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Carswell Thorne was definitely not having the best day ever.
He was standing on one of the roofs of the New Beijing Palace, surrounded by Lunar guards, a thaumaturge, and their friends, the latter of which were either being controlled or laying on the ground. According to Cress, Iko was injured, Cinder was possibly unconscious, Wolf was being manipulated by the thaumaturge, and KaiーThorne had no idea where Kai was. He had nearly forgotten about him.
He froze, contemplating their odds. If he didn’t do something soon, he, Cress, and their companions would either be dead or captured. He wasn’t sure which was worse. The head thaumaturge, Sybil Mira, was known for her brutality and loyalty to Queen Levana. She would most likely kill them on the spot. All but Cinder, who would be shipped up to Luna and murdered by Levana herself.
None of that was going to happen, Thorne assured himself.
Suddenly, he remembered a promise he had made Cress in the desert, when she was sure that she was dying. He had promised to kiss her when they were about to die, and he did not plan on breaking that promise, unlike any he’d ever made before. Cress was important, and he couldn’t lose her trust and companionship by breaking a promise. He was doing it for her.
Okay, maybe he was doing it for himself, too. But only a little.
You’re just kissing a pretty girl, he told himself. Nothing you’ve never done before. Nothing to worry about.
But this time, for some reason, he was nervous.
Thorne took a deep breath, and prepared himself. She was pressed against his chest, and he could feel her sharp, frightened breaths. “I guess it’s time,” he said, more to himself than to Cress, but he could somehow tell that she heard.
As easily as lying, cheating, and stealing came to him, he spun her around and dipped her backwards, letting her hands clutch at his shirt as she yelped. Quickly, he slipped his arm under her back to hold her.
Then his lips met hers, and something inside of him came alive.
This is not for me, he reminded himself. This is for her. For Cress. Because I promised.
Except, if he cared to admit, he was seriously enjoying it. Her lips were super soft and she was clutching his shirt, melting into the kiss. Plus, she tasted like sunshine, if that was even possible. And that thing inside of him was begging for more. That feeling scared him, at first, but he kept his lips pressed firmly against hers and held her tight. He could tell she was unsure, but he made sure to coax her confidence out with his lips. He knew it was deep down inside her, somewhere. Not every girl was brave enough to lead a blind man through a desert, get kidnapped, and escape without assistance, after all. Her bravery was there, it just wasn’t obvious.
He was honestly relishing the feel of her soft lips and her silky hair and her dress whipping around their legs, but he knew they had no chance to slip past Sybil and her minions if they were lip-locked the whole time, so he righted her and tucked her against his chest, suddenly feeling protective.
He could feel her heart beating wildly against his lower stomach, and hoped she couldn’t feel his own where it was thumping near her ear. Sometimes, their height difference drove him crazy.
Remembering the gun at his side, he whipped it out of the holster and pointed it in the general direction of the chaos, noting Cress’s scream once he’d shot it. Hopefully he hadn’t just shot anyone he cared about.
A hand grabbed his collar roughly, and he elbowed the offending person, glad when the hand released his shirt. Hearing more gunshots, he turned and aimed the gun toward them. How could he know who to shoot?
“Cress, do me a favor,” he started, turning her so that her back was to his chest and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Make sure I don’t shoot anyone we like.”
He fired again, and after a split second, Cress gasped and wrapped her hands around Thorne’s and aimed the gun a bit to the right. Another shot, and he heard a body hit the ground.
He shot two more times before he heard the unmistakable click of the empty gun. Cursing, he shoved it back into its holster. “Well, that was fun while it lasted.”
An unfamiliar laugh echoed through Thorne’s ears, and he assumed it was a guard. By the way Cress’s hands tightened around his, the man was probably one of the high-ranking ones. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll be killing you now,” the guard said.
How generous. “Aren’t you a gentleman?” Thorne deadpanned, and pulled Cress behind him, raising his fists. Even without his sight, he could probably knock the guy clean out. Hopefully.
