Chapter 0264

“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 flipped 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

  1. 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.

hoping I didn’t get Julian in too much trouble. Though, knowing him, he could handle

For a few more blissful moments, I closed my eyes and enjoyed his warmth and closeness. But then,

continue to delay, we risk being so late that it will affect your standing,” he

regret.

one more rank, so

the street. Then

we continued on.

from where we had been, a mile or two at most. We were the last car to pull into the

I

did not engage

once, though perhaps this particular gentleman took his position as a servant very seriously. I wouldn’t hold it against

the car.

his arm out for me, and I

you very much,” I said to them both. Both ignored me,

their gazes from Nicholas

glanced at Nicholas in confusion.

staff kindly and pays well. Neither of those things are true. His cruelty knows no bounds, and I suspect, though I have no

I suspect

your family would have done something about

the topic with my parents before, but they will not hear me. His cruelty

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

bring

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.

every wall, under lights

I dirty them with the bottom

with Terry standing in the center of the room. Servants, their downcast gazes

us, waves Nicholas and me closer. Nicholas holds tightly to my hand

approach.

drifts down to my lips, and his eyes narrowed. “Why, Piper. It seems you

lipstick.”

his pocket and passes it over to me. I hesitate a

dap at the corners

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