Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

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Chapter 28 Summary

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During dinner in the palace dining hall, Prince Kai and Queen Levana eat shrimp wontons and discuss war. Queen Levana says that Earth is prone to warfare because, unlike Luna, its government is fragmented into many countries. She goads Kai, suggesting that her world is better because the people live in peace, unified under one government, without disagreements.

Kai forces himself to keep calm. Queen Levana’s words make him angry, but he knows that she is trying to bait him. He remembers the pictures of mutant soldiers on the moon and reminds himself that, if he makes diplomacy mistakes, that army may attack Earth.

A group of servants enter the room carrying plates covered with silver domes, which they set down before each dining dignitary. When the servants remove the domes, Queen Levana shrieks. There is no dinner on her plate. There is only a small mirror—and everyone knows that Lunars despise mirrors.

The servant who delivered the mirror is a gray-haired woman who looks as astonished as everyone else. Queen Levana accuses the servant of deliberate insolence and says she must be punished. Kai protests, pointing out that there is no proof the woman did anything wrong.

Queen Levana waves away Kai’s objection, saying that if the servant woman is innocent, the real wrongdoer will suffer the punishment of guilt. The queen focuses her mind control abilities on the servant, who takes a knife from the table and, with a shaking hand, turns it on herself. At the same time, she cries out in fear, begging for mercy.

“I did it!” shouts Prince Kai. Everything stops, and he says, shakily, that he placed the mirror on Queen Levana’s plate. He claims that “it was meant as a friendly joke,” but that he now understands his mistake. He begs for the queen’s forgiveness and insists that she release the servant, who is not responsible.

The room falls silent as everyone waits to hear how the queen will reply. Kai is lying, of course, and everyone knows it. However, Queen Levana cannot prove it, nor can she attack the young heir to the throne of the Eastern Commonwealth. She allows the servant to drop the knife, then coldly accepts Kai’s apology and stalks out.

After the queen leaves, Kai examines the mirror. Its handle is made of a strange, shimmering material—a Lunar substance. He shows it to Torin, who immediately understands the significance. Queen Levana had the mirror placed on her tray herself. The whole scene was a test to see what Kai would do.

Before Kai can react, he is interrupted by a messenger who says that there has been a disturbance at the letumosis quarantine facilities. Two med-droids were attacked, and something happened to one of the patients, a little boy. Miraculously, the boy appears to be getting better.

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Chapter 29 Summary