The Luna Choosing Game

By the next morning, the drug had worked its way through my system and I felt like my old self again. I

went down to breakfast, where I was reunited with Elva, who had stayed with Susie the night before by

order of Nicholas.

I was grateful for his foresight. Mortified as I was by my actions and sounds, I was at least spared the

embarrassment of explaining any of this to Mark or the nanny myself. Or worse still, to Elva..

A thought so stomach–churning, I dared not even think of it.

So when I did finally greet her, it was with a tight hug and big smile, the same as always.

Susie and I didn’t always sit together, but we chose to that morning. There were still many empty chairs with the previous elimination, and I was feeling vulnerable from what had happened the night before. I needed my friends.

Around us the girls were chattering about the curiousness of the evening’s events. Terry was to be one of the main judges of the night, but he never came to ballroom.

Also as curious, both Nicholas and Julian disappeared sometime in the night, only to reappear this morning, one with a black eye and the other with an injured hand.

“You don’t suppose the princes got into a fight with each other?” one of the girls asked.

“No,” Lilliana said flatly. “He is too mature to take part in such childish antics.”

“Julian does love to tease,” said someone else.

“Not enough to tempt a prince away from his decorum,” Olivia added. “Prince Nicholas been around Prince Julian for years. He’s surely built up a tolerance.”

“Well, then what happened with Sir Terry?“”

“Maybe he started the fight,” someone said, and another laughed. A third shushed them.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

argue, Susie turned in her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap,

Piper? I heard some truly terrible rumors.”

felt hungover some, with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise okay Except for my continued

rising in my throat, and left my half of the breakfast uneaten on the plate

to pick

asked. It took great strength to keep my voice from

is, Terry left at some point

of relief and for the first time that

least, I

linger in my

help but feel Terry’s cold hands on me or smell his terrible alcohol–laden

breath.

seemed to have my wolf. Who was she?

somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas

kingdom, but it

manipulated into giving away their wolves

cowed by Terry, or by Nicholas. I had my own heart and my own

him stop me from protecting my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out

Elva safely into the care of her nanny and Mark, I set off on my own to find Julian.

through most of the palace before I thought to check the empty ballroom. I found him sitting alone

be so isolated

on the tile steps, he turned back to

had questions and demands, but

its place was the

don’t mind company if

flirtatious charms and took a seat on the same step he

there last night. He

had the decency both to tell me it wasn’t my fault, as well as to make sure

Nicholas moved away.

wouldn’t have. But Julian’s being present helped him.

the circumstances of my

I was still

did have desire for Nicholas. I had wanted him to kiss me on the balcony. In time, I might have wanted to have