The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert novel Chapter 16

History Lesson

For the first time since her arrival, Savvy saw Penelope up close. The woman indeed looked as if she was already a queen. Although her brows were knitted together, surprisingly she was pointing her sharp, displeased gaze at her friends.

“Please,” she sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead carefully, so as not to ruin her make-up, “I asked you not to do this. We are rivals here, but not enemies. We can still be civil with one another.”

“But…”Inga protested, clearly wanting to object, however, a warning look from her leader was enough to close her mouth.

“Let us chat for a bit,” Penelope offered, suddenly changing her facial expression. Her two minions backed away, lowering their heads in submission. While they all had alpha blood, Penelope’s authority was undeniable.

Savannah mentally prepared for another battle, but the girl surprised her again. She took her arm and led her away from the crowd. A drone flew after them, and Savvy stretched the sweetest smile on her face just in case they were being filmed.

“I wanted to introduce myself,” Penelope stated. She was the picture of elegance and friendliness. “I have spoken to every other contender today except for you. Welcome to the North, Princess Savannah Stormhold. It’s our honour to have you here.”

It did not escape Savvy that she welcomed her on behalf of the whole North as if it belonged to her. The other issue was that although she used her title to address her, she was still holding her hand and leading her somewhere – a sign of them being equals. When they were not. Someone was getting ahead of themselves.

“You are very sweet,” Savýy complimented, strategically deciding right now wasn’t the appropriate time to clash with Penelope. It was, however, the right time to learn more about her opponent.

“Sorry about that,” the girl apologised as she waved off her two friends, who had chosen to remain close by. “I really meant what I said. I think we can be good friends in the future. It will be great for our nations.”

Of course, she meant the future where she would be the Luna of the North and Savvy would return to the Western Kingdom.

“Yes, that’s true.” The westerner nodded, realising that her plan to wait it out was going to the bin. “I heard that your pack have always supported the royal family. Let’s keep that tradition alive.”

To Penelope’s credit, she didn’t even blink at the little jab.

“Another person I wanted to apologise for is Elene,” the girl said suddenly, sighing deeply. “We are like family. She is overprotective and really wants me to win…”

“Oh, that must be so stressful for you.” Savannah tried really hard not to roll her eyes. It wasn’t like she was learning anything new after all.

“It is. Kai and I are good friends, but we are just that – friends.” Penelope looked up at the

sky. We all grew up together and are very close. But we don’t love each other, and we know that.”

Okay, this was new.

“Why are you telling me this?” Savvy eyed her curiously. This was getting more and more intriguing by the minute.

“Just so you know I am not a threat.” Penelope stopped and looked at the flowers next to them. They were roses, and Savannah did her best not to frown. “Just because so many people see me as their queen doesn’t mean I will become one. I’d say it’s unlikely.”

“I can say the same,” Savvy shrugged her shoulders innocently. Two could play this game. “I am here to improve our kingdoms’ relationship and learn more about my family’s history. I was deprived of the northern part of my heritage, and it’s time to fix that.”

The drone was right above their heads, and the princess grinned at her companion. “Do you like roses, Penelope?” she asked the northerner to startle her.

“Yes, very much. A rose is the queen of flowers.” Penelope’s hand brushed over delicate flowers, but Savannah simply cut one of them with her sharp nail. Then she carefully attached it to the girl’s hair, not bothering to find a good placement for the flower. It was awkwardly sticking out of the golden headband she wore in a feeble attempt to pass it off as a crown, and now the whole thing looked silly and pompous.

“It suits you,” Savvy fixed the rose so it would be difficult to remove from her hair.

“Thank you,” Penelope blushed because she couldn’t see it herself yet. “You are not at all what I imagined.”

“I hope that’s a compliment!” the princess giggled.

“Yes, of course.”, The other girl let out a little laugh. “Look, I am trying to support all the contenders here. This is what’l do.”

“You are kind and generous,” Savvy told her what she wanted to hear. It would have been rude not to.

“Thank you,” Penelope graciously accepted the praise. “This is why I want to warn you now. Elene has something planned for the brunch. It’s …”. She looked around as if she was afraid of spies, while the drone was still inches above them.

“Oh, my!” Savannah covered her mouth, pretending to gasp. When in fact, she wanted to yawn. This game was a very boring one.

“It’s a history quiz.” Penelope pursed her lips, waiting for her reaction.

“Oh, no!” Savvy added as much drama as she could muster. “But it was supposed to be break time for us.”

“I am sorry.” The girl lowered her eyes as if she was truly devastated. “Elene wants to eliminate more contenders as soon as possible. They can set up these challenges for us when they want.”

It was funny how she threw her best friend under the bus with such ease whereas Elene was trying her best to help For a moment, Savannah felt sorry for the northern princess, however, when she spotted her laughing with a blonde bearded man, happy and unbothered by how she was about to stab pretty much everyone here in their backs, that feeling instantaneously

disappeared. Maybe this was the friendship she deserved.

“My maid has a history book with her,” Penelope whispered. “If you want, you can have a look. I know it’s not enough time to help you, but, who knows, maybe you will get lucky.”

“Yes. I will take what I can.” Savvy nodded, doing her best not to burst out laughing, Her rival had no idea what kind of favour this was for her She, of course, had already read a few history books and planned on relying on her photographic memory, but who knew, maybe she missed a few facts.

Penelope summoned her maid, who gave Savannah a heavy tome. Scanning the garden with her alert eyes, she noticed a few other girls with similar books, which meant the northerner arrived prepared in advance. There was no reason for anyone to walk around with identical history books.

“Thank you!” Savvy sat on a bench and opened the book on her knees. “I will never forget your kindness.”

“Can it be my turn now?” Petra asked, taking Kai’s arm, after which he decided it was time to return to the contenders.

He wasn’t listening to what the werewolf girl was saying. It was something about the weather and how disappointed she was not to have seen macarons on the table. He lost interest in their thread of conversation after that.

“Petra!” He heard someone call out and saw a tall woman almost running to them with a worried face. He recognised her as Petra’s assistant and tried not to giveaway how funny it appeared that she was terrified of the two of them staying alone, which was understandable since Petra was nothing more than a walking time bomb. At any moment she could do or say something that a contender couldn’t afford.

“Evelyn!” The girl next to him responded. She was either oblivious or the best actress in the world. “I got my time with the king! Isn’t it great!”

“Petra” The woman began, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. She may have wanted to control their time together more, but it was now too late.

Not that he cared. It was an excellent opportunity to get rid of the annoying contender.