TWENTY TWOAtonement
It had been some time since she had publicly addressed such a large crowd. The arena was at capacity; the tiered stone seating was barely visible, its presence masked by the throng of spectators crammed into the amphitheatre. In addition to those seated, there were three standing rows on the floor of the arena, with a fourth sat upon the ground in front. Typically, the arena floor was off limits to civilians. However, some of the space had been permitted for use, at the council’s discretion, given the high-profile nature of the events about to take place. Although the act they were about to commit sickened her, she needed as many of the people as possible to hear her words first-hand, so that her reasoning would be delivered as intended and would not be diluted th
