Page 6 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

I duck under the roundhouse. It goes whistling over my head like a meteor.

Then, two lightning-fast punches to his gut. The wind whistles out of his lungs. He doubles over, giving me that big, ugly face as a perfect target.

Another uppercut.Crunch.

Two crosses, one right and one left, send his head snapping in either direction.Pop! Pop!

Blood flies. Sweat drips.

And then he hits the turf.

He’s out cold before he lands. I’m already turning to the crowd, mounting the rope, hands held high in victory.

The crowd was deafening before. Now, they’re like a sonic boom. Packed to the rafters, chanting my name.

“Ca-leb! Ca-leb!”

I’m famous here. Undefeated prizefighter. The surefire bet who never loses.

If only they knew what the rest of my life is like.

4

Caleb

After the fight, I’m mopping the sweat off my face with a towel when a girl approaches.

“Do you train every day?” she asks in that faux-curious voice that hides the real question underneath:Do you wanna fuck?

She’s a card girl. Not one I’ve seen before, and I don’t know her name.

More to the point, I don’t need to know her name. She is just the girl who lets the crowd know which round it is. The only requirement for the job is “extremely fuckable.” There isn’t a need to go into further detail.

“Most days,” I answer. If football practice and beating down any idiots who come for me and my friends counts as training, then definitely.

She drags a finger from my shoulder to my bicep and pokes at my arm. “That’s hot.”

Sheis hot.

Her denim shorts are so tight they look painted on, and her tits are bursting out of a low-cut tank top. Barely-there clothes are the mandatory wardrobe for any card girl, which is why I’ve slept with most of them.

Another perk of the business.

“Wait while I pick up my money, and I’ll show you how hot.”

She gnaws on her plump lower lip, and I know she will service me just fine. I don’t need to connect with her on a spiritual level. I just need a place to dump the adrenaline still pulsing in my veins.

I need a release. There’s no reason we can’t be that for one another.

She nods, and I hold up a finger as I turn away.

A few people stop me as I make my way to the kitchens, congratulating me on another win, but most people steer clear.

No one from Ravenlake Prep is here. It’s not their scene.

Most of the kids are from Public or other towns entirely. The Hell Princes run this joint, which means my Golden Boys don’t want shit to do with it.

We’ve been in a truce with the Hell Princes for almost a year, but tensions are still … tense. Anything could go to shit at any moment.

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