Without another word, he turned around and began limping back toward the door.
"Your Highness, " Maxim started.
"Come with me," Adrian snapped. And then he was already moving.
The walk back to the arena was worse than the first. Every step jarred his broken ribs, and by the time he got there, sweat had gathered at the base of his neck despite the cool night air. The moon hung high above the kingdom, silver and watchful, casting long shadows across the empty training grounds.
The arena, which had been filled with thousands of people only hours ago, was now almost deserted.
And there, in the middle of the cold floor, Elara still lay. Exactly where she had fallen.
Adrian stopped in his tracks.For a long moment, he simply stared at her. No one had helped her.
Not the guards. Not the nobles. Not the women who had gossiped about her. Not even her own family. They had all left her there on the ground like she was trash, like she was no longer worth the trouble of picking up.
