“Will the princess be at the party?” Mom prods her, because she wasn’t done with the humiliation just yet, I guess.

Molly darkens even more, somehow. “Yeah, she will,” she says in a clipped way. Finally, Mom takes the hint, and turns back to Hellene.

I don’t know what it’s like to grow up with a monarchy, but I’m pretty sure some people feel strongly about the royal family here. There are magazines dedicated to them by the grocery store checkout, and bumper stickers with the royal crest stuck on the back of cars, and the immigration office has a floor-to-ceiling portrait of the king and queen hanging in the entrance hall. But if I had to take a safe bet, Molly doesn’t seem to be one of those people.

“Woo, royalty,” I say in a quiet, mocking voice. Sorry, Mom. It’s every girl for herself out here, and if I get uninvited from this party because my mom has no chill, I will nurse that grudge until my dying day.

Luckily, my bet is right on the money, because Molly sinks into her seat as all the tension leaves her shoulders. “Everyone’s coming over around one-thirty,” she says. “Can I grab your number? I’ll text you the address.”

Across the room, Mom catches my eye and raises her shoulders in excitement.

As Molly lowers her head to use her phone, I shoot Mom’s happy gesture right back at her.

TWO ROSE

My guards, Theodore and Sidney, stand silently on the porch of Molly Kwon’s mansion, one eyeing me through the window, the other monitoring the front yard. They’re huddled together, instead of patrolling like they usually would, in an effort to keep dry. I avert my eyes, succumbing to a pang of guilt for causing them to stand out there, stranded. They’re sheltered from the heavy rain, but not from the unseasonal cold.

If I thought it would make any difference, I would insist they come inside in shifts to watch from the warmth of the kitchen with a cup of tea. The problem is, they don’t much respect what I have to say when Father’s given a direct order. Today, Father’s orders were to watch from the front yard, and remain there unless I’m in imminent danger, and that’s that. Their comfort doesn’t matter, and I certainly don’t have the authority to issue supplementary or contradictory commands.

Although, to be fair, I don’t expect they would relish the opportunity to take a cup of tea from me, even if they were free to. The last time I made them tea, I was so high I mistook the salt for sugar.