The next morning, when I woke up, I headed straight for the window to look at the sky. Fortunately, there was no cloud in sight. Today, it seemed, I would escape my punishment. One of these days, however, my luck would run out and I would be forced to kneel in the storm and hope my body was strong

Nicholas didn’t say a word. He simply turned and left. “Bye, Nick-lass!” Elva called, before happily returning to her waffles. Deflated, I corrected my chair and flopped down onto it. None of the girls spoke to me during the rest of breakfast. Susie might have, but she was still too embarrasse

I stared at him, startled. Did he actually think that I broke up with him to be with someone else? He must have, because he returned my stare with one of his own. “No.” I wished with all of my heart that he would believe me without an explanation. I didn’t want to lie to him. But I knew him. S

I awoke the next morning to the sound of thunder outside my window and pounding on my bedroom door. I’d barely gotten out of bed when the door burst open and a slew of Joseph’s guards flooded in. “Mommy!” Elva shouted as she hid under the covers. “At least let me get dressed,” I said, holding up

My eyes went wide. As poor as I felt, I still pushed myself upright on the bed – until he placed a hand on my shoulder and eased me back down. “I won’t give up,” I told him. “I can’t.” “I wouldn’t ask you to, except for your own safety, Piper. If you truly don’t care about being Luna, like you s