The Last Chance

He glanced back at Mason and smiled lightly. "Don't mind them. They even hate my hair." "Your hair deserves it," Mason said. Lucas froze for half a second, then burst out laughing. "All right. The Broken Prince has jokes." The whistle blew. Victor Hayes stood on the halfway line, hands in the pockets of his jacket. He did not deliver a long speech. He said only one sentence: "Today, there are no stars. Only men on the edge of the list." Every player understood. The first drill was high-intensity shuttle running. Hayes gave Mason no protection and no privilege. Ten sprints, five change-of-direction sets, then pressing with the ball. Cameras immediately zoomed in on Mason's left knee. In the first two sets, he stayed in the middle of the pack.