“It’s nothing to be ashamed about,” Stella said, completely serious. “Everyone has to start somewhere.”

Jewel scoffed but recovered quickly. “Two minutes. Use them wisely.”

Alex sucked in a breath and exhaled, puffing out his cheeks. “Well, this is a lot.”

The first three rules were exactly what they’d already been told. There were also official rules, Numbers Four and Five, about sabotage and required participation, plus five more:

VI. Discussion of challenge room mechanics may result in disqualification.

VII. During challenges, once BEGIN is initiated, a red ABORT button will appear on the players’ tablets. Engaging the ABORT function will result in a penalty.

VIII. If a player is disqualified, they will be sent home empty handed. Their Presents will be redistributed to the remaining players.

IX. Players may not ask House Staff for assistance regarding any facet of The Cruelest Jewel.

X. Jewel Van Hanen reserves the right to create Addendums to this list.

“I know,” Luna hush-whispered, “but it’s amazing, right? Five hundred thousand dollars? I can’t wait to tell Tasha. She’ll probably start crying. Tasha never cries.”

“We only get it if we win.”

“Which we will? I mean, you want to play, right?”

“Yeah. We’re here, so might as well, but…” He tapered off.

“But what?”

Alex moved closer, ducking his head. She mirrored his movements as if they could cast a spell to create a protective bubble around them. Voice low, he asked, “Don’t you think it’s a little suspect that Olive keeps trying to give us a way out?”

“Not really.”

“Or what about when Nicole asked about the challenges? It’s like Jewel got mad. I kind of wished I’d backed Nicole up because we don’t actually know what we’re agreeing to.”

He had a point. A very good point, and it would make her a bad friend if she dismissed it as him worrying too much.

Luna chewed on her lip while she thought. She had faith, he had doubts, and together, they made a balanced team. It was way too easy to imagine herself getting caught up in the game and majorly messing up. She knew her limits—and knew that she’d shoot straight past them if the right opportunity knocked.

Alex wasn’t like that. He was calm, thoughtful. Only took controlled risks. Almost like he had to have a guess of what the consequences would be before he acted.

Get caught skipping class? Get Saturday school.

Get caught speeding? Get a ticket (and some hellfire wrath from his mom).

Signing up to play a game with no specifics made him nervous. Trying to convince him to focus on the money wouldn’t get her anywhere, because $500,000 didn’t mean much to him if he didn’t know what he’d have to do to get it.