†Noca's POV†
Evening was soon upon the lands when I whipped myself up and strode toward the courtyard that led to the square. Thor's mindlink had reached me earlier, his words still echoing in my head. The candidates were back.
Only one had died. Torn apart by wild beasts, they said and I had seen. Seen and had been restless ever since.
I didn't care who she was, nor what beast had ripped her apart. Death was nothing new in the contests as it was expected. I had planted it to be a frequent occurrence.
What mattered to me wasn't her body scattered on the forest floor, it was the boy. The only one who mattered. I needed to see him, to speak to him, to look into his eyes and know what he'd learned… and what he planned to do with it.
The scent of wild berries from the northern outskirts hit me first when I reached the square, followed by the heavy musk of sweat—thick and clinging from the crowd of bodies pressed together.
