Chapter l207

Chapter 0207

“After I realized who she was, I gave chase,” Charlotte said. By now the nanny had come and taken Elva

out of the room. Both guards went with her to a private nursery, though a third guard quickly arrive to take

their place at the door.

“She went down into the cellars. I followed closely, but then, suddenly, it was like she had totally

vanished.”

Mark’s already heavy frown deepened further. “She must have insider knowledge of all the secret

passages in the palace.”

I didn’t understand how my twin, Jane, could so easily sneak her way into the palace. “Is there a

passageway that could lead inside from outside?”

Mark seemed uncertain. “Even I’m not privilege to all the royal family’s secrets.”

“Then the royal family would know?” I asked.

“Potentially,” Mark said, “But this palace is very old. Some of the passageways could have been lost to

time, and later found. I’m trying at a loss.”

My hands were shaking so I clutched them together. “If she was here, and I’m sure she was,” I quickly

added to comfort Charlotte, who appeared distressed at my words. “But why didn’t I feel my wolf? I had

felt it so keenly before, even from a great distance.”

“I don’t know, miss,” Mark said. “Maybe she is concealing it with magic.”

“Does such magic exist?”

Mark grimaced, but nodded. “It is of a similar vein which stole your wolf from you.”

“Dark magic, then.”

“I’m afraid so.”

The use of dark magic and abilities were strictly regulated by the crown. They were prohibited except

under extremely specific circumstances. Such magic was incredibly powerful but only at the expense of a

person or persons.

The use of this magic, in part, was what made the underground organization so fiercely hated and

feared

That at least solved the mystery of why I couldn’t feel my wolf, but other questions remained. Mainty

She knew of the secret passages, but another connection could be Terry. A prominent member of the

royal family could come and go as he liked without much provocation. Likely, no one would look twice at

the girl on his arm, even with prior warnings.

Especially if that girl looked exactly like one of the candidates.

The sooner we could sneak into his mansion and look around, the better.

“Piper!”

Suddenly Nicholas burst through the door. His wild eyes searched over the room before landing on me,

then he rushed toward me.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. It’s Charlotte I’m worried about,” I said.

Charlotte gently shook her head. She already had regained her color. “Do not worry for me, Piper.”

I smiled at Nicholas, warmed by his worry… until I saw the l*pstick staining the corner of his mouth. Had

he been k*ssing someone? My smile sl*pped right off my face.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Nicholas asked, noticing the change in me.

Mark cleared his throat. When Nicholas looked over, he motioned toward his own mouth.

Nicholas’s eyes widened. He wiped at his l*ps with his sleeve, but all he succeeded in doing was

smearing the l*pstick down his chin.

I glared at it openly, hating that shade of deep red with all of my being. My hate was irrational. Nicholas

wasn’t mine to be jealous over, but I couldn’t help myself.

Despite the danger of Jane being in the palace, despite everything, my mind veered in on the fact that Nicholas had been k*ssing someone else, and I couldn’t see beyond that.

“Piper…” he began.

“It’s fine.” I didn’t want to hear whatever he was about to say.

This was the nature of the competition. One man with lots of different women. Nicholas was spending

ume with other girls, and one day he would pick one of them to marry. We both knew that I wasn’t in his

future.

But knowing that in my head and seeing the evidence of it clearly on his l*ps were two very different