Third Person's POV
A hush fell over the square.
Her cheek burned with the imprint of his hand, the echo of the slap reverberating not just in her bones but in the stunned silence of every onlooker.
Her mind went blank, and the ringing in her skull drowned out all thought as she stared in a dazed manner at the crowd in the direction her head had snapped from the force of the slap.
Ethan's crimson eyes were still cold and unyielding as he released her wrists as though they were nothing but dead weight.
He didn't continue any more brutality, and without sparing her another glance, he turned and walked toward the rows of rough-hewn stone benches beneath the bloody banner.
He sat down with deliberate calm, his arms folded across his chest, and let the heavy silence of his presence press against the stunned air.
The girls naturally joined him and soon dozens of gazes locked onto him, with a mixture of awe, disbelief, and restrained whispers echoing faintly through the square.
