The arena was a bowl of sound. Over nine hundred voices rose from the stone stands, colliding beneath the open sky until the noise seemed to shake the very ground beneath Octavia's feet. People crowded every tier, shoulder to shoulder, their faces turned toward the fighting floor. Some waved pieces of cloth above their heads. Others leaned over the railings, shouting predictions, insults, and wagers to anyone willing to listen.The smell reached her before she had fully taken in the crowd: sweat, dust, hot stone. Food being sold along the upper walkways. Torches burned along the arena's upper rim despite the daylight. It made the environment feel ancient. Within the walls, one would imagine a century-old Roman city.Banners hung from the highest balconies, snapping whenever the wind caught them. Sunlight poured into the open arena, and Octavia stood alone in the center of it all. Hundreds of people gathered above, watching her, cheering chats of joy and support. She had stood bef
Last Updated : 2026-10-22 Read more