Chapter 173

The next morning, as Elva played with her toys, I sat and drank tea with Charlotte and Mark.

Per the competition rules, I wasn’t allowed to watch television to keep up to date with current events, but Charlotte and Mark were, and oftentimes, we would sit, just like this, and go over the thoughts and rumors of the public about me or the competition.

Today was a special kind of exception.

“Every channel is still discussing Terry’s arrest,” Charlotte said. “Arresting him so publically has caused something of an uproar.”

“It was necessary,” Mark said. “Only with the public’s support, will we be able to take down the underground. Everyone has to help.”

“I get it,” Charlotte replied, “But that’s not how the public sees it. They see a royal family with corrupt connections. If Terry was this deep in the organization, then maybe the others are too.” At Mark’s growing frown, she quickly held up her hands. “That’s what they think, not me!”

Mark frowned deeper, but at least looked away this time.

“You know I’m right,” Charlotte said. “You’ve seen the demonstrations out front same as me.”

I had seen them too. Crowds of protesters were appearing just outside the gate. They held signs with slogans disparaging the royal family. Someone had a bullhorn.

“They’ve lost faith in the royal family,” Charlotte said. “They need to build it back.”

“There may be some difficulty with that,” Mark said. He glanced at me. “There is some talk among the royal family and the producers that the competition be placed on hold.”

“What?” I gasped.

Since Terry’s arrest, the previous event had been called into question. Terry’s inappropriate behavior had not gone unnoticed by the public, and people were calling any standing gained or lost in that event to be thrown out.

The royal family and the producers would need time to determine their next move.

Still, I was surprised that the royal family would actually take that time, considering the tensions growing just outside their front gate.

“Placing the competition on hold is the worst thing they could do,” Charlotte said. “The only way to turn around the public perception is to continue to build goodwill through the competition. Cutting it short only hurts them.”

“The royal family can’t make any decision rashly,” Mark said. “They would risk doing more harm than good.”

I nodded along with both. I could see both sides. If I allowed myself to consider fully, I would likely agree with Charlotte. The competition could generate the goodwill necessary to bring the public away from Terry’s corruption.

However, I was tired. Lately the events had brought only danger down on me. A break to relax and regather myself sounded awfully nice.

“What do you think, Piper?” Charlotte asked me. Mark looked at me too.

I slouched down in my chair a little. “I really don’t know.”

That opinion wasn’t very Luna of me. Luna’s were to be decisive and strong-willed.

But I was exhausted. From my sister nearly killing me to having to push away the man I desired more than any other, I didn’t want to do much other than crawl back under my covers and forget the world for a while.

I only wished I could be that selfish.

Later, as I walked through the hallways, I caught sight through the window of the driveway, and the growing crowd beyond. The number of protesters had doubled since I had last seen it, and it was no small amount before.

The sheer number was startling. They stood strong, taking up all of the street, nearly as far as I could see in both directions.

They seemed angry too, chanting and jeering. Even through the walls, I heard their angry voices, cheering as one. “Liars! Cheaters! Thieves!”

Someone screamed at the top of their lungs, “Death to Tyrants!”

Things were direr than even Charlotte had made it seem.

My stomach twisted into knots. The people’s accusations weren’t limited to singular nouns. They weren’t just talking about Terry and no one else.

The use of plural told me they meant the entire royal family, including Nicholas. This meant he was in grave danger. If the people turned on the royal family, if they thought to overthrow them, they would not stop with just the King.

Flashes of Nicholas trapped in a prison cell came through my mind. Or worse. Maybe they would kill him.

The dark thoughts took hold of my heart so strongly that I couldn’t remember where I had been headed. I only knew where I wanted to go now: to see Nicholas, to place my eyes on him and know that he was safe.

I darted in the direction of his personal rooms. Along the way, I noticed the increased number of guards around the palace. At first, I chalked it up to the increase in the number of protestors. It made sense to increase the protection of the royal family when they were being threatened.

But then, as I came around the corner, I heard a set of voices, and recognized that these guards were here for a more specific purpose.

To personally guard their princes, Nicholas and Julian. As well as to…

“We’ve thoroughly checked this passageway, Sir,” said one of the guards. “It was clear.”

“Good,” Nicholas said. “Keep a guard posted there. This one leads to the kitchens, which is a pivotal location. We cannot allow any intruders there.”

“Yes, Sir,” said the guard.

I stepped into the room from which I heard the voices, and found Nicholas and Julian peering over a familiar set of maps and blueprints. We’d used those blueprints to find the secret passageway that had led from the cellar to Terry’s mansion.

Several sets of guards were scattered through the room. Some were disappearing into an opening in the middle of the wall. A bookcase had been shoved out of the way. A painting had been knocked to the ground. No one had bothered lifting it.

Julian spotted me first. “Ah, Piper. There you are. We were hoping you would stop by.”

“You were?” I asked.

Nicholas looked up too, then. His eyes met mine, held them for a moment, and then dropped away.

Julian smiled wider, as if to compensate for Nicholas’s coldness. He didn’t have to do that. I knew I was the one to blame for the wall between Nicholas and myself now.

Julian waved me closer, so I walked to his side. He traced his finger over a secret passageway in the map.

“See this here?” he asked. “We’re checking this one next. One by one, we’ll get through them all.”

“We’re also searching for the ones that aren’t on this map,” Nicholas said.

Julian nodded, grim. “Terry made alterations on his own. We’ve had soldiers dig through his private documents, searching for his own personal maps, but so far we’ve come up empty.”

“He kept everything,” Nicholas said.

Terry shrugged. “There are many damning pieces of evidence against Terry in his mansion. Unfortunately, none of the ones we’ve found so far are the ones we need.”

“Why the search?” I asked. “What could be found in these passages?”

Nicholas lifted his gaze to mine again. “You know why.”

Jane. “Surely she left the palace while she had the chance. Without Terry…”

“It’s worse than you think, Piper,” Julian said. He glanced at his brother. “Worse than we thought too.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Julian sighed.

Nicholas spoke, “Jane has more influence than any of us have given her credit for.”

I blinked. I still didn’t understand.

Nicholas paused a moment, then spoke again, “We believe she might be Hawk’s right hand.”