The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert novel Chapter 8

“Princess Elene asks you not to be late,” a maid handed them a golden envelope and disappeared even before any of them had a chance to respond.

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“She is in such a rush!” Kyle rolled his eyes. Zara handed Savvy the letter and she opened it without delay. Her lips curled into a smirk when she read the contents of the message. “What is it?” Kyle was impatient.

“Nothing much,” Savannah opened the secret compartment of her make-up box and hid the letter there. “Elene really wants us to get to the ball on time. She was even kind enough to give me strict directions on where to go.”

“That’s… unexpectedly nice of her,” Zara checked the time and looked at Savvy reassuringly.

“If only her instructions didn’t lead me to an inventory room at the back of the castle,” the lycan princess snorted. She couldn’t believe that this woman hated her enough to go into this much trouble.

Little did they know that her photographic memory would never let her get lost in this place. All thanks to one very handsome gardener…

“B**ch,” Zara swore under her breath but quickly regained her composure. “Anyway, shall we? Now we just have to come early!”

“I like the way you think,” Kyle winked, offering them both his hands, which they gladly accepted.

In less than a few minutes, they were already standing at the doors leading to the main ballroom. Elene was greeting the guests, wearing a sparkling golden dress. She was in the middle of ridiculing a girl who had the misfortune to arrive in a purple dress. Unfortunately for her, the purple ink wasn’t used in the invitation. Hence, the colour was considered inappropriate today.

“The North always respected wits before everything,” she sneered. “We cannot have a queen who doesn’t know the simplest of rules.”

She clearly wanted to say something else, but that was when her eyes landed on Savannah. Elene recognised her at once. She clenched her lips not to give away her displeasure. But it was obvious nevertheless.

The girl in purple had already left, using her chance to escape. And Savvy left her companions to enter separately, as the contenders were obliged to.

“Savannah Stormhold?” Elene pretended that she did not care much. “I am not mistaken, right?”

“Not this time,” Savvy gave her the most charming smile.

“What do you mean? I’d never…” she started talking but cut herself off in the middle of it, realising what the westerner meant. She was talking about the instructions she sent to her room to try and get rid of her quickly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Savannah leaned forward and whispered to her ear. “I appreciated the gesture and I will return it when I can.”

Not waiting for a reply, she entered the ballroom.

The space was filled with guests in masks and she tried to observe them discreetly. The ball was only supposed to start when the king arrives and the contenders are introduced. So, she

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still had time to do whatever she needed to do.

Masks were covering the faces but no one here was able to hide their scents. Savvy tried to remember them now, since that would be valuable information for later.

She was sipping champagne in the corner when the doors on the opposite side of the grand hall opened, a familiar scent hitting her nostrils

Savannah couldn’t believe this. That was definitely the scent of the gardener. This scent was more evident and intense for her than any other in this room even if she couldn’t see him yet,

She started thinking hectically while trying to stay reasonable. There was no way that a simple gardener would be invited to a grand party like that. And that could only mean one thing. The man she kissed yesterday wasn’t a gardener.

Savvy gulped her champagne and stayed in her corner, watching a group of men enter. She only saw the tips of their heads in the crowd but by the way people were greeting them it was clear that they were important here.

“Your Majesty!” someone close to the group said in a voice laced with fawning and Savvy tensed

“Are you sure that’s him?” she heard two girls who stood not far from her whispering, trying to cover their mouths to muffle the sounds.

“Yes, I met the Beta yesterday and I am positive that it’s his scent. It’s the king and his entourage,” was the reply.

They were probably other contenders since they didn’t know who was who. Locals seemed comfortable at the ball. The masks for them were just a fun outfit element for the party, nothing more.

But this was bad. Really, really bad. If that was king Kai and his most trusted men then it meant that she kissed one of them! It couldn’t get any worse than that and Savvy sucked in a deep breath trying to calm down.

Why did she even assume that he was a gardener?! She knew why. Simply because she saw him in dirty clothes and … in the garden.

This definitely wasn’t her brightest moment and she cursed under her breath at the realisation

Savannah remembered pretty well that she called him a gardener in the library and he did not deny it. Moreover, he went with it. So did she pretending to be a maid. But she had a very good reason for that. What was his reasoning to pretend while on his own turf?

The answer for that was too obvious… He knew who she was from the very beginning. And he played her.

Was he laughing at her with his friends? Or even worse – was he laughing at her with king Kai?

Or… was it king Kai’s idea?

It was clear that no one wanted her here. Was it another part of their plan to get rid of her? Would they now use it to blackmail her so that she would be humiliated? Did they want her gone that much?

She gripped the stem of her crystal flute so hard that it crumbled in her hand to pieces, drawing blood. But she did not care, as the wounds healed quickly. Not a drop managed to fall on

her gorgeous dress. She needed answers and she needed them now.

Anger was boiling and something that she locked inside of her years ago was urging her to let it out.

“The gardener” and other men stood next to the musicians and were chatting with women surrounding them. Savvy watched them from afar for a few seconds but when some brunette in a red dress slid her arm over “the gardener’s” bicep, she made up her mind.

She marched in their direction and placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it with a royal lycan’s might to send a message.