Cinder

Cinder arrives to the quarantine, hoping she is in time to save Peony. Cinder attempts to give Peony the antidote, but is too late: Peony is dead. Not wanting to believe this, Cinder tells a deceased Peony that Prince Kai agrees to dance with her at the ball. The emotions of loss related to Peony’s death spark the same kind of pain in Cinder that arrives with the resurgence of her Lunar magic.

After every letumosis death, a med-droid arrives to remove the deceased’s ID chip. Rather than let the droid take Peony’s ID chip, Cinder physically assaults it with the scalpel intended for removal of the chip, saying, “I don’t care what you’ve been programmed to do. You can’t have this one” (262). Cinder removes Peony’s ID chip, with an apology to Peony as she does so. Cinder then sees Chang Sancha’s son, Sunto, and chooses to give him the antidote. Outside of the quarantine, law enforcement androids arrest Cinder.

Prince Kai, Torin, Queen Levana, Sybil, and another thaumaturge gather for a meal in the palace dining room. At the queen’s request, humans, not androids, serve the meal because Levana “claimed it went against her people’s morals, and the laws of nature to bestow fake emotions and thoughts on man-made machines” (266). Kai understands the logic in her lie: Levana’s true dislike of androids stems from her inability to glamour them.

Uncomfortable discussions continue, including the queen’s trivial description of the effects of the “Fourth World War” (267). The approaching festival and ball commemorates the conclusion of the war: “Millions had died in World War IV; whole cultures had been devastated, dozens of cities reduced to rubble—including the original Beijing” (267). The group moves into a discussion about a peace treaty, with veiled reference to a marriage between Prince Kai and Queen Levana.

As food is served, Queen Levana reacts with discontent at a small mirror tucked within the food on her plate. She blames the server and orders Sybil to punish the server. Using her glamour, Sybil commands the server to raise a knife to her eye, but before damage is done, Kai admits guilt to save the server. After Queen Levana and her entourage leave, Kai and Torin take a closer look at the mirror, noticing that is a Lunar mirror. Torin states that Levana was testing Kai. Following this realization, a message arrives detailing an assault on med-droids in the quarantine, the escape of the person committing the assault (Cinder), and the recovery of an ill boy. 

Cinder arrives home to more of Adri’s cyborg insults and accusations of taking advantage of the freedoms she extends to Cinder. She asks why Cinder visited the palace, which alerts Cinder that Adri is tracking her ID chip. Cinder lies about going to the palace for the protest. She accuses Cinder of planning to run away, and stealing from her to pay for her hover transportation to the palace and her mechanical foot: “‘After everything that I’ve done for you,’ continued Adri, ‘everything we’ve sacrificed, you have the gall to steal from me’” (278).

Adri’s response to Peony’s death involves blaming Cinder for not having enough money for a plaque. She aims her anger at losing Peony with more accusations: Cinder isn’t human; Cinder can’t cry. Cinder defends herself, stating her adoption and Peony’s death fall are not Cinder’s fault.

As a way to pay for a plaque for Peony, Adri demands Cinder’s foot. Cinder removes the foot, knowing, legally, the foot belongs to Adri. As she limps to her bedroom, she notices Iko’s parts splayed across her bed, but luckily Iko’s personality chip remains.