The Princess and the Guard (Book 1)

Fifteen

At Noah's insistence, Juliette returned to her room at three in the morning to try and get some sleep. He could tell she was exhausted, and because he didn't know what Dr. Violet was doing to her, he was afraid that a lack of sleep would only worsen the effects.

He couldn't get past her having a seizure.

"There's still so much to do," she said, shaking her head as they walked back to her room. "I need to get the ship's computer system built, I need to set it up with new software that wouldn't be traceable, and need to look into who Marie Violet is and what in the skies she's doing to me."

Noah inwardly shuddered. "We'll have time, but if you collapse from exhaustion then it will make things a whole lot harder." He pulled her door open, but hesitated. "Are you sure you're okay? About, you know... the seizure thing?"

Juliette shot him a half-hearted smile. There were circles beneath her eyes, and her dark hair made her skin look even paler. She looked exhausted. "I think so. I feel fine, anyway."

Noah licked his lips. "If you start to not feel fine, let me know."

Juliette nodded.

Noah jerked his chin toward her bed. "Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

Juliette reluctantly disappeared inside her room. Noah hurried back down to his and collapsed in bed. He fell asleep after only a few minutes, his dreams filled with ship parts and machinery.

He slept through his alarm and barely made it to the training room on time, still blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"You look like death," Mason said as he walked in.

Noah shot him a thumbs up. "Thanks. Always appreciate a confidence boost."

"Are you excited?"

Noah blinked.

"About Armament? The assessment test?"

"Right." Noah shook his head. "Sorry, I spaced out. Yeah, yeah, I'm excited." Seas, he'd completely forgotten about the assessment test. He'd known it was coming for weeks, and once he returned, he'd be placed in a permanent position on the royal guard. He finished his last school class last Friday, and this was the final step in securing the job he would have for the rest of his life.

If he were to stay at the palace.

Noah hesitated, pulling his gloves over his hands and then wiggling his fingers. "Hey, can I ask you a weird question?"

Mason's eyebrows shot up, but he nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"You're from Armament, right?"

"Yeah."

"Have you ever heard of Marie Violet?"

"No, it doesn't sound familiar. Why?"

Noah shook his head. "No reason. I was just doing some reading and this woman's name popped up, and I thought maybe she was well-known there or something."

"Oh, not that I know of."

Noah frowned to himself, thinking. Marie Violet wasn't his main concern, but if he could learn more about her and her specialties, he might be able to figure out what she was doing to Juliette and come up with some ways to combat it.

Training started and ended, and by eight, Noah was showered, dressed, and on his way to Juliette's room. Odette was hosting a brunch for a handful of her House leaders. Aside from the whole making-Juliette-her-test-subject-for-a strange doctor, Odette had been oddly civil toward Juliette.