“The King and Queen decided that, in a matter of fairness for those that did not have a chance to attend the island getaway, one more event will be held before the next elimination ceremony. This will ensure that all candidates will have a chance to showcase their merits before we must send more can
The servant led Nicholas and I to a sitting room where the King stood behind the chair his wife was sitting on. A table had been arranged in front of her, with two teacups and an extravagant silver teapot.The Queen stirred a sugar cube into her tea. The gentle chime of the spoon hitting porcelain w
“For the sake of providing a united front,” the King said, “I am making a request of you. It is not a command, because I believe you to be a good person. You must be for my sons to both think so fondly of you. I trust you will do the right thing.”Oh, I really didn’t like where this was going. I had
After that terrible meeting, I needed some space to think. Nicholas, having left the room with me, was reluctant to leave me alone.“You can’t listen to them, Piper,” he said. “They are just trying to manipulate you.”“Maybe,” I agreed. That was a distinct possibility, especially with how kind the K
“You don’t know that,” I said. “It’s as possible that Hawk kidnapped him as it is that Joyce wanted to go. We don’t know all the facts.”Veronica received no comfort from my words. Her shoulders slumped slightly. “I wish I could have been in two places at once.”I didn’t know what to say to that. It
I decided to make my presence more obvious and walked closer to Elva, Nicholas in his wolf form, Night, and Silver. Nicholas shifted back into his human form now, sitting in the grass.“Piper,” he said, smiling slightly, a wolfish grin. He was proud of his wolf form.“Hi, Mommy!” Elva said. “Nick-la
“Why would they want us to know they stole the princess?” I asked.“It’s the location that matters,” Veronica explained.“If it was the rebels who kidnapped her,” Julian added, “It was likely they intended to start a war, even then.” He looked back to the list. “I wonder how my parents were able to
“You worried about going home?” Julian asked.“A little,” I admitted. “I’m not sure what the people will think when they see where I come from.”Julian shrugged nonchalantly. “They like you in part because of your humble origins, Piper. You have nothing to worry about.”If only it was that simple. “