The Luna Choosing Game by Jane Above Story

Chapter 0540

Palm trees zig-zagged around, some of them bent at odd angles. One even looked like it had grown sideways for a while before bending back upwards.

Sitting there on the sideways part of the tree, was Nicholas. Just where Julian had said he would be.

"Piper?" he called.

I smiled a little as I walked toward him. When I was close enough, he reached down and offered me a hand. I accepted it, and he pulled me up onto the tree beside him.

From this height, three or four feet off the ground, the view was beautiful. More of the ocean stretched out before me. The light flickered on the rippling water, the rising and falling waves.

We sat in comfortable, companionable silence for a moment. His hand placed flat at his side, resting on the palm tree. Mine was placed directly beside his. We weren't touching, but I could feel the heat of him. I was so attuned to him, I swear our breathing matched just from being so close.

"You saw my outburst," he said. It wasn't a question.

for you, to look more human in front

his forehead. "Julian saw

"Yeah," I said. "Sorry."

us again, and

with Selma,"

snapped to me. "He

Julian and Selma's conversation. I was clear about the main takeaway: the King and Queen wanted to

"I'm getting tired of this. I want so hard to be a good leader for my people. I also want to be a perfect son. But... my parents seem to be succumbing to their darkest impulses lately. It's a path I

know where to even start to try to help him feel

more and more despicable. And when I think about how they might have

fist on the tree. "I'm not in that pit anymore," I reminded him. Maybe reminded

turned his head and looked at me. There was a fire burning in his

turned his hand palm up so our fingers could

of me and never stepping one foot out of line, even for the things I so desperate want," he said. "I want to do something for myself