EMBER’S POV

I blink at her.

“You said everybody has to wager something,” she continues. “So what did you put up, Ember?”

“Oh.” I shrug, but a frown slowly steals across my face. “I… actually have no idea.”

Both women turn to look at me properly.

“You don’t know what you bet?”

I try to search through my mind, reaching for something that might tell me what is missing, but the harder I force myself to look, the sharper the pain becomes behind my eyes.

“I don’t think I’m supposed to know. That’s rather the point of it. You sacrifice something, and if you lose it, it’s gone, and gone...