She eliminated Alex and Luna first. They had each other and probably wouldn’t want to be separated.

Harlow went next. She didn’t know her well enough to want to spend an afternoon together.

Francis’s and Stella’s cards began to glow, backlit in shimmering silver.

Her finger hovered above the screen, going back and forth between them. Oh no.

Oh no.

Jewel was watching her with a coy smile on her face. “Problem?” she asked.

“No.” Nicole returned her attention to the screen. A timer had appeared—she only had two minutes to decide.

When there was literally nothing stopping Stella from talking to Nicole, from really trying to get to know her, Stella immediately started using her tablet instead. She told Nicole repeatedly that she liked her, but why did she? Because she was pretty and tall? Those were literally the only things Stella commented on.

If Nicole really wanted to be friends, she should pick Stella so they could have official bonding time, right?

But after the first challenge, Nicole had walked into the Wardrobe Room with Francis and he just kind of … clammed up. Stella had an intense energy about her. Larger than life and literally impossible to ignore. Whenever they were together, she usually aimed most of her focus straight at Nicole. Maybe Francis felt like he couldn’t compete. No point in trying to win a battle for Nicole’s attention if Stella would never cede.

Now she had a chance to be alone with him again. A free pass for a free afternoon built into the game.

Thirty seconds left.

There’d still be time to meet up with the others to strategize and talk about the recipe later. They’d have all night to run around the secret passageways to find what came next. Afterward, maybe she and Stella could have a sleepover together. There weren’t any rules about sharing rooms.

Twenty seconds.

She wouldn’t be risking anything to spend a few hours alone with Francis and could even try to get more information out of him—like if he knew why Ethan and Olive had just tried to sabotage Stella.

Fifteen.

If she didn’t do it now, would she get another chance?

Ten.

Nicole took a deep breath and made her choice.

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

FRIDAY, 1:30 P.M.

Staff began to clear the table and break down the setup as they all stood in the middle of the field.

“As a consolation prize for losing the raffle, I will allot you all one hint for your next challenge,” Jewel said. “Olive?”

“Everything is connected, but bird is the key word.”

“And with that, we bid you adieu,” Jewel said.

“Good luck!” Olive waved as the three of them left, Ethan’s arm draped over her shoulders.

“So,” Harlow said, “secret passage time?” right as the tablets began to vibrate.