Chapter 50. Defence

Camila Martinez’s pulse quickened as the murmurs of the crowd hushed to a whisper. The room, thick with anticipation, felt charged, as if the air itself had thickened with tension. She stood at the center of the hall, her heels grounding her on the polished floor, yet it felt as if she were perched on the edge of a precipice, the world tilting beneath her. Every breath she drew was measured, every heartbeat a drumbeat of expectancy echoing through her chest.

Then, like a scene lifted from the silver screen, the grand doors at the end of the hall burst open, spilling forth a cascade of golden light that sliced through the dimness of the auditorium. It was blinding at first, a sudden intrusion of brilliance, and Camila instinctively shielded her eyes, letting her vision adjust to the overwhelming brightness.

When she could finally see, there he was—Travis Turner—stepping confidently from the h