Attendance

Chapter 52

Ronan said nothing. He stood still, shirt torn, blood still drying on his skin, but not a single open wound remained. His body had already finished regenerating, but his expression remained dark.

Ezren's eyes dropped to Ronan's hands. Steady, loose, ready to kill.

Roan groaned somewhere near the wall, half-conscious. Vex hadn't moved since she dropped.

Ezren tilted his head slightly with a smirk. "Didn't think you'd last two minutes."

Ronan looked up at him.

Not a glare. Just a flat and empty look

Ezren's smirk twitched.

"Ezren, stand down," Aldric said through the speaker. "That's enough."

A low hiss followed as containment seals along the arena's wall began to retract. Air pressure shifted. A door opened with a heavy mechanical sigh.

Still, Ronan didn't move.

Ezren hopped off the hovering platform, boots hitting the floor with a soft thud. He wiped the blood off his lip with the back of his glove.