Chapter 59


    Quickly, I exited the car, Julian sighed, threw the car into park, and got out too.


    “Over here, Piper,” Nichs said, motioning to the space beside him. Obediently, I went where he


    directed.


    Softly, he asked me, “Are you alright?”


    The question startled me a moment. I wasn’t sure why he cared. But I assuaged his concerns. “I’m not


    hurt.”


    Nichs nodded at me, then rounded on Julian. His voice was thick with fury.


    “How could you do something like this? You broke all the rules. Do you not care at all that you’ve


    potentially endangered Piper’s candidacy for the games?”


    Julian rolled his eyes. “It was just a bit of fun, Nichs.”


    “At her expense. You have nothing to lose. She could be punished for your little act of rebellion.”


    My y stomach twisted ufortably. I hadn’t thought of the consequences like this. I’d just followed


    Julian. Was I truly at risk of being expelled?


    “It’s not that big of a deal. I doubt anyone noticed.”


    “Everyone noticed you zoom out of here first thing in the morning. They even caught your act on


    camera.” He waved toward the front gate, where I remembered seeing the camera crew earlier.


    Julian nced from Nichs to me, and then back again. His smile turned cat–like.


    “Just a short while ago, Piper was telling me that you didn’t care about her anymore. Yet here you are,


    Nichs stiffened. “I don’t care.”


    I lowered my head.


    “Then why so serious, dear brother?” Julian asked.


    Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “It wouldn’t be right for any candidate to be disqualified because of your careless actions.”


    “Any candidate, huh? So if it was Lilliana I had out here, you’d stille running?”


    Julian shook his head. “You are such a liar.”


    A felt a crackle in my chest. I knew I wasn’t special to Nichs anymore, but to have him confirm it


    hurt no less each time.


    again and again


    “Just let it go, Julian,” I said. “Please.”


    Nichs nced at me, but his expression was unreadable. When had he begun to shield his true self


    so defensively? He hadn’t been like this when we’d dated.


    “Fine. For you, Piper,” Julian said. “And Nichs, if Piper gets into any trouble for this, I’ll take the


    me,


    alright? So you can rx.”


    Looking between Nichs and me, Julianughed again, like everything was a big joke.


    When his Beta Brian approached us, Julian tossed him the keys to the car and started walking toward


    the pce.


    Nichs ushered me to the side of the driveway, and Brian drove the car back to the garage.


    With Nichs and I alone, I began to feel nervous. I rubbed a hand up and down my arm.


    “Thank you,” I said.


    “Don’t thank me.” He kept his gaze at something over my shoulder, refusing to meet my eyes. “I would


    have done the same for any of the girls.”


    “Oh…” The words cut me more than I should have allowed. I tried to hide my hurt reaction, but I wasn’t


    as trained at concealing my emotions as he was.


    The only thing I could do was escape. “If you’ll excuse me…


    Only when I was walking away did I noticed I had addressed Julian without his title again. Sometimes,


    with the way he acted, it was so difficult to think of him as a prince.


    But neither Julian nor Nichs had corrected me, so maybe they hadn’t noticed…


    I really hoped they hadn’t noticed,


    Inside the pce, I hurried toward my room, but I was waid by Lena, who walked directly into my


    path and stopped, hands on her hips


    There you are. Finally. There won’t be an escape this time.”


    When do you mean?” asked


    She smiled, smug. “You’ve been summoned to speak with the Luna. Follow me. She is in the gardens.”


    1 should check on Elva first.” I hadn’t seen her since she was sleeping. Reasonable or not, I always


    worried about her health. Mornings were sometimes difficult.


    One of Lena’s brows rose high on her forehead. “You intend to keep your Queen waiting?”


    When she put it like that, I supposed I didn’t have a choice. I would have to trust the nanny to alert the


    physician if something was wrong.


    “No.” I corrected. T’ll follow you.”


    Lena led me through the pce toward the grand ss double–doors that led out into the gardens. Ast


    we weaved through the flowers and bushes, I noticed she was taking me closer to the stables.


    The Queen and her entourage had arranged a tea party in the flower field near the horse paddock.


    Servants had brought out cushioned chairs and a table. Even a table cloth.


    In front of the stables, Nichs was meeting a girl. Was this another solo date? When had that been


    arranged?


    And why would the Queen choose to meet with me here? It felt like a trap somehow, though I was fairly


    certain she wasn’t aware of my past rtionship with her son. She never brought it up before, if she


    was.


    Regardless, being in line of sight of Nichs on another date felt like punishment on its own. I braced


    myself for whatever further hurt the Luna would now unleash.


    The Queen made me wait, standing there in the grass, while she sipped at her tea. When she finally


    lowered her teacup, she just stared at me for some time.


    In the distance, I heard the sharp, forced giggles of a girl attempting to be cute on her date.


    “Do you know why I called you out here today, girl?” the Luna asked me.


    kept my gaze down respectfully. “No, Your Majesty.”


    “So that wasn’t you in the passenger seat of Julian’s car this morning, while he was off doing who


    knows


    what?


    Nichs hadn’t been lying then. Everyone really did know.


    That was me, I admitted.


    The Queen lutied as she shook her head. “You allowed yourself to be caught in one of Julian’s reckless


    ne should know how to guide her partner out of trouble, not follow him into it


    She lifted her teacup and took another long sip. She let the words hang between us for another long


    moment before proceeding.


    “Julian is still in his wild phase. He will need a strong woman to help keep him on track.”


    I had no interest in being the strong woman Julian apparently needed, but I decided not to say so. Let


    her think whatever she wants. She would anyway, regardless of what I said.


    I’d met people like her before, at the restaurant. People who had never in their lives been told no did


    not understand that their opinions could be wrong. To have it pointed out only ever upset them.


    “This is the second time you’vee before me,” the Queen said. “If there is a third time, then-”


    Elva! Elva, hold on!”


    That was Nichs’s voice!


    I looked over to where he was rushing toward the pce wall. Up above, in the window of my room,


    Elva was hanging over the edge, holding on for dear life with her thin little arms


    My heart stopped.


    I screamed. “Elva!”


    She was slipping.