The Luna Choosing Game

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Mark when he had told me that Julian had left the palace and hadn’t been

seen since the morning, but I still had to snoop around some to be sure. I needed to talk to him so badly, t

couldn’t just sit around and wait for him to return.

I asked some of the servants and the more–friendly of the guards. But each person had the same story,

more or less. No one had seen Julian or his Beta Brian since the morning Julian and I had talk to Williams.

“It’s not unusual for him to disappear,” said one of the servants. “Prince Julian is a bit rebellious.

Sometimes he would leave the palace for days at a time only to return with no explanation. No one’s ever

really sure about that one.”

That didn’t make me feel at all better. He would disappear for a few days? Surely he would know this time about the elimination ceremony. He wouldn’t leave me high and dry while he was off doing

foolish, would he?

believe that. Much of Julian’s flakiness was a façade he put on. He took plenty

seriously.

Like our investigation.

want to admit to myself that I was worried about him. Nicholas had been right about one thing: investigating the

friends, but I

for a while, being irresponsible but safe,

couldn’t speak with him about securing my spot in the elimination. I could only hope that he would return in time, and that he would consider me in

evening, a brief meetup was arranged in one of the sitting rooms. Since Julian was missing, only Nicholas

had locked eyes with me for a moment, before looking away. This was fine with me. I didn’t want to speak to him either. The presence of his emotionless mask hurt though, just a tiny bit. It seemed like he

that what he had done earlier, too? He hadn’t spoken to me as a friend, he had

Fine Perfect.

get closer to Nicholas but was shoved

“At this rate, we might as well see ourselves out. I don’t even

Nicholas knows my name.”