Page 44 of The Kings
Taking advantage of my momentary lapse, the sting of his knuckles across my cheek is a shock to my system.
“Fuck you,” I hiss.
That’ll bruise, but bruises fade. Failure doesn’t.
His laugh is a low rumble, almost lost in the roars of the crowd. “You’re feisty, girlie. I was hoping I’d come up against you.” He lunges, and we collide, our struggle for dominance a spectacle of pure violence that makes me wish I had Flick so I could slice his guts open to spill all over my boots.
Through it all, the blood and sweat and aching body, I can feel James, Oliver, Raphael, and Tarquin watching this closely. But right now, it’s just me and twunt here, trading hits that could crack concrete.
He catches me in the gut, and I rasp, but there’s no time for pain. Pain is a distraction, and distractions get you killed. I retaliate with a flurry of jabs, each one precise, meant to wear him down, to chip away at the fortress of his body. It’s a game of chess with flesh and bone pieces. I’m quicker, lither and fitter than him. He has brute force and a sadistic streak that makes him dangerous as fuck.
“Fuck!” I curse as his elbow grazes my temple. My vision swims, but I shake it off, ducking another wild punch, using his momentum against him. My counter is swift—a knee to his midsection that doubles him over. The crowd loves it, their excitement a living thing, hungry for more, baying for blood. Anyone’s at this point, I think.
But I know as brutal as this is, it’s just the warm-up.
As I play dirty and knee him in the groin, much to the amusement of everyone it seems, he goes down, and I win round two.
Walking as steadily as my legs will carry me, I slump onto the sidelines to catch my breath and roll my shoulders to ease the pain in my muscles. I’m not even looking at the damage done tomy side. It will tip everyone off that I’m hurt, and if it’s bleeding, I’ll be too conscious of it.
So, I ignore it.
As more students drop like flies out of round two, the third round is where the real test begins, it seems.
He’s ruthless, eyes cold as he comes at me. There’s something off about his moves, though—too eager, too angry. I bide my time, taking hits, giving them back, all the while searching for that chink.
I spot it, sweating and panting, but I see it plain as day. A subtle shift in his footwork, a lingering pain he’s trying too hard to hide.
With a feint to the left, I strike, driving my heel into his knee with all the force I can muster. There’s a sickening pop, and he howls, collapsing onto the stone.
Standing there, covered in sweat, blood, and victory, I shake my rattled brain into action to move back to the sidelines.
This is taking a toll on me, but I can’t let any weakness show. It will be exploited, and I’ll be out.
Hunching forward on the ground, I watch as more students drop until only a couple of us are left.
Ding.
The bell signals the start of the fourth round.
My muscles protest as I get to my feet, each bruise a purple badge of honour. The new challenger steps forward. He is… large.
Glaring up at him from my much,muchsmaller height, I lick my lips, suddenly doubting my ability to do this. I’m fucked. He is fresh. This isn’t a fair fight, for fuck’s sake.
Quit bitching and get your fists up.
Dad’s voice rings through my head, and I gulp back the tears of exhaustion that have descended on me.
Hughes’ don’t break! Fists up!
“Fuck off,” I mutter, and raise my bloody and bruised hands.
You’re tougher than that. Get up and fight.
“Come on then!” I spit out, beckoning him closer. He charges, a freight train of fury, but I’ve ridden worse storms than this. We clash, force against force, his blows raining down. I dodge, weave, strike—every hit, a promise that I won’t be taken down easily.
“Is that all you’ve got?” I mock, getting snarky in my battered state, blood filling my mouth.
He roars, swinging wildly, but somehow, through a haze of pain, I’m already moving. I land a jab to his ribs, a hook to his jaw, dancing away before he can retaliate, until I find my opening and give him a roundhouse kick to the head with my shaky leg and he goes down.
