The lights fade as the disgraced fighters slink back into the shadows. There will be no applause for them this time. While the bloodthirsty crowd got what they wanted, it wasn’t the gruesome spectacle they craved. The family lost their lives, but they died as lions.

I get my first look at Quinn when the lights come back on. She’s melted into the chair with every sign of life missing. Shepherd also got what he wanted. She paid the ultimate price for being the unfortunate victim of my good deed. My cowardice prevented me from having to see how my own family passed. I never had to know how their voices were silenced. I wasn’t forced to see their pain. Still, that’s been its own special kind of torture. No answers means no closure.

My legs crumble from the nausea churning...

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