He squinted underneath the bandanna and prepared for the guard to make the first move, but a piercing, agonizing scream filled his head. Whoever was screaming sounded insane. He ducked and clamped his hands over his ears, and felt Cress do the same beside him. He had no idea who the scream was coming from. Cinder, possibly? Aces, he hoped not. He could not have the leader of the revolution going mad.
The screaming continued, and suddenly Thorne felt the absence of Cress’s body next to him, at the same time that the guard that had volunteered to kill them yelled, “Stop!”
Cress screamed, and Thorne’s heart twisted. He reached for her, but she was not beside him. Had the guard hurt her? If he had done anything to Cressー
“I said stop, or I’ll crush her throat!” The guard’s voice was barely audible over the screaming. Thorne whipped around. Cress. He immediately started searching for something to use against the guard. His gun? But it was empty.
He could hear Cress softly struggling, kicking against her captor, and past memories filled Thorne’s head. Him leaving Cress alone in the hotel room. Cress not knowing what he was doing at the bar. Cress being kidnapped. Protectiveness surged through his veins, and he pawed at the ground. His hand made contact with rough wood suddenly, and he raised the cane above his head. Crack.
The guard fell to the ground, hard, and Thorne reached a hand out for Cress, hearing the soft, padded sound of her footsteps coming closer in an uneven rhythm. She was probably trying to catch her breath.
“I found my cane,” Thorne told her, tossing it above his head and trying to catch it. The cane clattered to the floor, and he flinched, picking it up. He turned back to Cress. “Are you all right?”
Cress was next to him again, and she answered shakily, “Y-yes.”
Thank the stars. “Good.” He looked around, annoyed that he couldn’t see anything. “Now what in the name of spades is all the screaming about?”
“I don’t know. Cinder’s doing something to Mistress Sybil...something with her gift.”
He rolled his eyes under the bandanna, though he was glad it wasn’t Cinder doing the screaming. “Well, it’s annoying and we’re running out of time. Come on.” He swept out his arm for Cress to lead the way.
When they reached Cinder, Thorne gestured around him, curious as to what exactly was happening. “Describe.”
“Um…” Cress hesitated. “Cinder is...right here, on the ground, and Wolf is over there,” she paused, and he assumed she was pointing, “trying to wake Iko up. She’s hurt. And Sybil…”
He could picture exactly what was happening to Sybil, and he didn’t expect Cress to continue her sentence. She was probably in shock, seeing as to she’d never seen things like this with her own eyes. But neither had he, honestly.
“Maybe Cinder has to be rebooted,” Thorne suggested, focusing on what he could do to help. “That happened once before. Here.” He reached under Cinder’s head and felt around for her control panel. It opened with a click.
A hand grabbed his wrist suddenly, and the sudden movement brought him to the ground.
“Don’t. Open. My control panel,” Cinder snapped, releasing his hand. There was another click, and Thorne guessed she had closed the panel.
“Then stop going comatose on me!” he replied, pushing himself onto his feet. Why was she so defensive when it came to him? “Can we go now, before the entire Commonwealth military shows up?” He hoped they wouldn’t be delayed any more. This whole kidnapping thing was not supposed to take this long.
There was a pause, before Cinder muttered, “Iko…”
Thorne sighed. “Right.” Where even was Iko? Or Kai? “Wolf, could you get the android, please? And the emperor, I trust he’s still around here somewhere?”
No one spoke for a few beats, but then Wolf said, “Sirens.” Another pause. “Heading this direction.”
Thorne listed his head, trying to hear. The faint whine from the streets below was barely audible.
“Which means the military won’t be far behind,” Cinder said. “I take it there’s no sign of Jacin?”
No one responded, but Thorne glanced around, eyes unseeing, unsure as to why he was even trying to look for the guard. One, Thorne couldn’t actually see, and two, Jacin was weird and emotionless. Not like Thorne actually wanted to find him.
“Figures,” Cinder piped up. There was a shuffling sound, and Thorne assumed she was standing up. “Thorne, you’re with me in the cockpit. Jacin and I practiced takeoffs...once. You can help jog my memory.”
