"In this very place. They were trying to protect me." She swallowed hard, her throat tightening. "The system once said some people's destiny was to be sacrificed for me to fulfill mine."
"What?" Carl asked, not catching her last words.
"Nothing," she said quickly, shaking her head.
He didn't push further, though his eyes softened with concern. "You… saw them killed?" he asked quietly.
Nnenna shook her head. "No. Just their voices, and then silence." She looked away, blinking fast. "I couldn't go on. I resisted the rest of it. I shouldn't have…" Her words faded, swallowed by the quiet wind passing through the old arena.
Carl watched her for a long moment, realizing the weight she was carrying wasn't just from her past, it was from what she couldn't remember.
