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.

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

I heard some truly terrible rumors.”

away her concern. I felt hungover some, with a cloudy head and tired eyes, but otherwise okay

my throat, and left my half of

to pick at.

Terry left the grounds?” I asked. It took great

left at some point last night and

sense of relief and for the first time that day, I

least, I was safe.

in my

the day. I couldn’t help but feel Terry’s cold hands on me or smell his

breath.

girl in the black dress who seemed to have my wolf. Who was she? Where had she come from? How had she gotten it? And

questions. It felt worse now, somehow, because I would never be able to find the answers. Not since Nicholas had forbad Julian and me from continuing our investigation.

the kingdom, but it frustrated me that he could not see the importance of discovering

from ever being manipulated into giving away their wolves and their abilities.

Terry, or by Nicholas. I had

those innumerous other souls out there who just wanted to

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

I thought to check the empty ballroom. I found him sitting alone on the bottom stair,

like him to be so isolated or

heels on the tile steps, he turned back

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

faded. In its place was the same sort of cocky

don’t mind company if it’s

and took a

hadn’t forgotten that Julian was also there last night. He had bome witness

had the decency both to tell me it wasn’t my fault,

Nicholas moved away.

taken advantage. He wouldn’t have.

of my

I was still

him to kiss me on the balcony. In time, I might have