Page 103 of Celestial Combat

My heart didn’t race. I’d learned how to slow it, how to channel the nerves into silence. Zane had taught me how.

But tonight felt different. Because I knew this was my last fight. I’d proved what I needed to prove. That I could fight. That I could win.

A hand on my shoulder made me turn around.

Zane.

I faltered. He never came down on fight nights. He always watched from his office above the ring, behind black glass.

Tonight he was down here. With me.

His hard eyes met mine. “You don’t wait. You attack first, and you attack hard. Got it?”

I blinked before smiling sweetly. “You came all the way down here just to tell me that?”

Zane’s gaze narrowed on me, probably wanting to retort back but choosing otherwise. “Don’t hesitate. If you do, he’ll put you down. You want to finish this? Then finish it.”

I held his stare for a second longer than I should’ve. “Got it.”

I turned back to the cage to see my opponent was already inside. Twice my size.

A strange calm settled over me.

I hit my gloves together, then stepped into the cage.

The door slammed shut behind me with a metallicclangthat echoed across the club.

The announcer’s voice rang out over the speaker system. “And in the other corner –Meisa,Goddess of the Underworld!”

The crowd erupted.

I could feel Zane watching me from the other side of the cage.

The bell rang.

My opponent charged like a bull, but I moved faster – stepping left, calculating.

I remembered Zane’s words.Attack first.

I went in, throwing a right hook with everything I had – but I hesitated. Just for a second. My foot caught, just slightly off rhythm.

He caught me across the jaw with a brutal backhand. The crowd gasped.

Pain bloomed along my face as I stumbled back. He came in again – this time, fists swinging wild.

I ducked. Just barely making it out.

Panic threatened to rise, but I shoved it down hard.

Another hit grazed my ribs. My breath caught.

But then my instinct shifted.

Maybe it was the memory of Zane’s voice, warning me not to hesitate.

I surged forward. Right elbow, sharp and fast – cracked across his chin. He reeled. I followed with a low kick to his knee, then a hook to the temple. He staggered.

The crowd surged, voices rising with every strike. I couldn’t hear them anymore. I couldn’t hear anything but my own breathing and the pounding of blood in my ears.

---