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Laughing, she released her hold on Kai’s hand. The wrench clattered to the ground. Kai jumped back then, realizing he had control of his own limb again, stooped to pick it up.

“That’s beside the point,” said Cinder. “With Wolf, there’s some challenge, some focus required, but with Earthens…”

Kai shook his head. “All right, I get it. But what can I do? I feel so useless, milling around this ship while the war is going on, and you’re all making plans, and I’m just waiting.

She grimaced at the frustration in his tone. Kai was responsible for so many people, and she knew that he felt like he’d abandoned them, even if he hadn’t been given a choice. Even if she hadn’t given him a choice.

He’d been kind to her. Since that first argument after he’d woken up aboard the Rampion, he’d been careful not to blame her for his frustrations. It was her fault, though. He knew it and she knew it and sometimes it felt like they were caught in a dance Cinder didn’t know the steps to. Each of them avoiding this very obvious truth so that they didn’t disrupt the mutual ground they’d discovered. The all-too-uncertain happiness they’d discovered.

“The only chance we have of succeeding,” she said, “is if you can persuade Levana to host the wedding on Luna. So right now, you can be thinking about how you’re going to accomplish that.” Leaning forward, she pressed a soft kiss against his mouth. (Eighteen.) “Good thing you’re such a great talker.”

A FEIWEL AND FRIENDS BOOK

An Imprint of Macmillan

FAIREST. Copyright © 2015 by Rampion Books. All rights reserved. For information, address Feiwel and Friends, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Meyer, Marissa.

Fairest / Marissa Meyer. — First edition.

pages cm. — (Lunar chronicles; book 4)

Summary: “Queen Levana is a ruler who uses her ‘glamour’ to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story—a story that has never been told … until now” — Provided by publisher.

[1.  Science fiction.   2.  Kings, queens, rulers, etc.—Fiction.   3.  Cyborgs—Fiction.   4.  Extraterrestrial beings—Fiction.]   I.  Title.

PZ7.M571737Fai 2015

[Fic]—dc23

2014042420

ISBN

978-1-250-06055-6 (hardcover)

978-1-250-06959-7 (Target edition)

978-1-250-06966-5 (international edition)

978-1-250-06874-3 (ebook)

Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto

First Edition: 2015

macteenbooks.com

eISBN 9781250068743

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The Friends who made

FAIREST

possible are:

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publisher

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editor in chief

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associate editor

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executive managing editor

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editor

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associate editor

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administrative assistant

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