She laughs. “So you can reject someone.”

How she came to that conclusion baffles me. I just explained how it works and that rejecting it means death, yet she finds it funny. She must really think she can defy fate.

“I think you misunderstood everything,” I whisper.

“No, I didn’t. You said we might die,” she says, her voice growing louder. “It’s not for certain.”

My jaw clenches. “I corrected myself and said we will die. How in the world have you come to this conclusion? Do ...