Page 53 of Shadebound
He grabbed at my waist. I twisted, breaking free. He swung low and caught my ribs. The impact was jarring—pain blooming across my side like fire under skin. I ducked under his next hit and tried to step back, but he followed fast. I raised my arms just in time to block a punch aimed at my face. My forearms throbbed from the force of it.
I kicked, clipped his knee and sent pain radiating up my shin. Hesnarled, and I knew I was not in for a pleasant time.
I wasn’t sure when he pinned me to the ground or hit me properly for the first time. Only that it was like being smacked with a brick.
The impact sent my skull snapping sideways, the packed earth biting into my cheekbone as something split beneath the skin. A strange silence bloomed in my ears, cotton-thick and humming, but it didn’t stop the sting of blood as it slipped from my nose and into my mouth. The metallic tang clung to the back of my throat, enough to make me choke.
He didn’t give me a moment to find my breath. His fists came again—faster now, more vicious. One struck my ribs, andI heard the sound before pain erupted in my veins. A dull, wet crunch, then a burst of heat that made my breath catch shallowly. Another hit landed across my jaw, sharp enough to throw stars across my vision.
Above me, he moved like a machine built for violence. There was nothing elegant or restrained with his skill. Nor was it purely just for training. Tyler was just brute strength and a brutal smile that made me wonder what would have happened had it beenhewho had accosted me the night before, not Alessandro.
Tyler’s smile made my stomach turn.
There was pleasure in it. Not the gleeful kind, but something colder. As if this wasn’t about winning. It was about damage. About him getting to hurt me in the one place and time he actually could.
I swung at him out of instinct, my arm heavy and poorly aimed, but my knuckles grazed his jaw. Not enough to do real harm, but enough to turn his head.
He struck back twice as hard. My body crumpled beneath the weight of the hit, limbs slow to obey as I hit the ground again. Breath wouldn’t come easily. Every inhale was like knives dragging along my ribs.
Then the dark voice in my head whispered,He is just a man. You know how to make him suffer without magic.
I can’t. I thought.The pain is too much without my magic... it actually hurts.It doesn’t make me strong like normal.
Pain does not make you strong; anger does.Death replied firmly,so yes, you can hurt him. You hit him hard enough to stand.
For a second the images of my family woods entered my head. The softly frosted touch of Death hummed in my mind, as he showed me a memory.
Me, covered in blood, screaming and crying. Darkness erupting in the world around me as I slowly climbed to my feet.
You did it then.He whispered.This is nothing, compared to that.
I whimpered. Fuckingwhimpered. Like a child in distress, missing her mommy and wishing her daddy was there to make the monsters go away.
Then Death’s voice got loud enough to drown out all the noise. Even my own disgust.
He might’ve beaten you, but he hasn’t broken you if you stand.And I know you are strong enough to stand.
With a snarl, I widened my eyes and saw the opening a second later. Anger truly fuelled me as I reared back and drove my knee up between Tyler’s legs as hard as I could. The sound he made was half gasp, half snarl. For a second, I thought I hadn’t done enough. That he was going to continue his reign of terror. But then he dropped to his side, hands clutching himself, face twisting in shock and true pain.
Somewhere in the crowd, someone laughed. Maya whistled. Zayden said something encouraging I couldn’t make out.
Good girl. I knew you could do it. Came a voice in my head.
I almost smiled as I tried to pull myself upright. Then Tyler’s orange eyes found mine, and the air shifted. Even without my shadows, I could sense the danger leaking from his every pore.
I saw his every move before he did it and knew I was not finished experiencing true pain.
He lunged, and I tried to scramble back, but he caught my braids and yanked hard. I hit the sand on my hands and knees, disoriented, grit in my mouth. Before I could rise, his boot came down on my arm.
There was a snap.
Agony flooded my body. It was all-consuming, white-hot, invasive. My stomach rolled. My vision blurred at the edges. I bit down hard, swallowing any sound that tried to break free. The shadows inside me surged despite their weakness. Each one brushed along the edges of my mind—desperate to reach out and help me even though theycouldn’t.
Vadren’s voice cut through the ringing in my ears. “Winners: Alessandro and Tyler.”
Zayden was already moving before her words finished. He shoved Tyler back with both hands, fury carved into every muscle as Maya and Eris hurried to my side, my brother following them.
“Don’t,” Vadren warned again as Draven appeared before me, lips moving with things my eyes blurred too much to make out. “Take your petulance outside of my arena or you will all be punished.”
