I followed Lilliana further into the gardens to a small rod–iron table with two chairs. Lilliana motioned for

me to sit and then sat in the opposite chair.

“I’m glad we could finally have a chance to talk like this,” Lilliana said. She rested both hands on top of

the table.

I’mirrored her for a moment, but it felt unnatural having my hands lifted so high. I lowered them into my

lap instead.

“What was it you wanted to

talk to

me about?” Nervousness prickled at my skin. While it wasn’t unusual for the candidates to talk to each other, this still felt like a special event. Lilliana had called me out in front of Nicholas himself. She very nearly broke character to do it.

She gave me a sour kind of look. The way a disappointed principal would make to a rowdy student in. their charge. “Prince Nicholas. I want to ask you to please leave him alone. You are a distraction to him.”

we are friends.”

“I’m not doing anything to bother him, or at least, not trying to. But we

Nicholas had come to my rescue more than once now. And somehow when I needed things or support, Nicholas was always around to help. But that’s what friends did.

Lilliana narrowed her eyes. It was unusual for her to show any emotion. Tiny alarm bells started sounding in my head.

“What is your problem, Piper?” she snapped, voice suddenly much sharper than it had been before. Her narrowed gaze had become a fully blown glare.

moment. I opened and

my reply. “You can’t have both brothers! If you are after Julian, you should

my hands now, palms forward in defense. “I’m not after any

like anyone is supposed to believe that.” She crossed her arms.

“It’s true!”

next elimination, Piper. Focus your efforts on Julian, who I shouldn’t

saw me as a threat. That much was clear. What she failed to understand was that I wasn’t a threat to her so much as she was a threat

partner.

my chin. “I am friends with Nicholas. That is all. But

want him to be with someone he actually likes and not someone who just

the time.”

for a moment, then threw her head back and laughed.

how royalty works. What did you think he was going to marry

she didn’t have

marries for love.” She didn’t even look sad about it. She had simply just accepted it as fact.

and not just for the sake of

all, huh? Oh, Piper. You need to just accept this is how things are. This is how they’ve always been, and it’s how they always

refuse to accept that, and

a riot,” Lilliana said,

eye, she shifted from the

look to know that Nicholas had approached us

the joke,” Nicholas said. “I’ve never heard you laugh so… boisterously before, Liliana

hand over her mouth and cleared her throat. “She

to be.”

frowned. Nothing I had said

to our table, a small smile on his lips. Yet one look at me, and that smile dimmed into an expression of confusion. “I know it was probably a fool’s hope,

kind, to include me in that statement,

was common.

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