“Tutor8.6 model,” said Cinder, reading off Nainsi’s panel. “She looks to be in pristine condition.”
Kai opened his mouth to agree, but before he could, Cinder raised a fist and brought it hard against the side of Nainsi’s spherical head. Kai jumped in surprise. The android began to topple off the table, but Cinder caught her easily and set her back on her treads. She seemed almost—almost—sheepish when she said, “You’d be surprised how often that works.”
Kai laughed, a little awkwardly. He was no longer sure exactly who was trying to impress who … or if either of them were succeeding. “Are you sure you’re Linh Cinder? The mechanic?”
A high-pitched voice interrupted them, along with the crunch of android treads on the street. “Cinder! I’ve got it!”
Kai turned to see a servant android rolling toward them, its blue sensor light flashing excitedly.
The android slammed a second robotic foot onto the table, its plating shiny and clean compared with the old one’s. “It’s a huge improvement over the old one, only lightly used, and the wiring looks compatible as is. Plus, I was able to get the dealer down to just six hundred univs.”
The mechanic grabbed the new foot and dropped it behind the table. “Good work, Iko. Nguyen-shìfu will be delighted to have a replacement foot for his escort-droid.”
“Nguyen-shìfu?” said the android. “I don’t compute.”
With a nervous smile, Cinder tilted her head toward Kai. “Iko, please pay your respects to our customer … His Imperial Highness.”
The android tilted back her bulbous head. Though androids didn’t have genders, many personality chips were programmed to identify more male or female, and it was clear from the high voice that this was a she. It was an easy connection for Kai to make—after all, this Iko had a similar body style to Nainsi, who he’d always thought of as a she as well.
The android’s sensor flashed as she scanned Kai’s face. “Prince Kai,” she said, her voice taking on the unexpected tinge of a sigh. “You are even more handsome in person.”
Kai laughed—a sudden, uncontrollable laugh that burst out of him before he could reel it back.
“That’s enough, Iko,” said Cinder. “Get in the booth.”
The android obeyed, ducking under the tablecloth.
Still grinning, Kai leaned against the sturdy frame of the booth’s rolling door. “You don’t see a personality like that every day. Did you program her yourself?”
Cinder started to smile, too, and though it had a sardonic edge to it, Kai felt like he’d won something. “Believe it or not, she came that way. I suspect a programming error, which is probably why my stepmother got her so cheap.”
“I do not have a programming error!” Iko’s irate voice screeched from behind one of the towering shelves.
Kai chuckled again. Cinder caught his eye for a brief moment before she looked away.
Back at Nainsi.
The reason he was here. The oh-so-important reason.
Why was he so distracted?
He lowered the zipper on his sweatshirt a hair. The heat was becoming unbearable. His shirt would be drenched with sweat by the time he got back to the hover, and he was grateful that it hadn’t yet seeped through the sweatshirt.
“So what do you think?” he asked.
“I’ll need to run her diagnostics. It will take me a few days, maybe a week.” Cinder pushed a strand of hair behind one ear and lowered herself into a chair.
Only then did Kai realize that she’d been trembling a little. Maybe she was dehydrated.
He thought of offering to go get her some water, but then remembered that she had an android assistant to do those things for her. So instead, he held up his ID-implanted wrist and asked, “Do you need payment up front?”
Cinder was waving away the suggestion almost before he’d finished. “No, thank you. It will be my honor.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but hesitated. This wasn’t uncommon when he was dealing with small business owners—they seemed to think that his patronage was payment enough, or maybe the publicity that would be gained from it. Arguing over a payment generally led to the vendor feigning offense and him feeling like a braggart.
He lowered his hand and shifted his attention to Nainsi again. “I don’t suppose there’s any hope of having her done before the festival?”
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” said Cinder, shutting Nainsi’s control panel. “But without knowing what’s wrong with her—”
“I know, I know.” Kai hooked his thumbs on his sweatshirt pockets and rocked back on his heels. Ever since he’d started searching for Princess Selene it had been his dream to announce her survival and imminent reclamation of her throne at the annual ball. It was, after all, a celebration of world peace. He could think of no greater gift to his country than ridding them of Queen Levana, their sneakiest and most deceitful enemy. “Just wishful thinking.”