Chapter 196

I relaxed as best I could, letting the kiss happen for the cameras. Julian’s lips were soft on my own, gentle and non-demanding. It was a kind sort of kiss, and for that I was grateful.

Though I would still have to remember to tell Nicholas not to watch the broadcast tonight. He’d made clear that while he was dealing with the thought of me and Julian’s pretend relationship, having to see it would be too much.

I could relate. The thought of Nicholas kissing someone else made my stomach twist, even though I knew it was an inevitability.

Julian broke the kiss first. He pulled back, a small smile in the corners of his mouth. He looked… happy. Satisfied, maybe. And not just in his usual smug, self-satisfied kind of way.

“Are the cameras gone?” I asked.

Julian’s smile slipped away. “What?”

“The cameras?” I glanced around. “You saw them, right? That’s why you kissed me?”

He swallows hard. That’s odd.

“Yes,” he says. The words sound almost… hollow. “Yes, they’re gone now.” He cleared his throat. “Actually, we should continue on now, with our charade. I’m sure there’s more cameras up ahead, in the spot we arranged.”

“Oh, okay.” I laced my hand through his again, and we continued forward.

Julian sneaked a few sideways glances at me. I pretended not to notice, not sure what he wanted. Perhaps the cameras were still upon us, and he was pretending to check me out. In that case, I couldn’t call him out and embarrass him and myself.

A lady would pretend not to notice the attentions of her wanted suitor.

I tried to play the part as best I could. I couldn’t see the cameras, but they had to be there. Or maybe the King was around. I’d better not give anything away.

What did girls do when they were with the boys they liked? Oh, I knew.

I threw my head back and started to laugh.

Julian fully turned to look at me now. “Are you ill? What happened?”

I stifled my laughter. “Oh… uh… I just thought…”

Julian blinked once, twice.

“Don’t people in love laugh a lot?” I asked. Although now that I thought about it, Nicholas and I didn’t really laugh much more than normal when we were together. Not that we were in love. We were simply fond of each other.

My chest hurt at the thought. Now I’d done it and made myself sad again.

“I suppose they do,” Julian said. He shrugged. “I haven’t really been in love in a good long while.”

Ah, yes. Julian had loved the mysterious Bridget, who had been stolen by Nicholas. A story that still perplexed me. And another thing I shouldn’t have thought about right now, when I was trying to pretend to be in love with Julian.

“Maybe we should keep walking,” I said.

“Good idea,” Julian said, and we did just that.

A few more feet, took us past the entrance to the gardens. They were beautiful through the paned glass windows. I missed walking among them. It had been so long since I’d been outside of the palace walls.

It could have been worse, of course. The palace was huge. There were lots of places to sit and visit. But nothing could replace the feeling of being outdoors, surrounded by fresh air and the scent of blooming flowers.

I’d stopped walking without realizing it. Julian looked at me curiously. I motioned toward the outdoors.

“I just miss it, I guess.”

He followed my gaze out to the gardens. When he looked at me again, he had mischief in his eyes. “Want to sneak out?”

Treacherous hope fluttered in my heart. “You mean…?”

“I’m a prince. These are our gardens. No one can tell me where to go, and you are with me. So… would you like to?”

I knew it couldn’t be as simple as all that, but I really did want to go out there. The gardens had been one of our regular hangout spots for so long. To lose it now, felt most unfair.

My voice soft, afraid someone would overhear, I said, “I’d love to.”

“Great,” Julian said, and pushed open the door. “Let’s go.”

“Through this door?” It wasn’t even locked?

There were guards on the other side, but when they saw Julian, they merely nodded. Their gazes were heavier on me – until Julian wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Then they politely looked away.

Maybe Julian really had that much power after all.

He led me further out into the gardens, then pulled his touch away. I stayed close to him though, not wanting to abuse this kindness he was gifting me. I leaned down to smell the flowers, and he politely stopped at my side.

“Good?” he asked.

“Wonderful,” I replied. It was almost Heaven out here in the flowers. The sky was blue overhead, with several puffy white clouds. It was so peaceful. It was –

What was that noise?

A small plane with a roaring engine flew high on the edge of the palace grounds. Julian reached out and snatched my arm. He started yanking me back toward the palace.

“Julian? What’s happening?”

The plane’s door opened and suddenly a plethora of papers flew out from the opening. They scattered as the dropped, flipping back and forth in the wind. Despite Julian’s tugging me, I still managed to reach out and snatch one.

What I saw sent ice water into my veins.

It was a photocopy of the royal family’s portrait, but each member had red x’s where their eyes should be. Along the bottom, scrawled in the same vibrant red, were written the words:

Liars wear the crown – for now.

“Julian?” I held out the flyer for him.

He snatched it out of my hand and stuffed it into his pocket. If he meant to hide it, he was doing a poor job of it. Many more flyers were scattered throughout the gardens.

Julian continued to tug me toward the entryway. I started going willingly now.

“Clean this up,” Julian said to the guards. His tone had shifted from before. Tighter now. Strained.

“Thank you,” I said to them, adding politeness where he had forgotten his.

Fear was gripping my heart too, but everyone needed to remain calm. That’s what Nicholas would have said.

“You can see for yourself now, how tumultuous things have become,” Julian said, as we walked back into the safety of the palace hallway. “All the more reason to keep working hard for this fake relationship. For this silly event. However you can, to save us all.”

“I’ll do what I can,” I promised. My hands trembled. When I closed my eyes, I could see the photo with the x’ed out eyes.

The King. The Luna. Joyce. Julian. Nicholas.

None of them were safe.

And the threat in the letter. For now.

That implied a switch to come.

Julian continued to pull me. He was forceful now, and it was starting to hurt.

“Julian,” I said. It was like he couldn’t hear me. “Julian, please. You’re hurting me.”

That gave him pause. He stopped and looked down to where he was gripping my wrist with a tight fist.

“Sorry,” he said and released me.

“It’s fine,” I said. I understood his reaction. It was terrifying, seeing that threat.

How much worse must it have been for him?

This was his family. His future. His own life.

“Julian…”

“We’ll talk later, okay?” He hurried away from me. I’d never seen him so rattled.

And I was powerless to do anything but watch him go.