ara's interview at the His

looming over her head for weeks. She gripped the steering wheel of her beat-up Honda Civic-her late mother's car, still sputtering alon

here," th

dred times with Audrey riding shotgun, her friend patient eno

smile touching his lips. "Congrat

that made the man wince. "Th

bubble tea shop with Audrey, sucking

d!" Clara said, still bu

y," Audrey shot back, grinning. "It took me

Audrey, thank you again. I got the job. I start next week. I'm going to be working at an a

aising her cup. "A real adult who owes me

ghed. "Fa

d her bag by the door and kicked off her shoes. It had been a perfect day. S

one with the mini marshmallows-and settled onto the

y from the monastery and toward a mountain pass. The ter

r coffee shop tips, and after a week of skipping takeout, she had a

ploded across the sc

runes foretell a great collapse in the 'Pass of Laments'

the screen. "Are

ning, two opt

rning of mountain instability and guide your

pe for the best (Extremely High Risk

l back against the couch. "Four nin

r to the red zone. If she didn't pay, he would walk straight i

d already invested in him. She had fixed

uttered under her breath, reaching for her wall

icked

ng its way carefully over the icy rocks. The wind wa

Highness! The scouts report that this pass is prone to r

out to reply when a vo

that wasn't his own, dropped directly into his conscious

me go broke... but I can't le

o hard his horse reared up,

grabbed Alex's bridle

oked around wildly. The soldiers were strugg

er. The

were strange. 'Game'? Was that some divine term for a trial or a test? And 'broke'... the w

s telling me there's danger ahead-and