The courtyard had never felt so heavy. The torches still burned, their flames swaying in the night breeze, but the air seemed charged with something else—fear, awe, uncertainty. The fight was over, but the echoes of it lingered in every shadow.

Bella stood in the center of the arena, her chest heaving, her body bruised and trembling. Sweat mingled with streaks of dirt and blood on her skin, yet her eyes—still faintly glowing with that unfamiliar golden light—kept the crowd rooted in ...