Rising

Jules paced his room, his anxiety rising.

What if he tried to contact the Kadarian government? If the Xeus was a Kadarian, if he was someone important enough to warrant NDA-tech, it was likely that the Kadarian government would help him. Except Pelugia-Kadar relations were strained again. There was no way anyone at the Opal House would be willing to listen to some kid from another country. Jules was unlikely to get past a low-level secretary. It just didn’t seem realistic. Not to mention Jules didn’t want his family mired in a scandal. Liam would absolutely hate him if he ruined his upcoming debut in society. Well, strictly speaking, it was their debut, but Jules wasn’t the one who was going to get all the suitors. Liam had been dreaming about his social season for ages—it had been postponed twice already because of their grandmother’s and mother’s deaths. His debut was important to him. Jules might mock his brother’s vanity, but he still loved him. He couldn’t ruin Liam’s dreams.

So