"Younger brother… maybe you should come ask your elder sister for whatever you want. Why go through all this?"
The voice floated through the air soft, almost tender but beneath it lay a chill so sharp it seemed to cut through bone. The instant it reached the ears of those present, the entire colosseum fell silent. A cold, suffocating silence. It was as if the world had stopped breathing.
Faces froze. Eyes widened. Terror crept onto every expression like a shadow swallowing the light.
Even Areon, who had been mid-sentence, stopped as if struck. His mouth hung open, the words dying in his throat. A bead of sweat slid down his temple as his eyes shot wide in shock.
No way… he thought, his heart thundering in his chest.
Click. Click. Click.
The clear, steady sound of boots on stone echoed through the hush, each step louder than the roar of a crowd. The audience's heads turned, drawn as if by an invisible force, toward the source of the sound.
And then they saw her.
