When he found the truth of what happened here, he would act accordingly. Seeing his anger, I could trust that. Yet whatever happened, from now on, I would be much more careful who I left my child with. “Prince Nicholas?” came a soft feminine voice from behind us. His date stood there. She twiste

The next morning, when I woke up, I headed straight for the window to look at the sky. Fortunately, there was no cloud in sight. Today, it seemed, I would escape my punishment. One of these days, however, my luck would run out and I would be forced to kneel in the storm and hope my body was strong

In camp two, the girls were chasing any prince. It didn’t matter which one. These ambitious girls just wanted to be Luna. Olivia and Linda were firmly in this camp. In the third camp, where I belonged, the girls were here involuntarily. Perhaps their parents wanted them to engage in a political ma

Nicholas didn’t say a word. He simply turned and left. “Bye, Nick-lass!” Elva called, before happily returning to her waffles. Deflated, I corrected my chair and flopped down onto it. None of the girls spoke to me during the rest of breakfast. Susie might have, but she was still too embarrasse

With a statement like there, I had no polite way of backing out. Not that I would. These kids needed me, and Elva was already having fun with them, playing on the slides. Nicholas and I would just have to put aside our differences long enough to help the kids. After that, we could go back to not g

I stared at him, startled. Did he actually think that I broke up with him to be with someone else? He must have, because he returned my stare with one of his own. “No.” I wished with all of my heart that he would believe me without an explanation. I didn’t want to lie to him. But I knew him. S

If that partner was me, I would… No. I shouldn’t go down that path, even within the safe confines of my mind. Nicholas and I would never be together again. I had too many secrets that he would never understand. Even if he knew the truth, even if he’d understood, he’d never agree with the choices

I awoke the next morning to the sound of thunder outside my window and pounding on my bedroom door. I’d barely gotten out of bed when the door burst open and a slew of Joseph’s guards flooded in. “Mommy!” Elva shouted as she hid under the covers. “At least let me get dressed,” I said, holding up

Footsteps sounded behind me. I turned to look, but my movements were sluggish. Nicholas was beside me before I ever saw him arrive. Something warm draped over my shoulders. I looked down and found a thick, waterproof coat wrapped around me. “Come on. I’ll help you inside.” He took me by the elbo

My eyes went wide. As poor as I felt, I still pushed myself upright on the bed – until he placed a hand on my shoulder and eased me back down. “I won’t give up,” I told him. “I can’t.” “I wouldn’t ask you to, except for your own safety, Piper. If you truly don’t care about being Luna, like you s