Carried, Cin hoped, by the draft in his own room. He could feel Perdition’s small body as she slipped through that very gap, fleeing the fire in a burst of magic.
As they came to a stop, he could not help but smile at his prince.
Lorenz swayed, and his hand came away from his chest. Red.
Fear turned Cin’s body cold. Lorenz collapsed away from him, crumbling onto his back in the garden grass. Blood pooled inthe open gashes where his bonds had been, spilling in streams across his skin.
Cin’s whole world seemed to sway. He was atop Lorenz in a moment, his flock a distant crackle in his ears as they poured around him protectively. He shoved his palms against the wounds he’d left when he’d torn Lorenz’s bonds free. Wounds, deep as blade-marks. Cin choked on the thought. He could hear the queen screaming somewhere, everywhere—or maybe that was him, crying Lorenz’s name as he tried frantically to stop the bleeding.
Through the cloud of birds around him, a single pigeon descended on to his shoulder.
He knew her by touch, by song, and by the way she pressed into the crook of his neck, her soft back ruffling against his skin. Amidst the din of his terror, her weight sparked something in the back of Cin’s mind; she was heavy. Far heavier than Lacey and Ragimund’s bodies now were, tucked into one arm as he used his hands against Lorenz’s chest. No bones, no blood, no flesh remained of them—only feathers, shimmering with a final hint of magic.
Cin moved on instinct. He pressed the feathers into Lorenz’s wounds. Wherever they entered, fresh skin spilled into place, modeled in Lacey’s gray and Hap’s white and brown, as though knit from the very souls of Cin’s precious companions. As the final gash sealed over, he could feel a spark of them settle into Lorenz, gracious and arrogant, kind and brave.
Lorenz gagged in a breath and coughed it out. A shimmer ran through his new flesh, the tangled lines crisscrossing his chest. It held in place, healthy and strong as the magic that flowed through it.
Cin wasn’t sure whether he was laughing or crying as he leaned over Lorenz, pulling him into his arms. His prince clung to him in return, echoing his sentiments until slowly theirsounds turned to soft, giddy cackles. Lorenz cupped the side of Cin’s face, grinning up at him.
“I love you,” he whispered, and the magic flesh over his heart shimmered as though in agreement. He said it again, then a third time, and with each repetition, Cin’s smile widened. If they had been the only people on earth, he would have been happy to stay like that forever.
But even with Lorenz’s love, Cin was still the Menace, and his prince the future king, and a whole different justice was coming to call for them both.
Thirty-Two
Cin was growing increasingly aware of the crowd circling him and Lorenz. A ring of Cin’s flock—now even larger than it had been in the kitchen—guarded them as the crown’s watch members waited beyond, weapons drawn. Edging closest was the queen. Her husband had a hand on her shoulder, like he might try to pull her into the protection of his arms if the birds descended, though his eyes were locked on Lorenz.
