Breaking the ice
The roaring colosseum of twenty thousand voices died in an instant. A suffocating, heavy silence fell over the arena, so absolute that the hum of the overhead rafters seemed to vibrate through the floorboards.
On the ice, the violent scrum of players was quickly broken up by the officials, but Ethan didn't hear the whistles or the shouting. His world had narrowed down to a single point: Adrian, motionless on the pristine white surface, the bright crimson stain spreading beneath his head.