Chapter 8~

I say goodbye to the princess and head towards where I saw Carter last. As I walk, I whisper into my comms unit, "Change of plans, guys."

Ed appears in front of me out of nowhere. "May I have this dance, your highness?"

"Not now, Ed," I try to walk past him.

"We're supposed to be blending, right?" Ed takes my hand and leads me onto the dance floor.

The band shifts into a traditional Italian ballad as Ed pulls me in close for a good ol' American slow dance. I lean my head onto his shoulder and let him lead.

"What's going on?" he asks, his tone worried, but his posture relaxed.

"There's a prince," I reply, keeping my body language as neutral as his.

"A prince?" Ed whispers back, just as shocked as I am.

"Megrin has a twin brother," I explain in a low voice. "We have to take them both."

"Well, that complicates things," Ed notes as we sway to the music with the other couples.

"We have to tell Carter," I urge.

"Comms," Ed says simply, reminding me that Carter has already heard every word.

I look up and make eye contact with Carter, who's standing across the room, eyes locked on me and Ed. She nods, then disappears into the crowd. Even when we're fighting, Carter and I still read each other's minds.

The band keeps playing and Ed and I keep dancing, fighting to blend in to the crowd of royal teens.

"Why are you dating Brooke?" I ask suddenly. We're in the middle of a high stakes mission with stakes that just got even higher, but suddenly, who Ed's dating has become the most important issue in my mind.

"Brooke bullied Carter for years and hurt both of us when I came to town," I remind Ed. "Why would you date her?"

"She's different now," Ed argues. "She regrets everything she did when she was friends with Chelsea. She just wants to start over, you know?"

"And that's enough?" I question. "Just being sorry for what you did makes you a different person?"

Ed shrugs. "Sometimes."

And he seems to know we're no longer just talking about Brooke. So I lean my head back onto his shoulder and listen to the words of the song and think about what he said. Ed's strong arms are around my waist and I know no matter what happens tonight, Ed will protect Carter and me.

"Carter's lucky to have a friend like you," I say quietly.

"She's lucky to have you too," Ed replies and I know no matter what Carter did, I can't stay mad at her forever.

Suddenly, the mood in the room shifts. The regent queen takes the stage and everything inside of me tenses up. It's almost time for Step Three - Get princess [and prince].

"Welcome to the celebration of my nephew and niece's eighteenth birthday," the regent queen gushes and everyone applauds.

Carter slips in though the crowd to stand next to Ed. I sneak a sideways glance at her to make sure she's ready to go, but Carter's gaze is locked onstage. I look back and realize why. Princess Megrin has just been joined onstage by her twin brother Prince Petros - none other than the prince who tried to woo Carter earlier. This is not going to go over well. And just when I thought our mission couldn't get any harder…

"I am so proud of these two," the regent queen continues. "I have watched them grow up and I know that if their parents could be here today, they would be just as proud as I am."

The regent queen wipes away an imaginary tear.

"She's good," Carter mumbles.

"And the Oscar goes to…" Ed adds under his breath.

"Now it is Bellissimare's tradition to have the birthday royal give a speech as the clock turns midnight and it officially becomes his or birthday," the regent queen explains. "So please help me welcome my niece and nephew, Princess Megrin and Prince Petros, your future king and queen."

The regent queen steps back and the two royals take the microphone. Their speech fades into background noise as I scan the room for the easiest exit and try to re-work our plan. I do not even have to look at Ed and Carter to know that they're doing the same.

"It is such an honor to be able to rule this country which I love so much. I have waited my whole life for this and to be able to share the throne with my brother is even more special," Princess Megin is saying and Carter is rolling her eyes.

Yes, we all know Carter would rather be back in my palace kissing my pool boy, but she can at least try to blend and pretend she's enjoying the speeches.

Then Prince Petros takes the microphone from his sister and I watch his eyes scan the crowd. He finds Carter and winks. She fakes a smile and waves, then shoots me a death glare. She is never going to forgive me for dragging her to this thing.

The clock strikes midnight just as Petros is telling a funny story about him and his sister trying to prank their tutor by switch places when they were younger. The entire ballroom breaks into a traditional Italian birthday song. I join in and Ed and Carter do their best to lip-synch along.

"I hope you all have a lovely time tonight," the regent queen steps up to center stage again. "Thank you again for coming and make sure to give the prince and princess your sincerest birthday wishes."

"Carter, lure Petros away from everyone else," I bark into my comms unit as the crowd disperses. "Ed, stand guard."

Carter groans, but doesn't argue. I look around in time to see Megrin disappear into the bathroom, which makes sense considering how much wine she's been drinking. I waste no time running after her, feeling the time tick away as I do. We've got only a few minutes to get both royals isolated and try to convince them to trust us before the regent king and queen realize something is wrong and go looking for them. Mission impossible here we come.