I squeezed Hana so tightly, she had to squeak "Need...air!" before I would let her go. She laughed as we both sank onto my bed, sitting cross-legged across from each other. "I missed you too," she said with a grin.

"I thought your parents didn't want you to come back."

"Surprisingly, I'm here with their blessing."

My eyebrows shot up. Hana explained. "My father received a call from Countess Madeleine officially inviting me to stay in Cordonia as part of her entourage. She promised him the court would find me a match worthy of the family name."

I looked at her with a little worry in my eyes, remembering my conversation with Penelope and Kiara. "Is it okay that you're talking to me?"

Hana looked at me like I was crazy. "Of course! Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, you know...I'm kind of a social pariah now."

Hana shook her head. "Riley, you're my best friend. There's no way Madeleine or anyone else is going to convince me to stop talking to you. In fact...I didn't even want to come back without you here. I kept delaying my return, thinking you were gone. When I found out that you were here, I jumped on the next plane out of Shanghai!"

I smiled widely. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

"Have things been that bad?"

Before I could answer, there was another knock on my door. "That must be my morning wake-up call," I said as I opened it and let Maxwell in. He saw Hana, and had a similar reaction to the one I had had a few minutes before. He picked Hana up off the bed and gave her a long bear hug. "I'm so glad you're back! And not a moment too soon." She gave him a questioning look. "It's time to get Riley dressed for the engagement party, and we can always use your expert fashion advice."

Hana giggled. "I'd be honored to help, if you'd like Riley."

I nodded. "Getting dressed just isn't the same without you."

We went to the boutique on Madeleine's estate, and took our time catching up as we looked through the racks of gowns. Finally, we settled on a pencil dress covered in pink lace. By the time we arrived at the party, we were just in time to hear Madeleine's opening remarks. My stomach turned a little when she put on the loving fiance act, but it was a little better now, knowing the truth of their relationship. After her speech, Madeleine approached me and Hana so she could point out how much I owed her, for bringing Hana back to court.

"You know," she told me, "I've heard that dogs remember the hand that feeds them. I hope you remember that Hana is only here because of my personal invitation."

I scowled at Madeleine and gave her an exaggerated curtsy. "O, Great Madeleine, Countess of Wherever, Two-Time Future Queen of Cordonia, let me humbly thank you."

"Cute," she sneered.

"Isn't that what you wanted, your Not Yet Majesty?"

"I suppose that's all I can hope for from you."

Then, Liam walked up and joined us, smiling brightly at both me and Hana.

Hana curtsied to Liam. "King Liam," she said with a smile.

"Lady Hana, I'm thrilled to see you." Then he turned to me, eyes sparkling. "Lady Riley."

"Hello your majesty," I said with a curtsy and a smile.

"You look beautiful." He held my gaze for a long moment, before Madeleine finally interrupted.

"I believe a new delegation of visitors has just arrived. Why don't you go greet them, sweetheart."

Liam shook himself out of his reverie and excused himself. Madeleine turned to me with an icy smile and asked me to walk with her. I glanced at Hana with a terrified expression and followed Madeleine as she led me into a quiet room. "You two could be a little more subtle," she said when we were alone.

"Excuse me?"

"You and Liam. The longing looks, the star-crossed lovers act?"

I glared. "It's not an act. We still care for each other."

"That's fine. Have all the feelings you want for each other. A tryst here and there can be managed. Just don't embarrass me."

My eyes widened; even after my talk with Liam, her bluntness surprised me. "Don't you care at all that we're in love?"

"Of course not. When you're behind closed doors, you can have Liam's heart and...any other part of him you want. As long as I have the crown."

I shook my head, incredulous. What was that thing Liam had told me once...Those who seek power are the ones least suited to have it? I think Madeleine was the living proof of that statement.

"It's practically the best thing that could have happened to you," Madeleine said, one hand on her hip, the other held up as she examined her nails casually.

I let out a loud, sarcastic laugh. "That's rich."

"I'm trying to work with you," she was growing impatient.

"Sharing Liam is not 'working with me'."

"You should try to develop some flexibility in your life. It'll do you a world of good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must meet with my other guests."

As I watched Madeleine saunter away, I bit my tongue to keep from shouting words that certainly weren't approved for public consumption. After taking a few minutes to calm down, I joined the rest of the party, and saw Bertrand and Maxwell rushing up to me. They pulled me back into the same room where Madeleine and I had talked, telling me what they had discovered.

"Tariq is not just away from court," Bertrand said, "He's not even in Cordonia. Which means finding him will be even more difficult than we thought. We're at a bit of an investigative impasse. However, the next stop on the tour will be Applewood Manor, the very estate where the photograph was taken."

I nodded; I didn't need him reminding me of that little fact. "Do you think we can find some clues there? It's been so long since that night."

"I have to believe we'll find something there. In fact, I've already made arrangements to arrive there early. We'll leave as soon as tonight's festivities are over."

I did my best to mingle, after that, but most people were pretty...hesitant to speak to me for any length of time. Eventually, I stepped outside to get some air and take a break from being shot down. I was surprised to run into Drake – literally, he had to catch me by the shoulders to keep me from hitting the ground. "Harkness!" he yelped.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," I said, standing up and apologizing before I even realized who I was talking to. "Drake!" I said when it hit me. I pulled him into a fierce hug, and he held me tightly for a long minute. I sighed into his shoulder, it was so good to see him again. "I missed you," I said, my voice muffled by his shirt. We pulled apart and I smiled at him.

"Easy there," he said with a small grin.

"Are you saying you didn't miss me at all?"

"I didn't say that." He looked at me for a long minute, which made me blush and look at the ground. "I'm sorry you've had to go through...all this," he said at last.

"Thanks. That means a lot."

"I'm here for you, whatever you need." I nodded, but he must have seen what I was thinking, because he added, "I know it might not have seemed like it right after the ball."

"Well, would it have killed you to send me a text?" I was joking, but Drake frowned gravely.

"No, but according to Liam, it might have killed you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think it's that serious?" Liam had seemed really worried, but he was always a little over-protective of me.

"Until we know who's behind this, we can't rule out that possibility. But, we're here for you now. And we'll all do whatever it takes to clear your name."

"Thank you, Drake. Speaking of which...I should probably go find Maxwell and Bertrand. We're leaving for Applewood tonight, hoping to dig up some information before the rest of the court arrives tomorrow."

"Good. I'll leave you to it." As I started to walk away, he called out to me and I turned back to see him. He stood stiffly and nodded towards me, saying, "It's good to have you back." I just smiled before turning back and walking into the party.

"Are you ready to go?" Maxwell asked me when I found him.

I nodded firmly. "I'm ready to get this investigation going."

"Alright, Super Sleuth Mode, activate!"