The Luna Choosing Game

“It wasn’t what it looked like,” I said on reflex

“You said before what you felt for Julian wasn’t serious,” he said.

“It’s not.”

Nicholas crossed his arms. His jaw tightened and he didn’t say anything else.

I didn’t know what else to say, how to ease his worries, than to tell him the truth. “Julian saved me from

you father.”

Nicholas’s enter focus zeroed in on me. All emotion vanished. He looked me over as if looking for injury,

then spoke fiercely, “What happened?”

I explained, about the summons, about the threat, and about Julian’s timely intervention. By the end of it, Nicholas had come closer, standing before me again, concern crinkling his brow

“I’m okay now,” I said. “I heard some of your speech. You likely assuaged most of his fears. So you

saved me, too. Thank you.”

to say those words. I had held onto them for as long as

Before I knew the truth.”

me to believe that he would even want to

have done something to help.” He sighed. “Some of what I

I

“You had no way of knowing the truth, Nicholas. I purposefully kept it from you. I’d thought then

mean

the dim tungsten lights Golden irises with flecks of green, watching me like I was someone worth setting his royal gaze

mattered.

kindness. But

as it did then.

be king someday,

nickname outside of my dreams in three long years. It took a physical toll saying it now, on me, with my heart aching. On him too, if the way he thickly swallowed was

the kingdom.” I shrugged, a little sad.” That is not, nor ever was, me. And if you tied yourself down to Elva and me, you would have regretted it. Maybe not right

to look straight down into my soul. I wondered

he saw there.