CHAPTER 61

ZAYN CARTER

The second the announcer called the winner, she dropped to her knees.

My fingers curled into fists.

Something wasn't right.

The cheers roared through the stadium, but I barely heard them over the sound of my own pulse hammering in my ears.

Fay and Blair had frozen in their seats, their shoulders tense, their eyes glued to the ring. They weren't celebrating.

They were worried.

And then, out of nowhere, Michelle Calloway appeared.

What the hell?

I watched as she climbed into the ring with purpose, moving straight to the so-called "Goddess." Even from this distance, I could see how the fighter wobbled when Michelle grabbed her arm, barely able to stand on her own.

The whole stadium hushed in confusion.

Slowly, the Goddess reached up, fingers gripping the mask that had hidden her identity this entire time.

I didn't blink.

I didn't even breathe.

And then—

She pulled it off.

The sleek mask slipped away, revealing a face I knew too well.

My mind blanked.

Everything—every damn thing—clicked into place all at once.

The way Fay and Blair had acted. The way Ari had limped into the ring. The way she had fought like her life depended on it, even though she was injured.

Arienne.

She stood there, her face bare for everyone to see, her breathing ragged but her gaze fierce.

Her hair was damp with sweat, strands sticking to her flushed skin. Her usual heterochromatic eyes weren't there—instead, they were both a striking, piercing brown

A fucking illusion. A costume

The entire stadium had no idea what had just been revealed.

But I did.

Ari didn't just fight like the Goddess.

She was the Goddess.