“It’s okay,” Jaya said sympathetically. “Dating is really complicated.” Unwittingly, she tossed Grey a look—only to find he was looking at her, too.

“Perhaps,” Leo said, oblivious to the two of them. “I suppose I will go get a drink.” He walked off, his shoulders hunched and sad.

Jaya turned to Grey, a small smile at her lips. “So…”

Before she could formulate a diplomatic question to steer the conversation back to Grey and his family, Isha came walking up and wrapped her arms around Jaya’s waist. “Hello!” she said to Grey, who nodded back at her. After the sushi-dinner bonding exercise, they seemed to be on fairly good terms.

Jaya smiled. “Hi, Ish.”

“I want you to meet my friend,” Isha said, gesturing behind her.

Jaya noticed Elliot standing behind her. “Oh, hello.” She held out a hand. “I’m Jaya Rao.”

“Elliot Brown,” he said, shaking her hand. His grip was firm and dry. Impressive. She’d met heads of state whose handshakes felt like playing that Halloween game where you stuck your hands into bowls with your eyes closed and tried to guess what disgustingly slimy object you were touching. “Nice to meet you.”

“Guess what?” Isha burst in breathlessly, before Elliot was fully finished speaking. “I’m switching from study hall to robotics engineering.”

Jaya stared at her younger sister, who had clearly lost her grip on reality. “We talked about that, Isha,” she said, careful to keep her expression smooth and her voice cordial. It was something she’d had to practice over the years. People, she’d come to realize, did not want to see princesses fighting or bickering or being petty. They wanted to see a royal family calm and in control, always civil and smiling. “Remember? You don’t want to”—her eyes darted to Elliot—“overburden yourself with robotics. Besides, isn’t it too late to swap now, nearly two weeks into the semester?”

“No, it’s not,” Isha said, grinning at Elliot. “Elliot convinced me to talk to Dr. Waverly”—she pointed vaguely toward the French doors—“and she said she wanted me to be ‘adequately challenged.’ She could see from my entrance tests that I had ‘quite the aptitude for science and technology.’ So she’s making an exception.” Isha squealed and clutched Elliot, who looked equally thrilled. “Isn’t it great, Jaya?”

“Oh, so it was Elliot who moved this along,” Jaya bit out, still smiling, though she thought she could feel the points of her canines gleaming. Clueless Elliot who had absolutely no idea how much her sister needed to lie low and not generate more gossip with her robotics classes and friendships with boys. This would be fabulous news for virtually anyone else, but Isha could never return to the Rao estate and practice robotics engineering. “How lucky for us. Would you excuse us a moment? I need to speak with my sister.” She grabbed Isha by the elbow.