“Cinder’s eyes snapped back to mine. “Ella?” To anyone else, I’m sure it sounded as if he were simply asking so that he could sign an autograph, but I heard his surprise. We’d never asked each other what our real names were. He probably assumed Ella was only a screen name, like Cinder was. I nodded, dazed. “Ellamara,” I whispered. My mouth had gone dry. “My mom really loved the books, too.” Brian’s.”
