Chapter 145

VALERIA’S POV I don’t know what came over me. One moment, I was staring at Riven, knowing Dimitri’s command had sealed my fate. The next, I was turning against him. All the energy I had been gathering, all the rage, the frustration, the helplessness—I redirected it. Not at Riven. At him. A blinding surge of power exploded from my hands, aimed straight at Dimitri. It hit him dead center. The force of my attack sent him flying backward, ripping him from the ceremonial platform. He crashed hard onto the stone floor below, a thunderous impact shaking the entire arena. Gasps echoed around me. A thick cloud of dust and debris rose from where Dimitri had landed, swirling in the air like a storm brewing around us. The weight of my attack had thrown him back with such force that the ceremonial platform itself trembled from the impact. For a heartbeat, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears and the shallow gasps of those who had witnessed what I had just done. Then, movement. I wasn’t given