Thorne stood, and Cress ducked under his arm, wrapping hers around his waist. It was funny how natural those gestures felt to Thorneーwrapping an arm around Cress’s shoulders, linking his arm through hers, holding her against his chestー
He pushed the thoughts out of his head, mentally scolding himself for letting his mind wander. That weird feeling he had around Cress was still new to him, and it was a little scary. He knew it wouldn’t do any good if he let himself fall completely in love with her, especially since it was highly unlikely any of them would survive the revolution. Even so, the number of little butterflies in his stomach grew when she pressed herself against his side.
He thought about kissing her again, but managed to restrain himself. He would have no excuse for a second kiss if he initiated one.
They stopped to pick up Iko’s broken body and Kai’s unconscious form, both of which they hurried toward the Rampion. Before they could finish walking up the ramp, however, the sound of strained laughter stopped Cinder and Wolf in their tracks. Cress stopped Thorne from crashing into them.
The sound of heavy boots echoed off of the walls of the cargo bay, and suddenly Wolf’s voice was floating towards them from a few meters away. “Where is she? Is she still alive?”
His voice broke with emotion, and Thorne hung his head. He hoped he would never have to know what it would be like to be separated from someone he loved as long as Wolf had been separated from Scarlet. He didn’t need to see Wolf’s face at that moment, because he could feel the anger and sadness radiating off the man’s whole body. Though he hadn’t known Scarlet for a very long timeーhe hadn’t actually known any of them for very longーhe hoped Scarlet was safe, or would be, when they eventually went to rescue her. He’d gotten used to her spunk and fiery personality the few weeks she’d been on the Rampion with them. If he ended up surviving the revolution, he was going to miss them all.
Sybil Mira’s shrill, mad voice rang out, jumbling Thorne’s thoughts. “Whatーwhat pretty birds!” She lapsed into a fit of giggles, and Thorne felt Cress’s head turn slightly, pressing lightly against his chest. He tried to imagine what was running through her head, seeing her lifelong guardian, who was normally so cool and collected, convulsing on the ground and laughing.
Wolf snarled, and a body fell to the floor with a thump. Sybil laughed again, and Wolf’s footsteps ascended on the ramp. Thorne was glad when the ramp closed and the engines started, and both Sybil’s incoherent giggles and the distant sirens could no longer be heard.
When the group gathered in the galley briefly to touch on their plans after they reached neutral orbit and to make sure Kai and Iko received the proper attention, Thorne couldn’t help but get distracted. Whenever Cress piped in about helping the crew’s mission with her software and coding and mathematics skills, he was reminded of his fulfilled promise and hoped it was a good kiss. He personally though it was a good kiss. A great kiss, actually. It was sweet and passionate and just the right amount of daring. He hoped Cress felt the same. After all, he had promised her for a kiss, and he hoped it met her standards. Not that she’d have any standards when it came to kissing, since she’d been on a satellite half her life. He doubted she’d ever kissed anyone before. But he was glad that he’d done it, even though they didn’t end up dying in that moment. What if they had, and Cress hadn’t gotten her passionate kiss she had asked for? The one he had promised her?
The meeting went by quickly, and afterwards the group dispersed to do various tasks. Thorne was left in the galley to ponder the events of the past few days, and he sat, uncharacteristically, alone in silence for a while. He wasn’t only one feeling a bit different than normal, however. He knew that the revolution, though it was hardly beginning, was taking a toll on the crew.
He hoped that he lived to see the result. And if not, he hoped that Cress did. That girl deserved some happiness and safety in her life.
As if hearing his thoughts, the sound of Cress’s voice floated toward him from the cockpit. Curious, Thorne picked up his cane and felt his way toward the sound. He knew just how much her voice soothed and distracted him, along with the rest of the crew. Even Cinder had confessed once that she had listened to Cress’s singing and it helped her forget about the stress of the revolution and being a wanted criminal and all, just for a second.
Cress was sitting in the pilot’s seatーhis seat! He found he didn’t really mind, thoughーfacing the main netscreen and tapping her fingers against it every few beats. She was singing the lullaby she had sung in the desert, and her sweet, soprano voice washed over him. He closed his eyes behind the blindfold, and tried to focus on the song only. The words, and where she put emphasis. Which parts were most important to her.
Sweet Crescent Moon, up in the sky...