Mu Qing remained at the center of the arena while the layer of ice spread across the sand and reached the first rows. Celina coordinated the guards while Elizabeth remained in the box. The suspect who had approached the noble section had been taken down, but Damon did not look away from the woman in white.
The root inside Jian Li reacted. Damon felt her circulation accelerate and try to complete the channels built around her heart. Mu Qing was not merely demanding its return. Her presence was pulling the fragment.
"Remove the public through the southern and western exits," Damon ordered. "No one crosses the northern corridor."
Celina heard the instruction and divided the flow. Elizabeth left the box once the inner corridor was secure.
Ester held Damon's arm. "If the mark passes your elbow, you leave."
"It is already at my elbow."
"Then leave now."
"If I leave, Mu Qing will follow the root to Jian Li."
"You do not know that."
