The fire had long since burned down to embers, but Rose felt no warmth.
Not when Lira’s voice still rang in her ears. Not when her own rage hummed beneath her skin like a second heartbeat.
Everyone had left the combat ring. They’d cheered, or gone silent, or stared at her with wide, uncertain eyes. Even Alex and Marcus had looked at her with something in their gaze she couldn’t quite name.
She didn’t wait for their words. She turned and walked straight into the forest.
The moss beneath her boots swallowed sound. Branches whispered. The wind was thick with pine and damp earth, but it couldn’t smother the fire in her chest.
Why does she keep provoking me?
She stopped by an old, twisted tree, her fingers curling into fists at her sides.
Lira hadn’t wanted a fair fight. She hadn’t wante
