The Luna Choosing Game

“Didn’t Julian mention the pendant to you?” I asked.

“No,” Nicholas said curtly.

“He gave me this.” I lifted the pendant higher, for Nicholas to see. “He said that all I have to do is press down on the moon, and my location would be sent to him. I asked him to include you in on it…”

“Conveniently he failed to mention it to me.” Jealousy dripped like venom from his voice.

“He must have forgotten.”

“Doubtful.” Nicholas accepted the pendant and examined it closely. He fl*pped it over to look at the back of it. “I would have felt better if he had told me about this, but… I can’t deny it gives me some measure of comfort to know you have it.”

“It does?”

Nicholas nodded. “I want you protected, even if I’m not the one doing it. Julian is many things but he is not on Terry’s side. If he gave you this to protect you from him, that offer was genuine. As is the threat. If even Julian is worried about you…”

Nicholas and Julian seemed to have skewed ideas of the other. I had seen Julian’s concern before, in albeit fleeting moments. But Julian was not so rambunctious and carefree as Nicholas assumed him to be.

I doubted that defense of Julian would be welcome right at this moment, with Nicholas barely containing his envy, so I withheld it. Julian would probably prefer the misconception anyway, since he so often sought to cultivate it.

“I will be speaking to Julian about this, however,” Nicholas said, his voice lowering with dark promise.

I laughed a little, nervously, hoping I didn’t get Julian in too much trouble. Though, knowing him, he could handle himself just fine against his brother.

Nicholas leaned forward and pulled me into his arms again. For a few more blissful moments, I closed my eyes and enjoyed his warmth and closeness. But then, too soon, he pulled away again.

“Unfortunately, if we continue to delay, we risk being so late that it will affect your standing,” he said with regret.

I couldn’t afford to lose even one more rank, so I leaned back as well.

Nicholas put the car into reverse and returned us to the street. Then he moved the gear into drive and we continued on.

Terry’s mansion wasn’t too far from where we had been, a mile or two at most. We were the last car to pull into the driveway, though several servants were still outside as if expecting us. When Nicholas stopped, one of the servants opened my car door.

“Thank you very much,” I said as I exited.

The servant kept his eyes down and did not engage me at all, not even to respond.

Odd, I thought at once, though perhaps this particular gentleman took his position as a servant very seriously. I wouldn’t hold it against him. I simply stepped away and waited for Nicholas to come around the car.

Nicholas held his arm out for me, and I laced mine around his.

At the doorway, a pair of servants opened the door for us. “Thank you very much,” I said to them both. Both ignored me, eyes low, as if they had been instructed not to look at me. No, it wasn’t just me. They deferred their gazes from Nicholas as well.

I glanced at Nicholas in confusion.

Nicholas huffed. “They say Terry treats his staff kindly and pays well. Neither of those things are true. His cruelty knows no bounds, and I suspect, though I have no proof, that many of his staff aren’t here by choice. I suspect blackmail.

“Surely your family would have done something about it by now,” I said.

Nicholas shook his head. “Everyone has turned a blind eye. I’ve broached the topic with my parents before, but they will not hear me. His cruelty breeds loyalty, unfortunately. The servants won’t speak to me, let alone come forward about their treatment.”

I hated that notion. I wanted to save the servants here. But when I looked at them, their gazes were on the floor, their bodies still as statues. I doubted they would speak to me either. Perhaps the only way to help them now, was the same way to help myself.

We had to bring Terry down.

Nicholas led me further into the bulk of the mansion, Into a greeting room at the base of a grand staircase. Gold adorned nearly every surface from the banisters of the staircase to the molding across the room.

Oil paintings and tapestries hung on every wall, under lights and sometimes cases. I had little doubt that over them, let‘ I dirty them with the bottom of my shoes.

The candidates and a few other guests were scattered throughout the room, with Terry standing in the center of the room. Servants, their downcast gazes in place, walked around the room carrying trays of champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Camera crews catch every potential moment of action.

Terry, when he spots us, waves Nicholas and me closer. Nicholas holds tightly to my hand as we approach.

Terry’s gaze drifts down to my l*ps, and his eyes narrowed. “Why, Piper. It seems you have smeared your

l*pstick.”

He procures a handkerchief from his pocket and passes it over to me. I hesitate a moment before accepting it and dap at the corners of my l*ps.

“Why look absolutely debauched, like some cad had his way with you.” Terry slices his sharp gaze toward Nicholas. “Interesting how Nicholas has chosen to wear the same shade.”

I hand the handkerchief out to Nicholas, but he ignores it to wipe at his mouth with his sleeve. I hadn’t noticed any of the l*pstick had smeared before, but under this light, I could see the touch of red that had tinted parts of Nicholas’s l*ps,

My cheeks burned in embarrassment. What must we have looked like?

“I would have thought Piper might have better taste in men,” Terry said.

“If the competition looks like you, dear uncle, then I believe her taste in men is more than fine.”

“You may be of age, but you are nothing but a boy comparatively. A true man would be able to keep her satisfied.”

I cleared my throat. “Do I get a say in the matter? I feel as though I should, since this directly concerns me.”

Terry rolled his eyes at me. “Women don’t know what they want. They need a firm hand to guide them.” All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

My entire b*dy recoiled from him and his vile words. I inched closer to Nicholas. Nicholas started to turn his b*dy so that I was a step or two behind him.

“I’ve broken stronger women than you, Piper, and now they live to serve me.”

“Servitude is not how relationships work,” Nicholas snapped, and I was proud of him for it. “A relationship is a partnership, on equal footing. Somehow I doubt you have consent for what you do.”

“Their complaints end abruptly enough, when they see what I can do,” Terry said, undeterred. He leered

Nicholas flat–out pulled me behind him now. He directly stepped between Terry and me. “You will keep your distance from Piper,” he snarled.

Terry shrugged, undisturbed. “You can’t be around every minute, nephew. And the minute your back is turned…” He snapped his fingers. “Your little favorite is mine.”