The Luna Choosing Game

The wait for midnight was nearly unbearable, but when it finally arrived, I left Elva sleeping in the bed,

and sneaked out into the hallway.

Mark was standing there with two other guards. He typically wore a serious expression, but today he

seemed especially grim. He must have shared Nicholas’s frustration with the plan.

“Be careful tonight. If anything happened to you…” He let the words hang.

I was confused. Surely the safety of his prince was more important than me. But he didn’t say anything

more. Instead, he just stared at me expectantly.

“ll be careful,” I said.

He nodded.

Turning from him, I started down the hallway. Nicholas met me halfway. He didn’t say anything, just offered his arm. I slid my arms in his and together we walked down toward the kitchens and into the

cellar.

Brian was guarding the door to one of the rooms there, the one containing the passage. He stepped

we

trigger for the passageway, and an eerie dark opening loomed in the middle of a wall, hiding behind an empty bookcase that had been shifted aside.

hand, Julian carried a large,

with the light of the flashlight, seeing the end of the tunnel was impossible. The stretch of the

Nicholas said. “Whatever happens, no one gets left behind.”

the rules,” Julian said. He stepped into

looked at each other, and

walls were made of brick, rounded along the top. Our footsteps on the stone floor echoed

this tunnel

hairs on the back of

close,” Julian

moved carefully through the tunnel. The light of the

behind us.

flickered. We

in his voice. A

light flickered again, and

caught in my throat.

into darkness, I reached out for both Nicholas and Julian and touched Nicholas’s chest with one hand and Julian’s shoulder with the other. Nicholas caught my hand in his and

mine and squeezed

dark, creepy place in the dark, but having them so close,

own ways, helped me feel safe

lowered his hand again and smacked the flashlight. The light flickered again, blinding, but it