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Roxxi cleared her throat. “According to the FAQ, Marked are determined by an auction system once a list of names makes it through a pre-betting process. Huntsmen can join only by invitation. They then pay to play and put bids on who they want to Mark, or choose to get someone at random. If they win and complete The Hunt, their payout doubles. If they lose?” She shrugged. “Crowsfell keeps the money.”

“That’s exactly how it works,” Ari confirmed. “Monetary amounts are kept private until everything is said and done. We don’t even get to see how much we’re worth.”

“This is all so…” I fished for the correct word.

“Archaic,” Cloe supplied.

“It’s more than just a name on a wall, then?

You can actually earn money from this?” Layla questioned.

From her tone, it was clear she’d just taken a different kind of interest in this whole ordeal.

From her perspective, the money probably meant something more.

I was aware enough to know survival looked different when your options weren’t stacked with privilege.

“We’re learning about this right along with you, but it seems like it,” I told her honestly, reaching for my tea again.

Roxxi pushed her plate aside and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

“When are we telling the guys about this?”

Layla glanced at me. “You should at least tell Ashton.”

Roxxi peered at her over the rim of her phone. “That was a given. Is he not a guy?”

“They’re already going to know, there’s no way they wouldn’t, but we still need to tell them ourselves outside of a text or the gossip that’s sure to start going around once it is confirmed,” Ari said.

We agreed, and Roxxi straightened in her chair. “Moving on then. We’re getting cameras. As a house full of single women living on our own, we should’ve had them already, but now it seems even more necessary.”

“I’ll handle it tomorrow,” Cloe volunteered. “My dad’s got a vendor for everything. I’ll get the window repair handled too.”

“Thanks for that. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of having it fixed until just now.”

“Because you’re dead on your feet. You look ready to fall asleep at any second,” Roxxi assessed.

“Oh, I’ll be out like a light the second my head hits the pillow.” I smothered a yawn before I added, “I think I should drive myself tomorrow, mix our routine up. See if anything happens.”

Layla’s brows pinched. “Alone?”

“I don’t like that idea, Sanj,” Ari objected.

“I’ll go straight from the house to my car,” I reassured her.

“In that case, I should hide out in your trunk then,” Roxxi suggested.

I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

“Rox, no. It’s not like I’m going to get murdered outside our front door. I always ride with someone else. I want to see how closely we’re being watched pre-Hunt.”

“You’re sure?” Ari pressed gently.

“Yeah. I—we need to get a feel of things. Now that I know we’ve been Marked, I have no intention of letting us lose this Hunt. I don’t care if we’re dealing with one Huntsman or four.”

Cloe grinned at me. “I know that’s right.”

“I’m in agreement with that. No way we’re losing,” Roxxi echoed.

The table quieted after that, the weight of everything settling into a new kind of resolve.

One by one, we began gathering our plates, the unspoken agreement to move forward in motion.

As tired as I was, I offered to help Layla with the dishes so the others could head upstairs and start winding down.

Roxxi double-checked the doors and windows with Cloe—finally taking the whole locking-up thing seriously, go figure—before both of them disappeared for the night.

“Thanks for cleaning up,” Arianna said softly, pulling me into a hug. She smelled like fresh jasmine.

“No thanks needed. You cooked.”

She offered Layla a small smile and padded off toward her room, leaving the two of us to finish up in a silence that felt less awkward and more weighted. When we were done, I dried my hands and said quietly, “I got what you needed. It’s in my room.”

Layla’s expression shifted—relief, dread, and something else I couldn’t name flashing across her face. “I’ll wait for you,” she whispered, glancing up the staircase like it was a gauntlet.

We walked up in silence, the occasional creak of settling wood following us. From Roxxi’s room, music thumped quietly. Goku’s voice spilled from Cloe’s TV.

Ari’s room was quiet, but I could picture her curled up under her blanket, trying to escape into a book like she always did before making herself go to sleep. Inside my bedroom, I shut the door behind Layla and moved past her.

“I hid them under the mattress.” I pulled out the bag, handing it to her like I was passing off a ticking bomb.

She took it carefully, like it might shatter in her hands, then turned toward the bathroom without a word.

