Aria couldn't help but feel a ripple of unease when the carriage finally lurched to a stop. The moment she stepped out, the noise hit her first—an unrelenting roar that seemed to shake the very ground beneath her boots. The arena loomed ahead, its towering stone walls encircling a mass of bodies crammed shoulder to shoulder. The air was thick with heat, sweat, and the metallic tang of anticipation, the scent of it almost as sharp as the weapons she knew waited inside.
Her breath caught. The sheer number of faces staring down from the stands was overwhelming, a sight that made her wonder how Zyren had managed to summon so many spectators in such a short time. It was as if every pair of eyes in the kingdom had been drawn here, hungry for blood.
Almost as though she had read Aria's thoughts, Vioni, walking just a step behind, leaned in and gestured for her to move forward. Rumora trailed them both, her gaze darting about in equal parts awe and suspicion.
