Chapter 39

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 my hands.

The guard closest to me shook his head. “Orders are orders.” He grabbed me roughly by the arm and dragged me toward the door.

In the hallway, Joseph’s guards were arguing with Nicholas’s. Mark was running toward me.

“Mark!” I called to him. “Elva’s in there!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll watch her!” he called back. He tried to come closer to me, but one of the guards roughly shoved him. “Hey!”

“Mark, please.” I was worried he might start something. “Elva!”

Mark grit his teeth, but stepped backwards, letting the guards and me pass.

“Keep her away from this! Please!”

“I will,” he promised.

In my nightgown, I was dragged through the hallways. It was early, just before dawn, but many of the girls peeked their heads out of their doors to see the spectacle.

The cameras were nowhere to be seen. Likely this was not something the royal family wanted the public to see.

On the ground floor, near the back door, Lena had her arms crossed.

“Please, let me change,” I said, hoping to appeal to her sense of decency. If I went out into the storm in my nightgown, it would soak straight through.

Lena sneered. “You should have thought of that this morning.”

When would I have had the time? Somewhere between being startled awake and dragged into the hall?

Yet I knew talking back to her would get me nowhere. I had no power here.

The guards shoved me forward, out into the gardens. They forced me down to my knees in the grass.

“Don’t move,” one of them warned. Then they disappeared somewhere behind me.

I was facing away from the palace. I couldn’t see what happened behind me.

This view was better though, I reasoned, looking out at the flowers and the trees.

Cold rain pelted down on me like tiny, frozen daggers. After only a few minutes, my nightgown was entirely damp, clinging to me like a second skin.

I wrapped my arms around myself. They hadn’t said I couldn’t do that. It was all I had to fight my growing chill.

I didn’t know how long I kneeled there. The cold had set in. The wind had picked up.

Lightning struck a nearby tree and I jumped.

My tears flowed freely, with the rain to hide them. I was cold and tired and miserable, but I couldn’t give up.

That’s what they wanted me to do. They hoped I would give up and leave.

But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. Elva needed her medicine. Julian and I were going to expose the underground trade. And Nicholas…

Seeing Nicholas yesterday. The way he smiled. His kindness when playing with the children.

I knew we could never be together again like we had been in the past, but I’d enjoyed being around him. Compared to my other reasons to want to stay, this one was entirely selfish.

But I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him again.

Not yet.

The rain continued to pour minutes, hours later. Time had no meaning out here.

I hoped someone was taking care of Elva and keeping her away from the windows. I didn’t want her to see me like this.

She had been frightened this morning. Had anyone calmed her?

Surely Mark would have. If not Mark, then Susie? Or maybe even Nicholas.

She shouldn’t be punished like I was. She’d been through far too much in her young life already.

After another lapse of time, I heard arguing behind me. I knew those two voices.

Nicholas, I would recognize in a crowded room. Joseph, took me a bit longer.

“You cannot interfere!” Joseph shouted. “This is tradition!”

“It’s a barbaric tradition, and you all are well aware of it,” Nicholas snapped, tone sharp. “If this was any kind of acceptable, you’d let the cameras in to see.”

“She disrespected our Luna,” Joseph countered.

“I don’t have time for this.”

“Your Royal Highness, stop!”

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 elbows and began to lift me.

I weakly pushed him away. “No. I won’t give up.”

“Piper.”

I shook my head as fiercely as I could, until I was dizzy. “They want me to quit. I can’t give up.”

“To hell with them. Piper, look at me.” He touched my cheek with his palm and physically turned my face toward his.

I’m glad he did. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it on my own. I was so very tired.

His golden eyes were fierce, fiery with anger. Even the flecks of green burned like a forest fire.

Was he mad at me? Why? I had trouble thinking clearly. But I couldn’t give up. For Elva, I had to…

“Piper, who will take care of Elva if you get pneumonia and die?”

His words were a shock to my system. Pneumonia? Death?

“You can’t leave her alone, Piper. She can’t lose you like this.”

Desperation was thick in his voice, despite the determination hard in his eyes.

He was worried for Elva. That made sense. And he was right. I could feel the chill in the depths of my bones. If I stayed out here for much longer, I might not make it through.

I tried to speak, but no words came out at first. I tried again, and it came out a whisper.

“Please… help… me…”

Wrapping his arms around my waist, he helped me to my feet. I leaned heavily into him as we shuffled together to the door.

Lena and Joseph both glared at us as we passed them.

“The Queen will hear of this,” Lena said behind us.

Nicholas ignored her, and I was too tired to do much else but follow him.

He led me all the way to my bedroom, where my maids waited with clean, dry clothes.

“Where’s Elva?” A shot of panic struck through me.

“She’s in Susie’s room, which faces the other side of the building,” Nicholas said. “Mark is standing guard.”

Relief washed away the fear quickly. Too quickly, probably. I struggled even to remain upright.

When we reached the bed, I plopped down onto the side of it.

“I’ll leave you in the care of your maids,” Nicholas said, unwinding his arm from around my waist.

I snatched his wrist before he could fully pull away. “Don’t leave.”

The words came out unbidden. I didn’t know why I said them. Maybe it was lingering fear. Maybe I was too tired to hold myself back from what I really wanted.

Either way, I couldn’t take it back.

As he looked at me, the fire in his eyes softened to a warm glow. “You need to change out of those wet clothes.” He glanced at the door, then back to me. “I will return when you are dressed.”

His soft heart, it seemed, did not only extend to the children.

With his assurances, I released his wrist and he promptly left the room.

The maids helped me undress. One patted my body with a towel while the other blow-dried my hair. I was far too exhausted to do anything for myself.

When I was mostly dry, they helped me into a pair of warm flannel pajamas. Then they guided me further up the bed and under the covers.

“Prince Nicholas?” I asked the quiet maid before they could move too far away.

“He’s probably gone,” said the other one.

“I’ll check,” the quiet maid said and went to the door. “She’s decent now.”

“Thank you.” Nicholas entered. He must have been waiting just outside the door.

As he walked toward me in the bed, I could now see his own breach with decorum. His hair was damp, clinging down onto his forehead. His suit coat was missing. His white shirt was soaked, revealing the lean yet solid torso beneath.

But I had no time to admire him.

When he reached my bedside, he said, “I think you should withdraw from the competition.”