Chapter 141
When we were dismissed for the day, I hurried back to my room. I didn’t feel whole again until I pulled
Elva into my arms for a hug.
Sho had a way of
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Elva asked. making me feel like the most important person
in the entire world. I was so grateful for that. It gave me the strength I needed to pull myself back
together.
To be her mother, I needed to be whole.
“Nothing now, honey,” I said. “Mommy’s feeling all better.”
Later that evening, Nathan recalled the girls back to the parlor for announcements.
“Attention, please,” Nathan said, iming the attention of the room. “The Queen is resting now but I’m
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you will all be relieved to know that she has mostly recovered from her bout of food poisoning.”
A polite round of apuse sounded in the room. No one would dare speak up over news of the Queen,
though the anxiety was clear among many of the girls regarding thepetition, specifically those who
had not yet been judged.
“Now, as for the garden party event,” Nathan continued. “The royal family has decided, for the sake of
fairness, that a second event will be held tomorrow. This even will only be attended by those that had
yet to be judged today.” 1
I wondered what that meant for me. My treats were tasted, so I probably wouldn’t get a chance to redo
them. Plus, now I didn’t have a partner.
Since there were an odd number of us, prior to Linda being eliminated, one table had been forced to
include three people. But they had already nned their disy. It would be grossly unfair to disrupt
that
now.
I resolved myself to having my score marred by Linda’s behavior. It hurt, though. I wanted to get into
the
round, at least, so that Elva would continue to receive care for as long as possible.
next roun
“This is not the only news that I have to share,” Nathan said, hushing the chatter in the room.
More? What else could he possibly have to say? Stress rankled my nerves. It had been such a full day,
I was ready to call the whole thing a wash and get some sleep.
“Regarding the next elimination,” Nathan said.
“Already?” Susie whispered. I felt her worry deep down in the pit of my soul. Looking around many
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“The next elimination will bring the count down from 14 to 9. But unlike the previous elimination
ceremony where performance in events was the key indicator of sess, this time there is a
secondary factor to consider.”
So I needed to do well in events, as well as something else? It was quickly bing more than I could
handle. I had no idea what to expect.
“This secondary factor is the princ
themselves. Each of the princes will be selecting three candidates
to survive beyond the elimination. They will consider your score in the events, but they have their own
personal reasons that require consideration.”
A rumbled began among the girls. So many had chosen to chase after Nichs. There was no way he
could select them all, even if he wanted too. Not enough girls had tried for Joyce, and the rest would
suffer now.
My own stomach twisted ufortably.
Julian had publically imed I was his favorite, sure, but that didn’t mean when push came to shove
that he would actually select me to stay. I was only his favorite for show, and to annoy Nichs.
Maybe I could talk to him. I had to convince him to select me. Surely he would listen to reason. Or, at
least, we couldpromise somehow.
I must have had something he wanted. He still needed my ability to feel my wolf, right?
I wasn’t sure. Nothing felt certain anymore.
But I wasn’t ready to go home yet.