Luna’s eyes stung with waiting tears. A lump filled a space in her throat. Her chest tightened, and her skin prickled. Was that real? Were they in danger? Was it up to them to call for help? To find a way to save everyone?

Alex’s thumb swiped away the first tear to fall. He pulled her into a hug, and, face buried in his shirt, she asked, “What are we supposed to do?”

“Stop stealing my lines,” he murmured into her hair, his arms once again trying to protect her.

Because he was right—that was his line. And now it was her turn to come up with an answer. She hugged him harder, holding him to her as tightly as she could, as if he would be the last person she would ever touch and she needed to remember it forever before it was too late.

“I don’t know.” She hoped he could hear her muffled words. If he couldn’t, he might let her go, might look at her—might see the truth.

Maybe she’d been born that way, maybe something had changed inside her a long time ago. Either way, somehow she became fearless. She could and would risk her life without a second thought. Climbing walls and bookcases, exploring darkened passageways, and taking a nap with spiders wasn’t even enough to make her blink.

But she would never risk other people.

Luna had convinced Tasha to let her come to Golden Weekend. Promised her it would be safe, told her about the money she might come back with that would change their lives. Without a second thought, she decided she would put her life on the line for it. No matter what happened, she would rise to Jewel’s challenges and complete them all so Alex wouldn’t have to. He would never be in danger.

And now they all were.

Stella and Nicole and Harlow and Francis—she left them behind. She convinced them it was all a game. They were still back there because of her.

It was supposed to be me, she thought. Not them. Me.

Except she hadn’t made the deal to include them. Alex was with her and Jewel was hiding—and oh no. It had only been two days! How was that enough time to start caring about someone, let alone two people?

“Why would they do that?” Luna asked, heart heavy with her worst nightmare coming true. “Why didn’t they come with us?”

Nicole constantly looked out for everyone. Luna didn’t get special attention—but it felt like she had. The moment they’d first met outside, she looked right at Luna and never stopped. She fussed over her, made sure she ate, cared if she got enough rest, dressed her up, took the time to comb her hair, listened to her, and gave advice.