Seraphina’s POV
The roar of the crowd hit like a physical wave before I even stepped through the curtain.
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I clenched them into fists, tried to steady my breathing, tried to rember everything Rico had drilled into over the past three weeks.
*Keep your guard up. Move your feet. Don’t let him corner you.*
"You ready?" Rico appeared beside , his face all hard angles in the harsh backstage lighting.
"No." My voice ca out smaller than I wanted.
"Good. Nerves keep you sharp." He grabbed my shoulders, forcing to look at him. "Listen to . Kade—that’s your opponent tonight—he’s big. He’s strong. He’s going to try to intimidate you."
"He already is intimidating ," I admitted.
"But he’s slow. And he underestimates won." Rico’s grip tightened. "Use that. Be faster. Be smarter. And for God’s sake, don’t let him pin you against the ropes."
The announcer’s voice bood through the warehouse: "Ladies and gentlen! Our next fight features a newcor to the circuit!"
This was it. This was really happening.
"You got this," Rico said, but his eyes said sothing different. Sothing that looked uncomfortably like doubt.
I stepped through the curtain.
The noise tripled instantly. But it wasn’t cheering. It was laughing. Jeering. The kind of cruel mockery that made my skin crawl.
"Are you fucking kidding ?" soone shouted from the crowd.
"She looks like she weighs ninety pounds!"
"This is gonna be a massacre!"
"I’ll take bets on which bone he breaks first!"
My legs felt like jelly as I climbed the steps. The canvas was stained with old blood. So of it might be mine soon.
The overhead lights were blinding, making the crowd beyond them look like shadows. Faceless. Hungry. Waiting for to fail.
"In the blue corner," the announcer bellowed, "making her debut tonight—SERA!"
The crowd erupted in boos and catcalls so loud it felt like the walls might collapse.
"Go ho, little girl!"
"Soone call child protective services!"
"I got fifty bucks says she doesn’t last thirty seconds!"
"Make it twenty! She won’t last fifteen!"
Heat flooded my face. My hands trembled as I gripped the ropes. The rough material bit into my palms. This was a mistake. This was all a huge, terrible mistake.
Then the opposite door opened, and Kade stepped out.
Oh God.
He was a monster.
Not just tall, but built like a mountain. Dark skin stretched over muscles that looked carved from stone. His shaved head reflected the overhead lights like polished obsidian, and his shoulders were so broad they barely fit through the doorway.
The crowd went absolutely insane. Cheering. Whistling. Chanting his na like he was so kind of god.
"KADE! KADE! KADE!"
The sound vibrated through my chest, through my bones. Dozens of voices rged into one deafening roar of bloodlust.
He climbed into the ring with the easy confidence of a predator entering familiar hunting grounds. Soone who knew exactly how this would end.
"Don’t worry, sweetheart," he said as he moved past to his corner. His voice was deep, amused, with a Southern drawl that sohow made it worse.
The crowd laughed. Soone threw a beer can that clattered across the floor outside the ring.
The referee called us to the center of the ring. Up close, Kade was even more terrifying. His fists looked like sledgehamrs.
"Touch gloves," the referee ordered.
Kade’s fist t mine with enough force to make my entire arm go numb. His grin widened, showing perfect white teeth.
"Gonna enjoy this," he said softly. Just for to hear.
We returned to our corners. Rico was climbing through the ropes, his face grim.
"Rember what I taught you," he said, fitting my mouthguard. His hands were steady, but I could see the tension in his jaw. "If you get knocked down—get back up. No matter what. You hear ?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
The bell rang.
The sound cut through the air like a gunshot.
Kade ca at like a freight train.
I barely got my hands up in ti. His first punch caught my forearms with enough force to send shockwaves up to my shoulders. The impact rattled my teeth. His second punch—Jesus Christ, his second punch—slamd into my ribs like a baseball bat.
I ducked under his next swing and circled away, my feet rembering the footwork Flint had drilled into until I could do it in my sleep. Light. Quick. Don’t be where he expects you to be.
But Kade was faster than I’d anticipated. Way faster. He cut off my escape route like he’d read my mind, driving backward toward the ropes with a series of jabs that whistled past my face.
"Nowhere to run, little girl," he said.
His fist caught in the jaw.
The world exploded into stars and pain. The taste of copper flooded my mouth—hot, tallic, wrong. Blood. My blood.
The crowd roared with savage approval.
"FINISH HER!"
"TEAR HER APART!"
"THIS IS WHAT SHE GETS FOR THINKING SHE COULD FIGHT A MAN!"
I raised my guard, trying to protect my face. Trying to think through the ringing in my ears. His next punch drove into my stomach so hard I thought my spine might snap. Then another to my ribs—the sa ribs he’d already hit. Another to my shoulder that sent electricity shooting down my arm.
Each hit felt like being struck by a car.
I threw a desperate punch at his face. He blocked it with contemptuous ease and countered with an uppercut that lifted completely off my feet.
My vision went pure white.
When it cleared, I was on the canvas. The rough material scraped against my cheek. The referee was counting, his voice distorted like he was underwater.
"...three...four...five..."
"...six...seven..."
I staggered to my feet at eight.
The referee grabbed my face, checking my eyes. "You good to continue?"
I nodded, even though I could barely see straight. Even though my legs felt like they might collapse any second.
"Fight!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)