## Liam''s Perspective


    The bracelet on my wrist burned like molten metal. Searing pain shot through my veins, targeting not just my body but something deeper—my divine sense. That connection to power I''d cultivated with such care was under direct attack.


    I couldn''t move. Couldn''t fight back. Couldn''t even scream.


    "What''s happening to him?" someone shouted from the crowd.


    Through the haze of agony, I caught Daphne Grenville''s voice. "It''s the bracelet! Julian''s controlling it!"


    Dudley''s fist connected with my jaw. My head snapped backward, but I remained standing—not by choice. The bracelet''s power held me upright, a puppet suspended for Dudley''s entertainment.


    "Not so powerful now, are you Knight?" Dudley circled me slowly, savoring the moment.


    Blood trickled down my chin. I tried to summon my golden energy, but it slipped away like water through my fingers. The bracelet pulsed again, driving needles of pain deep into my mind.


    "I told you," ise Rostova''s voice cut through the murmurs. "He''s nothing special. Just a fraud who got lucky."


    Dudley''s eyes gleamed with cruel delight. His hand shot out, gripping my throat. "They all see it now. You''re pathetic."


    He lifted me off my feet, squeezing until ck spots danced across my vision. When he finally released me, I copsed to my knees, gulping air through my damaged throat.


    "Get up," Dudleymanded. "I''m not finished with you yet."


    I struggled to rise, but my limbs refused to cooperate. The bracelet shed again, sending fresh waves of agony through my divine sense.


    Julian Radford watched from the sidelines, his face a mask of cold calction as he manipted the bracelet''s power.


    "This isn''t a fair fight!" Frederick shouted, trying to enter the arena.


    Two guards blocked his path.


    "Stay back," Julian ordered. "The trial continues."


    Dudley''s boot mmed into my ribs. I heard something crack. Pain exploded across my chest, making it hard to breathe.


    "Fight back!" Frederick called desperately. "Knight! Get up and fight!"


    I wanted to. Gods, how I wanted to. But the bracelet''s magic had mepletely at its mercy.


    Dudley grabbed my hair, yanking my head up. "Look at me when I destroy you."


    His fist connected with my face. Once. Twice. Three times. Blood sprayed from my broken nose.


    "I knew he couldn''t be that powerful," someone muttered in the crowd.


    "All that talk, and he falls like any other man," another added.


    Dudley stepped back, channeling dark energy into his palm. It swirled like a miniature storm, hungry and violent.


    "This will hurt," he promised with a smile.


    The ck energy orb mmed into my chest. Pain unlike anything I''d ever experienced tore through me as the dark energy burrowed into my flesh like acid.


    I couldn''t hold back the scream this time.


    "Again," Julianmanded from the sidelines.


    Dudley formed another orb,rger than the first. "With pleasure."


    This one hit my shoulder, melting through skin and muscle. I felt bone shatter under the impact.


    "Again."


    A third orb struck my leg. I copsedpletely, unable to remain kneeling.


    Through the red haze of pain, I saw Daphne''s horrified face. "Stop this! You''ll kill him!"


    "That''s the idea," Dudley replied, forming hisrgest energy orb yet.


    This one he held above me, savoring my helplessness. "Anyst words, Knight?"


    I tried to speak, but only blood came out. My body was broken, my divine sense in tatters.


    Daphne turned to Julian. "This isn''t justice! It''s murder!"


    Julian''s face remained impassive. "Justice takes many forms, Lady Grenville."


    "You nned this," she used. "The bracelet—it was never just ceremonial."


    A thin smile touched Julian''s lips. "Clever girl."


    Dudley mmed the massive orb into my chest. My back arched as dark energy coursed through my body, setting every nerve ending on fire.


    "Finish it," Julian ordered.


    Dudley nodded, drawing his ceremonial dagger. The de gleamed in the sunlight as he raised it high.


    "Goodbye, Liam Knight," he whispered.


    The dagger plunged into my chest. I felt it pierce through muscle, scraping against bone, puncturing something vital inside me. Blood bubbled up my throat.


    Dudley leaned close, his voice for my ears alone. "I wish Isabelle could see you now."


    With thest of my strength, I gripped his wrist. Our eyes locked.


    "This... isn''t... over," I managed to rasp.


    Fury shed across his face. He wrenched the dagger free and stepped back.


    "It is for you."


    Dudley channeled all his remaining dark energy into one devastating st. It hit me square in the chest, lifting my broken body into the air.


    I flew backward, over the edge of the tform, and into the endless blue of the ocean below.


    Thest thing I saw was Julian''s calcting gaze, watching me fall.


    Then darkness. Cold. The embrace of the sea.


    Pain faded as water filled my lungs.


    So this is how it ends, I thought as consciousness slipped away.


    Isabelle''s face shed before me.


    I''m sorry...


    ---


    On the tform, silence reigned. No one moved as the ripples on the water''s surface slowly disappeared.


    Dudley Lowell stood at the edge, breathing heavily, blood-slick dagger still clutched in his hand.


    "It''s done," he announced, turning to face Julian.


    Julian nodded slowly. "You''ve proven yourself, Dudley. The challenger has been defeated."


    A few scattered cheers broke out, quickly silenced by the gravity of what they''d witnessed.


    Frederick pushed past the guards, rushing to the edge. "Knight!" he shouted, preparing to dive in.


    "Stop him," Julian ordered calmly. <var ss="phantom-imprint">[emailprotected]</a> an er#r#or*?* Visit- the or^i!g+i^na.l p&o#s^t# on M&&V$LE.M.PY-&R+.</var>


    Guards grabbed Frederick, dragging him back despite his struggles.


    "You can''t leave him down there!" Frederick yelled. "This was your n all along!"


    Julian approached Dudley, ignoring Frederick''s usations. "Well fought."


    Daphne Grenville stepped forward, her face pale but determined. "That wasn''t a fight. It was an execution."


    "The challenger was defeated ording to the rules," Julian replied smoothly.


    "Rules you manipted," she shot back. "He could have beaten Dudley fairly. We all saw it."


    ise Rostova scoffed. "We saw a pretender exposed, nothing more."


    "You''re blind if you believe that," Daphne snapped.


    Julian raised a hand, silencing them both. "What''s done is done. Dudley Lowell remains Champion of the Western Waters."


    The announcement fell t. Even those who hade to see Liam Knight fall seemed unsettled by the manner of his defeat.


    Julian turned to leave, then paused. His eyes fixed on Dudley with sudden intensity.


    "Dudley," he said, his voice sharp.


    "Yes, Master Radford?"


    "Did you confirm he''s dead?"


    Dudley blinked in confusion. "He took a dagger to the chest and fell into the ocean. No one could survive that."


    Julian''s expression darkened. "Alive you must see the person, dead you must see the body! Dudley Lowell, you must find Liam Knight''s body for me!"


    Surprise rippled through the crowd.


    "Find his body?" Dudley repeated. "Why would—"


    "Because I ordered it," Julian cut him off. "This ind sits atop something ancient. Something valuable. And I need to be certain he hasn''t found a way to it."


    Understanding dawned on Dudley''s face. "You think he might—"


    "I think nothing," Julian interrupted. "I demand certainty. Bring me his body. Now."


    As Dudley gathered divers for the search, Daphne moved closer to Frederick.


    "This was never about the championship," she whispered.


    Frederick nodded grimly. "It was about whatever lies beneath these waters."


    They watched as divers plunged into the sea, searching for what remained of Liam Knight.