Erick
The throne room had gone utterly still after Alan’s words.
His challenge still hung in the air like a sword waiting to fall. My gaze met his, and for the first time in a long while, I no longer saw the friend I once called a brother.
No.
What stood before me was a man intoxicated by lies, blinded by ambition, and puppeteered by the woman at his side.
I nodded slowly, my expression unreadable. “So be it, Alan,” I said, my voice calm yet carrying enough weight to echo across the marble pillars of the throne room. “If it is a challenge you desire, then a challenge you will have. But before we go further, where would you like this to take place?”
Alan’s lips curled into a thin, arrogant smile.
His eyes glittered with pride, but beneath it I saw a flicker of Fear. “The Arena,”
