Chapter 121

At the banquet that night, I sat beside Julian same as always, but other than the most basic of greetings, we had not spoken to each other.

“Hello, Piper.”

“Hello, Prince Julian.”

Fortunately, Veronica and Tiffany seemed fine with talking with Julian in my stead, and Julian himself made no attempts to talk to me either.

Instead of speaking with him and risking an undoubtedly awkward conversation, I let my attention wander down the table some, where Nicholas was speaking with Lilliana and Olivia.

With only 8 candidates left, the servants had shortened the table, removing many of the empty chairs. This brought us all closer together and made the space feel much more intimate.

Nicholas was giving both of the girls his undivided attention, looking at them as they spoke and responding when they asked him a question.

I had never minded where I sat before, but with the tension between Julian and me, I wondered why Nicholas had never asked me to sit beside him. I supposed it had something to do with the optics. After all, Lilliana was supposed to be Nicholas’s favorite, as I was supposed to be Julian’s.

I still felt a twinge of jealousy, however, watching him.

“Piper,” Tiffany said, reclaiming my attention. “Don’t you feel any same? You have spent all night staring at Nicholas while you are sitting right beside Julian. It’s super rude.”

“Very rude,” Veronica said.

“We all know both princes selected you, but come on. Julian’s right here.” Tiffany waved at him.

Julian waved back at her, and she blushed.

“While I greatly appreciate your desire to defend me, ladies, Piper is allowed to do whatever she wishes,” Julian said, smiling. “It is her free spirit that draws me to her.”

“Still…” Tiffany mumbled unhappily.

“It’s no great care to me whether she chooses to scope out the competition,” he added.

“No,” I said, with a small shake of my head. “I’ve been rude.” Looking at Julian, I gave him a small, apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Prince Julian.”

Julian blinked at me. He almost seemed… surprised. But the wide-eyed look was gone in a minute.

“I wasn’t offended,” Julian said. “I’m sure you had your reasons for wanting to look away from me. Though I’m hoping that, whatever those reasons were, they can be forgotten.”

Ah. This wasn’t an apology from him exactly, not that he needed to give one. This was more an olive branch. An offer to forget what happened and move forward like nothing had.

Relief flooded through me at once. I was eager to move forward. “Consider them forgotten.”

His smile softened. “Thank you.”

I should have been the one thanking him, but I didn’t want to correct him in front of the girls, or the Queen, who wasn’t all that far away anymore.

Confusion still lingered with me, when I thought on Julian too long. He was an enigma, who kept his true feelings deeply hidden. Maybe I would never know what his true intentions were in that sitting room. Had he meant to kiss me? Or had he just been teasing me?

I supposed it didn’t matter.

The King cleared his throat, and we all turned in our seats to face him at the head of the table.

“A quick announcement. The details of the event have already been given to you, but now we know the date. The fundraising event will happen in three days’ time, so as to give you girls the chance to prepare your gowns. Have you more to say, dear?”

At the other end of the table, closer to me, the Luna spoke up. “Fashion plays a major part in helping to win over benefactors, so prepare well. You must consider modern trends or you will not be taken seriously. That is all.”

“Beautifully said, my Queen,” the King said.

I kept a dull smile on my face, but inside I began to stress. I knew nothing of modern fashion trends. If it were up to me, we’d all be wearing jeans and t-shirts. But I highly doubted that would win me any favor with the benefactors.

For the sake of the children at the orphanage, I had to do well. Hopefully Charlotte knew something of fashion. She’d always guided me before. Or I could ask Susie. Or both.

“I can see you worrying,” Julian whispered to me. “You shouldn’t. You’d be stunning in anything.”

A light blush filled my cheeks. I glanced away, embarrassed.

Farther down the table, Nicholas watched us, his mouth pressed into a hard line.

After the banquet, Julian led me to Nicholas’s rooms, where Nicholas was waiting to speak with us. When we came through the door, I was holding Julian’s arm. Nicholas’s gaze focused in on that at once.

He didn’t say anything, but his distain radiated off of him in waves, increasing the tension in the room.

“Did you miss us enough to make you so grumpy, brother?” Julian asked. He kept my hand prisoner for a moment longer than needed, before releasing me.

I immediately pulled away.

The situation with Julian had certainly made everything more confusing. Even though we had agreed to forget it, I still remembered the fondness in his eyes and his touch. I felt a bit unsteady near him now, like I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I tried not to be obvious about it, but I was never great at hiding things, especially from Nicholas, who watched me closely.

Swallowing hard, I looked away from both of them, finding the wall very interesting all of the sudden.

“You wanted to talk about the tunnel, Nicholas? Are there updates?” Julian asked.

“I’ve had my personal guards watch the tunnel around the clock, and so far no one has used it since we’ve started our vigil,” Nicholas said.

I swallowed. Still afraid to look at them, I spoke to the wall, “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Both,” Nicholas said.

“Of course, we’d rather not have any shady characters sneak into the palace,” Julian explained. “But if they don’t, then we can’t follow them to see what they are up to. In fact, we aren’t even totally sure at this point if that tunnel is the main point of entrance.”

“Terry mentioned it the other night,” I said.

“Yeah, but who knows if he was telling the truth?” Julian said. “That guy likely has plans on top of plans. All he does is sit around and mastermind schemes.”

“Like someone else we know,” Nicholas said.

“Hey,” Julian said, mock offended. “I don’t just sit around when I scheme.”

The banter put me at ease some, so I dared to turn around and face the brothers. Julian was smirking at Nicholas, while Nicholas was scowling back at him. A sight so familiar it almost made me smile.

“So what do we do now?” I asked.

“We wait,” Nicholas said. “We can’t make a move until they do.”

Sighing, Julian crossed his arms. “Waiting is troublesome.”

“Scheme something else then,” Nicholas said.

“Don’t think I won’t,” Julian replied.

I shook my head. “If that’s all we can do, then we have to wait.”

“Fair enough. For now.” Julian came toward me. “Shall I escort you back to your room, Piper?”

Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate to accept Julian’s offered hand, but this time, I wasn’t so sure. Were his intentions innocent, or would he think to kiss me? Which of those two options did I want to happen?

The innocent one, surely. Right?

“Actually, I think you have isolated enough of Piper’s time this evening.” Nicholas came closer too. He glared at Julian. “If anyone should walk her back to her room, it’s me. You probably have some scheming to do, after all.”

Julian glanced between the two of us. His smile never wavered. I had no idea what he was thinking.

Eventually, he shrugged. “It’s all the same to me.” Then he excused himself and disappeared out the door.

Nicholas offered me his hand. “Shall we, Piper?”

He stared at me with a stern expression.

I had the distinct feeling I was in for some type of interrogation.

Still, I was never afraid of Nicholas, so I placed my hand in his. “Very well.”