Cinder: Chapter 33 Summary & Analysis

Cinder quickly pulls on the dress, the gloves, and installs her 11-year-old-size foot before putting on a set of Pearl’s discarded boots. Cinder knows she looks like a disaster, but she has no other choice. She hops into her orange car and drives over to the palace. The ride is jerky and harsh, but she’s proud that she was able to get it working. However, when it starts raining, Cinder can no longer see, and she collides with a cherry blossom tree. When she recovers her breath, she gets out and walks, knowing that her chance for escape is gone.

Cinder runs over to the palace’s double doors and walks without letting anyone stop her, willing herself to look as graceful as possible in her soaked, disheveled condition. She heads down the main hall toward the music, where guards flank the stairs that cascade into the ballroom. From the top of the steps, she notices Kai dancing with Queen Levana. All she has to do is find a way to speak with him.

When the music ends, Kai and Levana separate, and Cinder thinks that this is her chance. But then she notices Pearl approach Kai. Suddenly, a guard addresses Cinder, asking to scan her ID to make sure that she has RSVPed. Cinder tries to deflect, but she has to give her information. The man gasps when he reads his scanner, realizing that she is Kai’s personal guest. The man brings Cinder to the top of the stairs, and before she knows what’s happening, trumpets blare, and the man announces her arrival to the whole room.