HannahI groaned as the shrill beeping of my alarm clock pierced through my dreams. When I cracked my eyes open against the harsh sound, I was met with a dark room—not even the sun had come up yet.For a moment, I considered hitting the snooze button and curling back up under the soft blankets, conv

HannahI fidgeted nervously as the stage assistant guided me and Noah through the bustling backstage area, leading us toward the other contestants. The whole place was like a cacophony of noise—almost too much for my frayed nerves.The games were to be held on a large, flat athletic field, and each

HannahMy heart sank as one of the attendants approached us, a length of rope held in his hands. I eyed it warily, already envisioning the tangled disaster Noah and I were sure to become. We hadn’t trained for this since that one day last week when we had fought so hard that we had fallen.“For the

HannahThe lights of the grand ballroom seemed to blur together as Noah and I took center stage, the Luna Queen’s attendants placing ornate crowns on top of our heads and sashes around our shoulders. My heart pounded in my ears, the roar of applause fading into the background as I turned toward Noah

HannahI couldn’t quite help the way my stomach grumbled as the scents of the reception’s lavish buffet wafted through the ballroom. Plate after plate piled high with gourmet delicacies caught my eye—tender cuts of meat glistening under a sweet glaze, buttery pastries dusted with powdered sugar, col