Cinder was forced to live with her stepfamily — Adri, Peony, and Pearl. Adri was her stepmother, and Peony and Pearl were her daughters. Cinder was eighteen, Peony was sixteen, and Pearl was nineteen. Adri and Pearl hated Cinder because they blamed her for Bruce’s (Adri’s late husband’s) death. Peony, however, loved Cinder and was her only true friend — the only one in the family who cared about her.

Bruce had brought Cinder home when she was just eleven years old. At the time, she was unconscious and kept in a tank, with no memory of who had cared for her before. After Bruce died, Adri blamed Cinder for everything.

Cinder’s closest companion was an android named Iko. Iko had a very human-like personality and adored Cinder. Adri despised Iko too and often threatened to sell her, but no one wanted to buy such an old android.

Cinder and Iko worked in a mechanic shop that used to belong to Bruce — now owned by Adri. Adri herself never worked a day in her life, so all the money Cinder and Iko earned went straight to her. Since Cinder was still legally a minor, she couldn’t keep any of it for herself.

—

One day, the Prince of New Beijing —Prince Kai visited the mechanic shop to get his android repaired.

“This android is very old,” Cinder said. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fix it.”

Kai was very good-looking — and Cinder couldn’t help but notice. She tried not to fall for him, but it was hard. Peony also had a crush on Kai, a deep admiration that bordered on obsession.

“She has a lot of important information on her,” Kai explained. “I can pay double. Everyone says you’re the best mechanic in town.”

Cinder tried not to smile. “I can try, but it’ll take some time — maybe a week or two.”

Iko tried to flirt with Kai, but Cinder shot her a look, and Iko quickly slipped into the storage room.

—

A few days later, news spread that the royal family was hosting a grand ball. Adri told Cinder she could only go if she managed to fix the family’s hover before the day of the event. But Cinder knew it didn’t matter — even if she finished the repairs, Adri would just find something else to keep her home.

Cinder was in the palace Hospital. She was there to talk to Dr. Erland. On her way out, She meets Kai. They talked for a bit about Kai’s android.

“I think you should come to the ball with me.” Kai says. Kai has already asked her once a few days ago. She clutched her fingers. His expression was too genuine, too sure. Her nerves tingled. “Stars,” she muttered. “Didn’t you already ask me that?” “I’m hoping for a more favorable answer this time. And I seem to be getting more desperate by the minute.”

“How charming.” Kai’s lips twitched. “Please?” “Why?” “Why not?” “I mean, why me?”

Kai hooked his thumbs on his pockets. “So if my escape hover breaks down, I’ll have someone on hand to fix it?” She rolled her eyes and found herself unable to look at him again, staring instead at the red emergency button beside the doors. “I mean it. I can’t go alone. And I really can’t go with Levana.” “Well there are about 200,000 single girls in this city who would fall over themselves to have the privilege.” A hush passed between them. He wasn’t touching her, but she could feel his presence, warm and overpowering. She could feel the elevator growing hot, despite the fact that her temperature gauge assured her it hadn’t changed.

“Cinder.” She couldn’t help it. She looked up at him. Her defenses withered a bit upon encountering the openness in his brown eyes. “200,000 single girls. Why not you?”