The cameras didn’t stop flashing. The air itself felt like it was buzzing, the way the stadium does before kickoff—but this wasn’t a match. It was a storm. Amelia’s words still hung in the air like smoke that refused to clear, and the world wasn’t ready to look away.

“Leo, do you hear that?” Maya whispered, leaning close as they stepped off the podium.

“Yeah,” Leo muttered, his jaw tight. The chants, the shouting from outside the arena, the endless ringing of phones all ...