Cinder ducked down a hallway in the palace that she'd never been down before, and froze. Images of the royal family's glamours lined the walls.
She paced down the hall, staring at the images. Her family. She'd never seen any of them except for Levana.
There was a woman with moon-blonde hair and violet eyes, with a small sign reading Jannali Blackburn. There was Levana, auburn hair and pale skin- her glamour.
Then Cinder spotted it. The woman, with a smiling face, long brown hair and tanned skin. Channary Blackburn.
Her mother.
She glanced down at her arm, comparing the color. It matched exactly. They looked exceptionally alike, except for Cinder's metal parts and her other flaws, dirt and little scars.
It was… shocking, she supposed, that she looked so much like her mother, but not that shocking. That was how Levana had known who she was, after all, when she used a glamour.
Cinder felt sick. This was the woman who had burned Levana so badly that the woman had tried to kill Cinder, had hidden herself behind glamours and veils, had tried to conquer the world.
Then Cinder saw another one. Next to Levana. Selene Blackburn. This was her, complete with her cyborg parts. Surprising compared to the flawless images of the rest of the royalty. Whoever had done this had known that she would not want to be portrayed as flawless.
She smiled and kept walking, leaving behind the rest of the royal family, and looking for her real family.