Page 114 of Prince of the Palisades

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean it when I said—”

“Yes, you did,” she interrupts, grinning wryly. “But I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?”

“As much as it kills me to admit,” she groans, “Iamalways gone. Always being Crown Princess Annika first.”

“I wish I was like you.”

“You mean impeccably dressed? Funny?Nice?”

“No.” This time, I nudge her shoulder. A frown creases my mouth. “Perfect.”

She sighs at the ceiling. “Jade, I promise you, I’m far from that. I’m the first female heir in our bloodline. That’s a lot of pressure.”

Before her, every monarch’s firstborn was a boy. It wasn’t an intended tradition—to only have kings. It just happened. But then Annika came along, and Pépère made it known that one day, she would succeed Papa. She would be our queen.

“For years, I tried to be the best. Give them no reason to doubt me.” She cracks her knuckles, then stops. “But they’ll always doubt me. Because of misogyny. Misogynoir. I’ll never be enough.”

I shake my head, irritated.

“I don’t want to betheirqueen, anyway.” Annika shrugs. “They don’t deserve me. I want to be queen of a Réverie I helped shape. Which is what I’ve been doing for the last year.”

She unlocks her phone. Swipes through contracts and building plans. Discussions with leaders about creating more facilities intent on providing aid to underserved communities. Fighting antidiscrimination laws. Empowering women of color across the world.

“Holy fuck,” I whisper. “So, you weren’t just lounging by the pool? Sipping boba all day?”

“Oh, I did that too. It’s called multitasking.”

We share smiles.

“I can’t change Réverie in a day,” she says. “But I can start. I can stop giving up before I even try.”

My eyebrows knit. “Wait. You were supposed to be helpingmein LA.”

“I tried! You’re so stubborn. Just like Papa.”

“I’m not like—”

Her sharp glare cuts me off. “You both get these ideas in your head. How things are supposed to go. Sometimes it’s okay to admit you’re in over your head.” Her face softens. “Or just…listen. Not only to me. Yourself too.”

I slump forward, drumming my fingers on my knees. A new wave of sadness moves through me when I realize I got that from Reiss.

“There’s something else.” When I raise my eyes, Annika’s chewing her lower lip. Worry sits in the corners of her eyes. “I kind of have a secret boyfriend.”

I nearly fall off the bed, flailing.

She winces. “I know, I know.”

“Who?” I demand. “I’ll have Ajani kidnap him and—”

Annika swats my knee. “No, you won’t. Besides, Ajani doesn’t need any extra motives to throw him off a roof.”

I stare at her for a beat. And then—

“You’re fucking joking.”

She passes me her unlocked phone. I freeze at her background. It’s the two of them laughing, arms around each other, standing in front of the reflecting pool on USC’s campus.

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