Page 25 of Vengeance Becomes Her

He gave her a few more moments to collect herself, then he pushed her right into the nextset of drills.

When he’d worn her out to the point of panting, he called her back over. “That’s enough of that for today. I want to try something else for a bit. I think you’re going to like it.”

Rhiannon eyed him suspiciously, but curiosity also stirred within her. She was eager to meet the challenge, but wary of what her body was now capable of. “Go on.”

“We’re going to run some punching drills. I want you to get a feel for your balance and core strength without tiring you out too much on your first day.”

Rhiannon waited expectantly for him to demonstrate.

“I’m going to teach you how to throw a solid punch first.ButI’m not giving you permission to punch me, so don’t get too excited.”

Her lower lip jutted out in disappointment, she didn’t miss how his eyes lingered there. “So no fun, got it. Then what exactly can I do?”

He stepped behind her but hesitated with several inches of distance between them. “May I?”

She nodded, trying not to tense as hestepped closer.

He grabbed her elbows and positioned her arms at a right angle. “Put your arms up like this, your fists should be framing your face.” He took her right arm and extended her elbow forward into a punching motion. “See how your arm twists into the punch? Now try to repeat that but faster.”

She did it, her arm easily following the motion.

“Now here’s where it gets more complex. To put your full force behind the punch, you need to move your body with it.” Tristain cleared his throat nervously. “I need to put my hands on your hips,is that okay?”

Rhiannon was hesitant about physical interaction with him. Despite everything, his relation to Silas still made her a bit uneasy. Allowing him to touch her elbows was one thing, but his hands on her hips was much more intimate. In the end, she decided the discomfort was worth it to perfecther technique.

“Okay, so when you throw your arm out, you’re going to twist your right hip forward to put your body’s force behind it,” he instructed, his hands guiding her through the motion.“Now you try.”

She copied the movement, but immediately stumbled off balance. She let out a sigh of frustration, pushing her hair back off her face. “Well, that clearly wasn’t how it was supposed to go. What did I do wrong?”

“It’s okay. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I should have told you to plant your feet firmly, only moving your upper body is the key. We’ll try again.”

Sweat clung to her forehead and her body was tired, but she’d get this down. Her eyes locked onto her invisible target that she aimed at until the movement became much more fluid and Tristain was satisfied with her progress.

“Now that you have the basics down, let’s test your strength. I want to see how much you can throw into that punch.” He moved to the side of her to check her form. The air whooshed audibly past them as her fist glided forward. “Very good, now I want you to try making contact.” Her eyes lit up, the widest smile she’d ever granted him stretched across her face.

He rolled his eyes and huffed a laugh. “Don’t look too excited, you’ll be punching my hand, not my face.”

Rhiannon’s shoulders sagged with mock disappointment as Tristain walked around to the front of her, firmly planting his feet on the ground.

“Okay, now I want you to punch my palm five times in a row. Don’t rush it, this is just as much about getting the correct form down as throwing your strength into it.”

She nodded, her attention fully focused on his large palm hovering in front of her, taunting her.

She extended into a punch, meeting his palm with as much force as she could. Tristain swayed slightly.

“That’s it! You’re a natural.” He beamed at her. “Again. But this time, I want you to do ten.”

They repeated the drill and she landed her punches precisely where she aimed. She started feeling more confident with each strike. But then it was time to work on punching with her left arm, which was notably less dexterous. She was growing more frustrated with herselfby the minute.

“Patience is key when it comes to thiskind of thing.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, patience isn’t my strong suit,” Rhiannon retorted.

“I think we should call it a day. We can work on itmore tomorrow.”

Rhiannon’s stomach growled in agreement.

Rhiannon grabbed a late lunch from the main house and brought it back to her room. She would eat it while she unwound in a scorching hot bath. She was covered in dirt and sweat but she also couldn’t wait any longer to eat, so it only made sense.

She was exhausted and looked it. But she felt less shame when she looked in the mirror. Today had been a good distraction from the battle with her inner demons that she fought every day.

She was determined to replace the sorrow that clung to her with determination and triumph. She would push herself in training until she was strong enough, good enough to take on Silas and make him pay.

Tomorrow she would be ready to put her all into training. She would show everyone how resilient she was, starting with mastering her left jab.

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