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Cinder

It was probably a bad idea for Cinder to be sitting on the edge of the Black Woods, which just so happened to be full of centaurs out for her blood and might have one or two werewolves wandering around in the daytime biting and killing stuff. But right then, she couldn't care less. She didn't care about the centaurs, she didn't care about the werewolves, she didn't even care about the meeting that she was missing right now with the rest of the Centaurs' Most Wanted. All she cared about, was the letter clutched in her hand. The writing was almost illegible, smudged and run through the paper with random drops of water, but that didn't matter to Cinder. She knew what it said, and she doubted she'd ever forget. The cold, unfeeling words marched across her thoughts like a grim, grey army, the syllables seeming to scream at her with every footstep.

Dear Cinder Linh,

We regret to inform you that Peony Linh, at 7 o'clock this morning, Beijing time, passed away as a result of contracting the disease known as letumosis. Our heart-felt sorrows go out to you and your family.

Our deepest condolences,

Phoenix Hospital

Peony was dead. Cinder knew it was going to happen. The odds of the wizard medical industry finding a cure to letumosis was pretty much non-existent. Cinder knew this, but the shock of Peony's death still felt like a bludger had been driven straight through her chest. Never again would Peony come up to her asking her to fix her sneakoscope. Never again would she listen to Peony gushing about boys. Never again would Peony run up to her giggling about her new dress. All those little things that made Cinder's life with her adoptive family bearable were made by Peony. Peony giggling, Peony complaining, Peony being sarcastic, Peony being… Peony. That was all gone, for good. And it was never coming back. Cinder closed her eyes, trying to imagine a life back home without her bubbly little sister, but she couldn't see it. All she could see was Pearl imperiously demanding she fix her two-way mirror, Adri forcing her to do yet more chores, and both of them glaring at her, accusation burning in their eyes, blaming her for the death of the one light in the dark, poisonous household.

Cinder despondently tilted her head up to look at the sky. Whatever magic held winter at bay here at Artemisia seemed to be weakening, for the sky was a miserable grey and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Or maybe the world was just quietly grieving for the loss of Peony's bright, pure heart.

Cinder looked down, eyes stinging, to see a pair of shoes had materialised in front of her. She stared at them, trying to focus around the tears slowly spilling from her eyes and dripping down her cheeks. They were smart shoes, black, shiny and neatly laced. They were attached to some legs, wearing neatly pressed black pants, which was attached to a torso wearing a crisp white button down shirt, which was attached to a head, gazing down at her with worried copper-brown eyes.

Cinder looked back down. "Hello Kai."

He knelt down in front of her. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer at first. Peony's death felt like an open wound, and talking about it seemed about as helpful as driving thorns into it. But even as the thought surfaced in the grief-ridden depths of her mind, other thoughts rose with it. Iko comforting Cinder when she first received the letter stating Peony's sickness. Kai holding her as she cried on his shoulder. Kai's sob-torn voice as he told her about his father's death that morning. His father's death by letumosis.

Kai had lost family to letumosis. He knew the pain of receiving each letter, telling him without emotion that a loved one was one step closer to dying. Her other friends could give her comforting words and sympathetic glances, but Kai… Kai could understand. And that counted for so, so much.

"I got a letter this morning." Cinder murmured. Her voice sounded weak and wavering, even to her own ears. "From Phoenix Hospital."

Kai's eyes widened. "Your sister… is she…?"

Cinder hugged her knees closer to her chest before nodding.

She didn't resist as Kai wrapped and arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Her only movement was turning her head to bury her face in his chest. Kai didn't speak. He knew that words weren't what Cinder needed right then. What she needed was someone to be there, to offer a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold onto. And Kai was doing just that.

"Thank you." She whispered, so quietly she wasn't sure he'd hear her.

"No need to thank me. What're friends for?" he replied, his voice just as soft.

Cinder tilted her head upward to look at him. "Friends?"

Kai frowned briefly, before his eyes widened slightly in recognition. Cinder felt her prosthetics start to grow warm as his gaze briefly darted to her lips, but not quite as violently as before. She decided to take that as a good sign.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned toward Kai, pressing her lips to his.

A/N: Sorry this is so short but… KAIDER! FINALLY AFTER SO MUCH BUILD-UP THEY'RE OFFICIALLY A COUPLE IN THIS STORY!

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