The door clicked shut, and I sank onto the edge of the bed, phone in hand.

There was a message from Ashton I hadn’t opened earlier while we were diving into Hunt research over dinner.

Ash

Aren’t you?

I read it twice, brows pinched. It didn’t make sense. The obvious answer was no. I didn’t have the energy to start something with him tonight. I sent a short Goodnight in return, then messaged Ryder too.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

No replies from either.

The bathroom door creaked open. Layla stepped out looking pale, like she was holding her breath in her throat and didn’t trust herself to exhale.

“I have to wait now,” she said, barely above a whisper.

“Mind if I brush my teeth while we do that?”

“Go ahead.”

I brushed by her and moved through my routine on autopilot, brushing my teeth while trying not to stare too long at the three tests lined up on the counter beside the sink.

The taped-up window didn’t make this any easier.

I moved on to my skincare next. Minutes crawled, and my heart started racing like I was the one waiting for life-changing results.

Layla brushed her teeth once I was done, and then we both prepared to confront the tests.

We stood there, side by side, as she checked one by one.

When her breath hitched and tears welled up, I wasn’t sure if we were celebrating or having a breakdown, but then she threw herself into my arms, her whole body shaking as she sobbed, and I made out the words, “No baby.”

I wrapped my arms around her tightly, grounding her while my own eyes stung. She clung to me like I was the only thing keeping her from breaking, and I let her cry it out. I couldn’t help but think about my own problems. My issues suddenly seemed much smaller in comparison.

“Come on,” I urged gently when she calmed down. “Let’s get some sleep.”

She nodded, wiping at her cheeks, then moved to toss the tests.

I watched as she buried them deep in the bathroom trash, shoving tissues on top like that might erase the whole night.

Once she crawled onto the far side of my king-sized bed, I turned off the overhead light, leaving my fairy strings glowing.

I grabbed the chair from my desk vanity and propped it under the bathroom door handle for extra security, even though we were on the second floor.

Layla didn’t say anything, just watched me, her expression unreadable.

I slid into bed beside her, and the second my head hit the pillow, I was drifting to dreamland just like I knew I would.

“Lay...do you want me to get you condoms? Or maybe birth control?” I managed to ask, half-asleep.

I felt her shake her head. “He won’t use them. Says it feels better without.”

I stared up at my ceiling, counting down from five before speaking again. “Is he still…and this is what you want?”

She was quiet for a long moment. “Yeah. It’s complicated, but I really--I love him.”

I knew this wasn’t a battle I could win, so I kept my mouth shut after that and let my lids fold over.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Mhm.” I didn’t open my eyes.

“Have you ever messed around with any of your guy friends?”

This wasn’t the first time someone had asked me that. I’d been questioned about my relationship with each of them at one point. So had Ari, Roxxi, and Cloe. People found it hard to believe that our bonds were far deeper than anything sexual.

“I know it’s a common assumption, but no. None of us has ever fooled around with each other.”

“Really?”

“Our friend group’s always been platonic. There’s some harmless flirting now and then, but that’s all. Like I said earlier, we’re like a family.” My brow furrowed, “That doesn’t sound right with the flirting thing, but you know what I mean.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You and Ryder don’t seem like just friends or family.”

That was because we weren’t.

Whatever we were, it didn’t fit neatly into any box or tick off any societal labels. Our parents were best friends long before we ever took our first breaths, so maybe it started there.

I was always meant to know him.

I think I was born loving him.

Somewhere along the way, I learned what it meant to be in love with him.

“Ryder and I are a lot of things,” I replied quietly. “But we’ve never been together.”

That was all I gave her.

“I get it. You guys are like me and…you know.”

Now my eyes were open, unsure if I had heard her correctly. Was she seriously comparing us to that? I was doing my best to stay open-minded, to not render judgment when it came to what she was dealing with, but comparing my lifelong best friend to her predatory stepfather was where I drew the line.

“I don’t see how that’s remotely the same.”

She must not have liked that reply because she rolled over and pulled the blanket up to her chin, facing the wall that her side of the bed was against.

Sleep didn’t come as easily after that.