The old man leaned back, relaxed, and answered after a pause, "Oh, I harbor no intentions of fleeing. There exists no adversary I cannot vanquish. My plan?
I win the Arena of Life. I take back what I lost. And if fortune is kind, I take that man's other eye too." His laughter boomed through the cell. Confidence filled it, and so did payback.
Ty raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then how did you lose an eye? How did you end up captive? And why do you look like a hermit who has been stuck in this cell for months?"
The old man laughed hard, though there was old pain under it. "Being the strongest in the room isn't merely about muscling through every obstacle," he said. "There's a limit to what one can achieve in solitude.
It's a lesson well worth learning," he added, his gaze settling hard on Ty.
Their conversation broke under a loud bang that rolled through the cell. A door swung open somewhere beyond the bars, ending the rhythm of their exchange.
