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W e drove through a downtown district with people strolling along the sidewalks, cars buzzing past, and the glimmering windows of boutique after boutique on either side of us, until we pulled up in front of a shop with scrolling script: The Creamery.

And I couldn’t help but notice as people stopped to look at the car.

Roger stepped out and around, opening my door. “Here we are, miss.”

I crawled out, watching as people whispered to one another, confusion and curiosity etched on their faces. “Thanks,” I muttered, distracted by the stares.

“Would you like me to wait for you?”

I blinked, trying to ignore the attention. “No, that’s okay. I’m meeting a friend.”

He smiled and gave me a quick bow. “Very well, miss. Message me when you’re ready for me to pick you up.” I nodded and watched as Roger stepped back into the vehicle and drove away.

“Buzz off, people. You act like you’ve never seen royalty before. Let’s go, get a move on.”

I recognized that voice—boisterous, rude, and loud. Edith . I spun around right as she encircled me in a bear hug.

“Hey, girly! Glad you could make it.”

I hugged her back as best as I could. She had her arms wrapped around my entire body, pinning my arms down. “Hi! Yeah, thanks for inviting me. I thought you were still mad at me.”

She let me go, a smile beaming on her deviant face. “Oh, I still think you’re making the biggest mistake ever, but who am I to judge? Lord knows I’ve made plenty of my own.”

“Oh really? Care to share?”

She wrapped an arm over my shoulders as she guided me forward into the shop. “Nah…I was sworn to secrecy. But it involved two guys, a pig, and a chicken.” The smile dropped from my face.

Oh god…

My eyes widened as images of all sorts of unspeakable things flooded my mind. Edith caught sight of me and started rolling in laughter. “I’m kidding! Oh my god, you should see your face! It was so good.”

Now I felt embarrassed, my cheeks coloring from the images in my mind. Damn, Edith .

She just kept laughing as she opened the door and led us in. “That was so rich. But dude, I don’t know if I should be offended or if I should be high-fiving you for your dirty mind.”

And now I really felt like looking for a table to die under. “I didn’t—”

Edith snorted. “Oh yeah, sure you didn’t.”

Ugh… maybe meeting with her was a bad idea.

“Come on, newbie, let’s sit over there by the window. That way we can people watch the crazies.”

I wondered if she ever realized she was one of them. Because interacting with Edith was always an unknown variable. Sometimes she was a bull in a china shop, and sometimes she was a fox in a henhouse. And sometimes, well…sometimes she was just batshit crazy.

And I loved it.

Most of the time.

We took a seat at a quaint-looking white table with two matching white chairs.

A quick glance around showed me a mostly white parlor with pastel blue and pink accents, scrolling designs painted on the walls, and imagery of swirling white, pink, and brown stuff in cups.

There was a bar counter with stools lined up, mostly empty with only a few patrons, and several more tables set up for two and four.

“Hi! Welcome to The Creamery. What can I get you both?” I was surprised by the sudden appearance of a girl around my age, dressed in white shorts, a white t-shirt, and a little white hat with the name of the shop scrolled across it.

“Hey there,” Edith practically purred. “We’ll both have ice cream sundaes.”

“What’s an ice cream sundae?”

“You’re gonna love it,” Edith said as she waved me off, keeping her focus on the waitress. “Extra cherry for me, sweet thang,” and then she winked.

I closed my eyes, doing everything I could to keep from burying my face in my hands. I swear, if I didn’t love this girl so much, I’d stay as far away from her as possible. The waitress winked back at Edith with a smirk and then left us.

“So do you just go after anything that walks? Or do you actually have a type?” I teased.

Edith leaned back in her chair, a devilish smirk painted across her face. “Mara, when you’re as lovable and sexy as me, it would be a crime against humanity to deny anyone a taste.”

This time, I did bury my face in my hands, feeling sheepish while also trying my best not to laugh so hard that I peed myself. “Oh my god, Edith,” I managed through ragged breaths, “how are you even you ? I met your family. They’re like… normal . It makes no sense.”

Edith chuckled. “I know. I totally improved my whole genetic line.”

I laughed again. I knew she was joking, but a part of me suspected she totally believed it. “You sure did, friend.”

She shrugged her shoulders in an I know kind of way. “So, how’s it going over there at the McMansion?”

I sighed. “Hard to tell. I haven’t been there that long.” My thoughts drifted through the last twenty-four hours, and I realized I had a lot to update Edith on. “Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m already on Marissa’s hit list.”

