Lira sat in the stands, her fists clenched so tight her knuckles glowed white. Rain pounded down without mercy, hammering the arena's floor and soaking Rian Cole, who faced Darion Veth in the center of the coliseum.
The crowd's roar was deafening, blending with the relentless drum of water against stone.
But Lira barely registered the noise. Her mind was a whirlwind of disbelief and rage.
'This can't be happening,' she thought, eyes locked on Rian. 'It makes no sense. He shouldn't be here!'
The cake she'd given Rian wasn't just any dessert.
Lira had mixed in an extract from Drakar's slumberroot, a rare plant that grew in the eastern swamps.
That stuff was so potent, hunters used it to knock out colossal beasts—like three-ton mastodons.
A single drop could put a grown man out for a full day.
Lira had measured the dose with precision: enough to keep Rian snoozing until tomorrow afternoon, not waking up in a few measly hours.
