Page 16 of A Drop of Anguish
I stride into the ring, hands clenching. The dark-skinned fae remains in the ring, eyeing me quietly.
“Oh, I can do this one,” a sweet voice calls.
My eyes widen.
“Sure, Auren,” Coach says. “If you wish.”
Fuck my life.
Auren gives me a wicked smile that tells me she’s so going to enjoy this as Melissa clasps the silver cuffs to her wrists.
Adrenaline pumping, eyes focused on my enemy, I take my stance.
I’m not naïve enough to expect an easy fight, not with Auren as my opponent.
I can’t know what’s going on in her mind, but her sharp stare makes it fairly clear she wants to level the playing field and bolster her reputation. What better way than toaccidentallygo a bit too far during a school-sanctioned spar?
“Fight!”
Auren charges instantly.
Even without her magic, her movements are lightning-quick. I dive out of the way, only barely evading her attack. Okay, even expecting her to go too far, I didn’t expectthat.
I roll and land in a crouch just before she comes again. The small crowd sucks in a collective breath, pressing in tighter to get a better view.
“Auren,” Coach chides.
She ignores her.
I leap away from Auren’s second lunge in a similar way. She twists at the last second, and her fist clips my thigh. Pain ricochets up my back, but it’s short-lived.
“Slow down, Auren,” the teacher instructs.
She obviously has something to prove. I thought she’d take it slow in the beginning and then land a fierce blow once my guard was down. She’s not even trying to hide her anger.
Truth is, I think this is exactly what I needed.
Anxiety is my worst enemy. Fearing the what-ifs kills me slowly. But put me in direct danger, and my mind turns sharp. There are no longer any questions. There is only the determination that I will not lose.
She attacks a third time, and now, I’m ready. I feint, like I’m going to dive away from her the way I have the two times prior, and she takes the bait.
Auren swings, which would have been a total takedown had I dove like she thought. Instead, I slide away and then slam my elbow into her exposed spine.
She drops to the ground, hard.
The room quiets, and I skitter across the mat, away from the very angry fae that slowly rises. Her eyes glow. Though I know she can’t use her magic right now, it’s meant to unnerve me. It works, but I won’t give her the satisfaction of knowing it.
I only smile and wiggle my fingers in a taunting wave.
“I’m going to—”
“What?” I interrupt. “You’re going to what?”
She flinches. Not only is she not supposed to be so aggressive during this spar, but the whole school is still uncertain how Jarron will react if I’m harmed. And since she’s already on his bad side—
“I could have asked him to kill you,” I say, knowing that’s the moment she’s playing in her head. “I still could.”
She seethes, shoulders slumped. Anger pulses from her in waves. Some people think anger helps you fight better, and that can be true… to a point. But if you let it go too far, it clouds your mind. Auren is totally past that point.
