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.

in her seat to face me. I had Elva in my lap, but

okay, Piper? I heard some truly terrible

with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise okay Except for my continued embarrassment over

swallowed down the bile rising in my throat, and left my

to pick

took great strength to keep my

is, Terry left at some point last night and returned to his

words filled me with a sense of relief and for the first time that day, I took in and exhaled

at least,

to linger in my mind, even as

I couldn’t help but feel Terry’s cold hands on me

breath.

wolf. Who was she? Where

would never be able to find the answers.

for the kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not see

it would protect people like me from ever being manipulated into giving away

or by Nicholas. I had

my daughter or any of those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to do the

the care of her nanny and Mark, I set off on my

the palace before I thought to check the empty ballroom. I

be

he heard the click of my heels on the tile steps, he turned back to look at me. “Piper.

want to be alone?” I asked him. I had questions and demands, but he seemed almost… lost sitting there.

vulnerability faded. In its

if it’s

and took a seat on the same

also there last night. He had bome witness to

to tell me it wasn’t my fault, as well as to

Nicholas moved away.

would have taken advantage. He wouldn’t have. But Julian’s being present

the circumstances of my

I was still

him to kiss me on the