“Ooo…already, huh?” Leaning forward in her chair, she rested her chin on her hand. “Do tell.”

With a deep breath, I recounted everything from when Edith left me on the grass, to arriving at the Calvernon Estate, to dinner with the whole fam-damn-ly, to my meeting with Sasha this morning.

At some point, our waitress had brought us our ice cream, and Edith was putting her first spoonful into her mouth as I finished recounting the last epic drama that was my life right now.

“Damn, girl. You weren’t kidding. That’s a lot.”

“I know ,” I groaned as I rubbed my face with my hands. “And I don’t even know what to do now. I’m totally lost.”

“Mmmm,” she moaned as she took in another spoonful. “You could ask for volunteers?”

I jabbed the white stuff with bits of black… something with my spoon. What the hell was this? “I know, but I don’t know the first thing about leading a bunch of people into something like this.”

“Well, for starters, not every leader knows exactly what they’re doing the first time they do it.

And,” she pressed on as she pointed her spoon at me, “a good leader understands their own weaknesses. They find experts that fill in their blind spots and know when to ask for help or pass over command to someone who knows better.”

I considered that for a moment. “Okay…but I don’t know any experts.”

“Sure you do,” she spoke as she shoveled another spoonful of her ice cream. “Are you going to eat that, or what?”

“Huh? Oh!” I looked down at the shlop, because whatever this stuff was, it was melting all over the place. “Who do I know?” I scooped up some of the stuff and sniffed it. Wow! Whatever it was smelled delicious.

“How about me? I know stuff. I helped you with the Admin Job. I’m wicked good at all the computer stuff, and I’m seriously awesome with knives and you know it.”

All true things, but I couldn’t ask Edith to do this. “I appreciate that, and I’ll take all the help you’re willing to give me, but you don’t have to. I got myself into this. I don’t expect you to dive in with me.”

Edith gave me the biggest eyeroll I’d ever seen. “Gosh, newbie, don’t even start with me. You ask for volunteers, and I’m there. You need me.”

And just like that, warmth fluttered through me as my heart melted.

Because Edith, my best friend in the entire world—and quite possibly my only friend—was volunteering herself, placing herself at serious risk, just to help me.

Just like the Admin Job, I felt immense gratitude and love for this girl, craziness and all.

But I couldn’t let her do this. Not when I was still trying to figure out how I was going to ensure the team’s survival when I left everyone behind.

But …I also knew that arguing with Edith was a pointless endeavor. I’d have to figure it all out later.

“Thanks, Edith.”

“Of course! Besides, I bet there’ll be some major hotties, and I can’t pass that up.”

And here we go again . I laughed, because how could I not? But I knew Edith’s real motivations were a desire to help, to support, and to be the ultimate friend.

She shoveled another spoonful and swallowed before asking, “You said Sasha was going to pick a team this week. Does that mean they already have a plan for the mission?”

“I think so. I’m supposed to meet Giza tomorrow to go over the mission parameters and discuss selecting a team.” I stabbed my ice cream with my spoon, watching as the metal glided into the white lump, cutting through it easily.

“Will you take a bite of that damn ice cream already?” Edith scolded, knocking me out of my head and back into the room.

I watched as the melted pool in my spoon dripped off, back into my cup. “It’s good, right?”

“Just shove it in there already!”

I snorted. “That’s what she said,” I got out with a wink before stuffing the spoon in my mouth.

An explosion of amazing flavor hit my palate. It was sweet, creamy, smooth, rich, and the blackish stuff was melted chocolate!

“Oh my god!” I mumbled, stuffing more of the creamy goodness in my mouth. “Why didn’t you tell me it was so good?”

“I told you you would like it.”

“Yeah, but seriously…” I licked my spoon, trying to get the chocolate off. “It’s chocolate, right? I thought chocolate was rare or something?”

Edith chuckled as she took another bite of her own. “It’s imitation, actually. But it tastes almost as good as the real thing.”

“Wowies…” I took another bite, feeling the biting cold of the firmer ice cream encasing my tongue. “This is so much better than nourishment pills.”

Edith snorted. “Yeah, no shit.”

I laughed, turning my head to look out the window, and marveled at how the world went by without a care.

No armed Enforcement officers marched the streets, no cameras positioned at every lamppost, no security checkpoints, or retinal scans every few miles.

All I saw out the window was people living their lives freely. No fear.

“Telvia’s nothing like this.” The words slipped out, my thoughts being vocalized without me realizing it.

“Yeah…that’s why we’ve got to win.”