Without Ryan’s powers, there was no way to keep my parents from coming, although, trust me, I’d been trying to find an excuse. Of course, now I guessed that didn’t matter so much. Alexander had said that the Peirasmos were over, but you couldn’t blame me for not trusting the guy. He’d looked plenty freaked out the last time I’d seen him, and I’d thought he’d sounded sincere. But then I remembered Cotillion and the Ephors’ flair for the dramatic. It would be just like them to make me lower my guard, only to attack when I was unprepared.

That wasn’t going to happen.

So by the time we got to the rec center, I was already pretty tense.

So was Sara Plumley. Granted, she wasn’t worrying about the boy she loved possibly turning into a mystical being, but from the way she was running around shrieking, you would think something a lot more dire had happened than one girl running a little late.

“Harper!” she barked at me as soon as I walked backstage. “I thought you weren’t coming!”

“It isn’t that big of a deal,” Bee said, walking in behind me. “She was—”

“What if she hadn’t been here?” Sara near-shrieked. “One girl missing creates a hole in the choreography!”

With that, she stomped off, clipboard in hand, heels clacking, and as soon as she was gone, Bee and I burst into giggles.

“Maybe we should have told Sara about Cotillion,” I said, hanging up my talent costume. “It might have put things in perspective.”

I’d meant to make Bee laugh, but instead, she frowned. And when she reached out to take my hand, I realized she was shaking.

“Hey, are you all right?” I asked, stepping closer.

Bee smiled brightly, and something in my stomach twisted. I knew that smile. I’d made that smile before. That was the smile of a girl desperately trying to fake it.

“What—” I started, but then the lights blinked twice, signaling that it was almost time for the pageant to start.

“That’s our cue!” Bee chirped, and then she was out of the dressing room, leaving me to trail in her wake, confused.

We gathered in a straight line toward the back of the stage, and as the curtain went up, music blared from the sound system. I was between Bee and Rebecca Shaw, which made me feel about three feet tall, but that was actually okay. The fewer people noticed me as we launched into our supremely cheesy dance routine (one that involved smiling too hard, thrusting our arms out, and the occasional pivot) the happier I was.

As I thrust out one hip, I shot a look at Bee out of the side of my eye. Honestly, the things I did to be a good friend.