Ayla's POV
I held up my whiteboard: "Let him talk."
The guards looked uncertain, but they stepped aside slightly, maintaining a clear presence.
Arkon moved closer, careful to keep the required distance. "I saw what you did in the arena. The forfeit."
I wrote: "Everyone did."
"That took more strength than winning would have." His amber eyes searched mine. "You made a choice. To control yourself instead of proving your power. That's not weakness, Ayla. That's growth."
"The Council doesn't see it that way," I wrote.
"The Council doesn't know you." He paused, clearly struggling with what to say under the guards' watchful eyes. "I want you to know - I'm fighting this. The leave, the restrictions, all of it. I'm not giving up."
My hand trembled as I wrote: "You should. Veronica was right
