Moonflower- A Lunar Chronicles Fanfiction

Chapter 33

Everyone was quiet the next morning when they met in the great hall of the palace. They were split up into their groups for their mission, and there was no shortage of uncertainty floating above them.
Cynthia and Leo stood on each side of the empress, prepping themselves for the most crucial and risky part of the plan while she discussed specifics with Professor Dianem. He was still only a professor to her, there hadn't been time to explain. The emporer's gaze was trained on the empress from his group with Cress, Thorne, and Rikan. The prince was equipped with his toolbox, Cress her port, and Thorne a dazzling and very fake smile. Kinney and Iko were comparing notes with Scarlet and Wolf. Fitz and Jacin stood at their sides marking up the maps on each of their clipboards. Winter, Maha, and Solstice were busy flipping through stories on their ports. Luc was supposed to be joining them, but was more frequently found by the snack table.
Everyone was ready, or at least as ready as they could be. Drawing in a sharp breath, Cynthia stepped up two steps on the grand staircase so she could address everyone.
She didn't even have to get everyone's attention. As soon as she stepped up all eyes were on her. "Alright, one more time, let's review the plan,"
Winter looked up from the port in her hands. "We're scouring the feeds for news of a letumosis outbreak. As soon as we see even a mention of it we'll alert the elder Captain Thorne."
"I'd prefer just Captian Thorne, aces, I'm not a grandfather," Thorne called back. A couple of forced laughs from those in the room did nothing to ease the tension.
"As soon as we get word from Winter we'll be off," Cress answered, staying on task. "Jacin we'll be the on-board doctor to administer the antidotes, Rikan will keep the Rampion in peak shape in case we have to fly around the world a couple times today, Thorne will pilot, I'll be our connection to everyone else, and Kai will bee diplomatic."
"Good, that's our Earth team," Cynthia noted. "Now, Iko?"
Her processor whirred as she recited, "Kinney and I will be in one ship, and Scarlet and Wolf will be just behind with Fitz's ship. While he's our eye in the sky and in contact with Cress, we'll be on the ground in Artemisia causing a disturbance."
"And you're sure you only need the four of you to get a significant amount of thaumaturges away from the palace?" Cynthia checked one last time, though she wouldn't be able to change much.
"Please," Scarlet piped up. "Wolf got the attention of the entire European Federation when a rabbit ate all of the tomatoes in our garden. We can handle a distraction."
Wolf grinned. "I'll never forget the look on the Minister's face when she found out the monstrous roaring that had been coming from a little farm in Rioux was a man mourning tomatoes."
A couple of people actually laughed that time.
"Alright, finally, the palace team," Cynthia said, turning to her mother. She looked regal even in her tank top and cargo pants. Perhaps it was because of her royal blood, or that before this month Cynthia had never seen her mother in anything but a gown or really nice pants, or maybe it was just the pure intensity and courage in her eyes.  Whatever it was, everyone in the room stood up straighter when the empress spoke,
"We're infiltrating the palace, and destroying the Lunar gift."
——-
While Iko and her crew were nestled in the far reaches of Artemisia, Leo had guided their sterile, unfamiliar ship back toward a different trash collection airlock. As they crept through another, different cavernous trash tunnel, Cynthia thanked the stars Kinney had many old guard friends they could fall back on in a time like this.
The tunnel emptied out into the same room as before with the trash chutes. Cynthia felt like she had only just left this place. As if he was thinking the same, Leo met Cynthia's eyes. They held hope that she needed to keep going.
"This one is the one closest to the queen's study right?" Her mother asked. She pointed to the chute second from the right.
Dianem nodded. He was keeping up well for his age. Still, Cynthia hoped they would have little running to do.
Soon they were climbing up a metal chute again. This time Leo led, his fingers glowing with bioelectricty and lighting their path up the metal ramp. It would also be a quick way to defend themselves if anyone was waiting at the top.
As they climbed Cinder whisper-called to the group, "I just got a ping from Cress. There haven't been any letumosis cases reported yet. Also, Iko's group has attracted at least six thaumaturges. Hopefully that's enough to thin out the rest still in the palace."
Her voice was hard and expressionless. Cynthia knew this tone her mother used: completely businesslike and informative. It was a nice distraction from her own thoughts, though there was one that kept nagging her,
They didn't actually know how to eliminate the lunar gift. 
They did, however, know that having the two known anomalies, the only fully-Lunar descendant of the Blackburn line, and a Lunar historian was their best bet. That, and it seemed the empress had an idea of where their answers might lie.
When they reached the top Leo eased open the chute's door. The tiny creaks sounded like thunder to the princess, but there was no one waiting for them. In fact, the hallway was dark and smelled like mold. Dust tickled her nose.
"I doubt anyone's been all the way up here since I last used it," Cinder explained in a hushed tone. "There's just the queen's study and personal chambers on the very top floor, and there hasn't been a need for them since I stepped down."
The four of them crept behind Cinder this time down the hall to a room lit by moonlight through a giant window. It was rather large with many bookshelves, a large desk, and a sitting area for personal guests. The princess wondered how long her mother had spent here during the years she was queen.
"Excuse me if I'm behind," Leo said rather skeptically, "but I'm still not sure why we're here."
"Well Leo, as queen you'd think I'd have finally been allowed to know about all the secrets of Luna and Artemisia. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong. I had to discover this secret for myself."
Cinder pressed a hand against the window, and then she stepped straight through.

A/N: Hi guys! So we're coming up on the final battle of this story, and I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be jumping around POVs for this last part of the book so we can see how all the different groups are handling this, not just Cynthia, so be prepared for the future.

Question: What's your current read? I always love recommendations
Mine is The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye (Sequel to The Crown's Game) I loved the first book so I just had to read the sequel!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Theresa