Chapter 95

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Mark when he had told me that Julian had left the palace and hadn’t been seen since the morning, but I still had to snoop around some to be sure. I needed to talk to him so badly, I couldn’t just sit around and wait for him to return.

I asked some of the servants and the more-friendly of the guards. But each person had the same story, more or less. No one had seen Julian or his Beta Brian since the morning Julian and I had talk to Williams.

“It’s not unusual for him to disappear,” said one of the servants. “Prince Julian is a bit rebellious. Sometimes he would leave the palace for days at a time only to return with no explanation. No one’s ever really sure about that one.”

That didn’t make me feel at all better. He would disappear for a few days? Surely he would know this time about the elimination ceremony. He wouldn’t leave me high and dry while he was off doing something foolish, would he?

No, I couldn’t believe that. Much of Julian’s flakiness was a façade he put on. He took plenty of things seriously.

Like our investigation.

I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was worried about him. Nicholas had been right about one thing: investigating the underground organization was dangerous.

Julian and I weren’t exactly friends, but I didn’t want to see him harmed.

I half-hoped he had simply run off with some random girl for a while, being irresponsible but safe, rather than the alternative that he was actually in trouble.

Either way, he wasn’t here now, so I couldn’t speak with him about securing my spot in the elimination. I could only hope that he would return in time, and that he would consider me in his selections.

To give the candidates just a bit more time with the princes, that evening, a brief meetup was arranged in one of the sitting rooms. Since Julian was missing, only Nicholas and Joyce attended. The girls fully surrounded Nicholas, while Joyce had only two or three girls vying for his attention.

Nicholas had locked eyes with me for a moment, before looking away. This was fine with me. I didn’t want to speak to him either. The presence of his emotionless mask hurt though, just a tiny bit. It seemed like he was treating me just as he did all the other girls.

Wasn’t that what he had done earlier, too? He hadn’t spoken to me as a friend, he had commanded me as a prince.

Fine. Perfect.

“This is ridiculous,” said one of the girls near me, who had tried to get closer to Nicholas but was shoved away by the group circling him now.

“Tell me about it,” said another. “At this rate, we might as well see ourselves out. I don’t even think Prince Nicholas knows my name.”

“Well, what about Prince Joyce?” asked the first.

“Prince Joyce?”

Both turned their heads to look at him. I did, too. He was chatting politely with the three girls near him, Susie being one of them. Jessica was another.

“The competition isn’t so fierce with him,” said the first girl.

She was right. Joyce was quiet and shy. For most of the competition, he kept to himself, only brought into the spotlight when it was absolutely required of him. I wasn’t sure I had heard him spoke more than a handful of words at any one time.

I tried to remember him from our days at the Academy. He would have been a few or two younger than us. But nothing stood out in my memory, not even his face. He must have preferred to stay in the background then too.

The second girl pouted. “But Prince Nicholas is the one I want.”

“I think you need to accept that ship has sailed,” said the first.

I didn’t want to think about Nicholas anymore, so I made my way over to Joyce instead. I knew his two brothers well, but not him, and that seemed a shame.

When I drew near, Susie glanced up to smile at me. “Oh, Piper. Have you met Prince Joyce? Should I introduce you?”

How could I say that if I met him, I didn’t remember? That would be unbearably rude.

“I don’t remember if we’ve met,” Joyce said in my silence. He looked at me eyes of burnt umber, watchful and calculating.

“I’ll introduce you, then,” Susie said. “Prince Joyce, this is Piper. Piper, please meet Prince Joyce.”

“Nice to officially meet you, Prince Joyce,” I said, giving a small curtsey.

He nodded.

We both didn’t move for a moment, me standing with Joyce gazing up at me. Then he motioned toward one of the chairs near him.

“Please, sit,” he said.

I did as he asked, taking the chair. Then there was silence again. Prince Joyce didn’t seem to care for small talk. Meanwhile the quiet was making me anxious. I worried my fingers together in my lap.

“How are you enjoying the competition so far?” I asked him.

“It’s okay,” he said.

I glanced at Susie. She shrugged.

“Have you decided who you are going to select for the elimination ceremony?” I asked.

Jessica perked up, eager for the answer. Meanwhile Susie seemed a bit downtrodden. My heart went out to her. If only Mark could make a choice himself, but the competition wasn’t for Beta’s.

“I haven’t given it much thought, honestly,” Joyce said. He quickly covered a yawn with his hand. “If it were up to me, we wouldn’t even be doing this competition.”

“Oh, no?” I asked.

“How am I supposed to find the perfect person for me during a popularity contest? No one cares about me anyway. They didn’t before the contest, and they won’t after. I have no hope of wearing the King’s crown, and frankly, I don’t want it.”

“It’s not true that no one cares about you,” Jessica said softly.

He didn’t seem to hear her.

“Let my two brothers fight over it. I just want to be left alone.”

Glancing at Jessica, and the way she frowned, I prompted, “Wouldn’t it be nice if you did find love though? I admit it’s not an ideal situation for love to spring from, but imagine if it did.”

“No one is going to be interested in me with my brothers around,” Joyce said. “I wouldn’t even bother with this, except my parents would nag me to death if I didn’t put in appearances.”

Jessica worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Her previous attempts to gain his attention and declare her interest had gone unnoticed. She took a breath, maybe to muster her courage, and said too loudly, “I’m interested in you!”

Half the room turned to look at her. When she noticed, her face went as red as a cherry tomato.

But Joyce had looked too. He had heard her this time. His eyes were wide and his mouth slack.

He said, “You are?”

Jessica hid her face behind her hands. She nodded.

Joyce continued to stare at her for a long time.

Susie and I traded quick smiles.

Jessica and I weren’t close friends by any means, but I still felt proud of her. It was difficult to admit feelings for anyone, let alone a prince. Especially one as purposefully oblivious as Joyce.

I admired their connection for a moment, before a soft cough behind me claimed my attention.

Charlotte had found her way to my shoulder. Her dire expression immediately spiked concern into my chest.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked.

She leaned in closer to whisper, “Elva has another fever.”