Chapter 363: The Cost of Speaking
Lyria's POV
I stared at Jacinta for a long moment.
Her words hung in the air between us, sharp and deliberate, designed to cut. She was trying to make me feel small, to remind me of my place, to push me back into the shadows where she believed I belonged.
But I did not look away.
I held her gaze.
Then I nodded slowly.
"If the c-commoners are leaving," I said, my voice carrying across the now-silent arena, "then e-everyone should leave t-too."
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
I continued.
"The c-competition is o-over, is it n-not? There is l-little else to g-gain by remaining."
Jacinta's smile tightened.
"You are in no position to demand anything," she said, each word clipped and precise, the way she always spoke when she wished to remind everyone present exactly who held the higher station.
I tilted my head.
