Chapter sixteen: Eavesdropping

Mia’s POV

I stayed still so not even the wind could sense me. Most people don’t know how to disappear properly. They think hiding is crouching behind a tree or holding their breath. But hiding is a skill and a mindset.

I’d trained for years, and I’d learned how to mask my scent, slow my breathing, and lower my heartbeat. It’s not magic… I’ve been hunted enough to know when to become the shadow in the leaves. It was one of the few things I was proud of.

So I listened as Axel and the silver-haired woman, called Hansel, spoke on the edge of the arena. At first, the woman blamed me for Alex’s loss. I hadn’t done anything, but yeah, he drooled over me, and I wasn’t going to deny what I felt when he stared at me either.

The tension was real, but I should’ve stayed in the shadows. Now everyone was putting the pieces together, and for the first time, they saw me as the reason things went off the rails.

I didn’t know if Axel or Alex had been covering up the fact that I was a rogue, but after