RIVAL’S POV
They didn’t warn us.
No guards or even code red of the training schedule update.
Just the sharp slam of metal doors and a voice over the speaker that made my teeth grit.
“All fighters, report to the lower arena. Surprise trial match. Failure to show means failure to breathe.”
I turned to Thomas.
He was lacing his boots in silence, but I saw it—the twitch in his fingers. The flicker of tension in his jaw.
I didn’t say a word.
He followed me, like he always did now. Quiet, alert, determined. I didn’t need to babysit anymore. That made him dangerous. Because the second someone stops needing you… they stop fearing you too.
The hallway leading to the lower arena always felt colder. Like the shadows clung harder down here. We passed two bodies slumped in the corner—new recru
