The Luna Choosing Game

I stared at Julian, disbelieving my ears. Did he really just ask me for a solo date?

Yet everyone in the whole ballroom was looking at us. Julian still held the microphone up to his mouth.

This was definitely happening. It wasn’t a dream.

Which meant that Julian was up to something.

“Why?” I asked, before I could think better of it.

A few girls around me gasped. Only then did I realize my mistake and covered my mouth.

Julian also looked shocked, his eyes going wide for a moment. But then, just as quickly, he burst out

laughing.

His good humor seemed to erase the surprise of the other onlookers. Everyone seemed to think I had

been telling a joke.

With the microphone lowered, he said to me, “I insist this request is genuine, Piper.”

I didn’t believe him.

Julian always played the angles. Asking me on a date had to be some kind of move for his benefit, but I

couldn’t begin to figure out how. I’d only scratched the surface of the inner politics of the royal family.

for my answer.

how, but I couldn’t exactly turn him

a competition. I was just a

said, “I

the microphone, he announced, “She

nobles cheered. Most of the girls clapped politely. A

will be tomorrow,” he said, no longer speaking to me, but to the

His face was an emotionless mask,

as he stared straight

I

I wanted to tell him that this didn’t mean anything. Julian was

likely just for the

couldn’t reach him without publicly dismissing Julian. I had to

realized that Nicholas didn’t need an explanation anyway. We weren’t anything to each

anymore

had triggered something inside of me, like

to

meant nothing like

that look had dimmed. Now he seemed entirely blank

turned away from me and, even an hour later, had not sought me out

meanwhile, were positively charmed by Julian and

stop telling me how funny