Chapter 336

Julian’s words rendered me speechless, and for a long moment, I didn’t say anything. He seemed content himself to let the words linger, and they did, hanging heavy in the air.

It meant the world to me, for Julian to feel that way. I only wished Nicholas felt the same. As it was, while the words were sweet and comforting, they changed absolutely nothing.

At the end of the day, Nicholas would still choose someone more fitting to be his Luna, and I would be alone.

When enough time had passed, Julian blissfully changed the subject. “Nicholas won’t find any answers from the King and Queen.” He’d already said that to Nicholas’s face.

“He’s determined to learn something,” I said. “He believes that to be his only option.”

“Then he’s not looking close enough.” Julian turned his head. I followed the length of his gaze up the hallway to where Selma was flitting about here and there, cleaning up and giving orders to the other staff.

Did he mean to talk to her?

“She’s not any more likely to tell you what’s going on than the King and Queen are,” I said.

Julian didn’t seem so sure. “She’s a good person. She’s exceedingly loyal to the crown, obviously, but don’t forget, like you so often seem to, that I am a part of the royal family. If I can speak to her alone, I should be able to uncover at least a few more pieces to the puzzle.”

I still wasn’t entirely convinced. The King’s orders ranked higher than those of the princes. If he said not to tell anyone, she probably wouldn’t tell even Julian.

But, if she truly was a good person, perhaps she harbored some guilt about what was happening here, with the King’s sabotage of me. I couldn’t imagine anyone being happy about having to lock some of her staff away in their room.

“It’s worth a try,” I said. What harm could it do? Either she told him what was going on, or part of it. Or she refused to say a word and nothing was lost. There really was no downside to the attempt.

“Okay, great,” he said. “Come with me.”

I was confused. “Shouldn’t I stay out of this? I’m sure she’d be more willing to talk to you if I wasn’t there.”

“She won’t know you’re there,” he said.

I followed him farther down the hallway, until we reached a door I hadn’t seen opened before. Julian grabbed it and opened it. Oh. It was a hallway closet filled with various cleaning supplies.

Julian motioned his arm as if I was to enter. There was enough room but it would be a tight squeeze.

My stomach twisted.

Since having fallen into that pit, the thought of being in an enclosed space made my nerves prickle. But… I had to be strong. Maybe if I continued to remind myself that the door was not being locked. I could get out at any time. I was stepping into this willingly and I wasn’t going to be trapped.

“Piper?” Julian’s features softened into question and concern.

I didn’t want him to ask questions I wasn’t ready to answer, so I sucked in a big breath and stepped into the closet. When I turned back to face Julian, he seemed hesitant to close the door.

We didn’t have time to waste. The longer he waited to close the door, the more likely we would be caught in this hallway.

I reached out, grabbed the door handle, and closed myself into the closet.

The door had slats in it, on a diagonal facing downwards. I was confident that I was fully hidden in the dark, but I could see outwards okay enough. Mostly, because of the downward slant to the slats, I saw Julian’s shirt and his legs and feet, but it was comforting that I could see even that much.

“Selma!” Julian called. “Can you come here a minute? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Of course, Prince Julian,” Selma said and she came near. I couldn’t see her with Julian in the way, but I could hear her well enough when she said, “How can I help you?”

“Selma, listen, I’ve been hearing some rumors…” Julian said. “I’m not sure what to believe.”

“You shouldn’t believe every rumor,” Selma said. Compared to her previous greeting, these words seemed to dip lower in tone. If we hadn’t have known for sure that she was hiding something, we would have known by now. She was practically a stranger to me, but even I could tell.

I worried a moment that she might clamp up and not tell Julian everything.

Julian inched closer to her. “I’m concerned for you,” he said. “If mom and dad are asking you to do things outside your moral range…”

“Oh, Julian,” Selma said. “You don’t know what you are asking of me.”

Julian shook his head a little. “Just tell me what’s going on, Selma. Please. Maybe I can help.”

God, he was smooth. I’d want to pour my heart out to him too if he talked to me like that.

Selma sighed. “The orders came from the King himself. At first, I didn’t mind so terribly much. It was a vague request: anything I could do to lift Bridget while making Piper look bad.”

“I see,” Julian said. He sounded understanding. Meanwhile my insides were all tangled up with anger.

“But after… the incident… on the island, everything became more pressing, and more specific,” Selma continued.

“Did they have something to do with what happened on the island?” Julian asked.

“That I don’t know,” Selma said. “They didn’t say a word about it to me, but then, I was never the one going to the island. I only ever stay here.”

Julian nodded. “But the missing swimsuits, and the alarms being turned off, and Charlotte’s disappearance…”

“Charlotte is fine and well,” Selma said. “I made sure she’s had food to eat. I know she’s unhappy down that. And I know Miss Piper is concerned…” Selma exhaled again, louder. “You must think I’m some kind of monster. I don’t like what’s being asked of me. I like Piper, from when I watch the events on television.”

“I don’t think that,” Julian said, voice soft and comforting. “I think you are simply a woman trying to serve her kingdom and her king.” Stronger, he asked, “Do you have any idea why the king would want to take such drastic measures to bring up Bridget and lower Piper in the public’s eye?”

“I don’t, and it would be wrong of me to speculate…” The words lingered. She clearly wanted to say more.

“But…?” Julian prompted.

It didn’t take much convincing to get Selma to continue. “But… the incident on the island changed everyone’s favorite back to Piper. When Bridget arrived, we wanted to root for her, but after seeing how Prince Nicholas rushed to rescue her, it’s difficult not to root for those two.” She paused a moment. “My apologies.”

“I’m not offended,” Julian said. “Nicholas and I may be competing for Piper’s attentions, but even I can admit he bested me there. Has it really changed so many minds?”

“I can’t speak for the entire kingdom, but the minds of the staff here on the island? Most definitely.”

While I was honored to have gained favoritism over the other competitors among the staff, I was shaken. My blood ran cold.

If I was pulling ahead of popularity enough to make the king and queen nervous, who knew to what depths they would go through now, to lower me back down again?

Selma had said the orders were getting more specific.

How much farther would they go?

Was I in danger?