Page 81 of Ramshackle
This is fine. I’m fine. Just concentrate on Kellan.
I step onto one end of the mat.
“I’m going to set a timer for ten minutes. Whoever has the advantage at that time or gets the other person to yield before then wins the match,” Kellan explains. His thumb compresses the button on the side of the timer as he shouts, “Go!” before he tosses it to the side.
I run at him, ignoring the initial twinge of discomfort from my knee while keeping close attention to Kellan’s hands and arms to try and read what his first move will be. He pulls his right arm back, and I drop under it before it swings out, then pop up in front of him to throw my own punch. It nails him in the jaw.
But aside from turning his face away, his body doesn’t move.
Kellan smirks and rubs his jaw, raising a taunting brow. “Is that all you’ve got?”
I smirk in return, and this time, while his guard is down, I fill my fist with my gift and knock it into his stomach.
He falls backward, his hands automatically moving to his abdomen as he hunches over it. In seconds, his thick, golden skin takes its place over where I’d hit him. Kellan’s grin when helooks at me is wild. “Oh, I see how it is. If that’s how we’re going to play…”
He rushes forward, and I dive to the side, curling up to lessen his chances of landing a strike against me. He keeps coming, and I keep dodging, all while I struggle to find another opening to hit him again.
“You can’t win if all you’re doing is running away!” Kellan challenges, pushing me around the mat. “If you can’t find an opening, then you need tomakeone!” he bellows, his fists swinging harder.
I plant my feet this time, throwing my arms up like a wall in front of me, and lighting them up with my gift. His fist slams into them, but then he roars and pulls it back. I felt the impact from his punch, but my gift took the brunt of it and allowed me to keep my balance. My knee is screaming from so much activity, but I refuse to miss this opportunity and clench my teeth through the pain.
Now!
I jump forward, my gift already active, as I start fighting him with everything I’ve got. For a second, I think I have him on the run as he tries to fend off my blows.
His leg kicks out, and I fall forward. The mat dusts when I touch it and push myself up.
Kellan laughs. “No mats for your training anymore, beautiful.”
With the mat gone, our fight spreads through the rest of the room. I clench my teeth when he easily evades me with all the room we have now. It’s harder to strike him when he’s no longer within jumping reach, and I don’t have speed anywhere in my gift. I could send it to him through the ground, but then I’d ruin the training room.
“I see the wheels in your head turning. What are you going to do now?” he taunts, suddenly behind me.
I whirl around, throwing my punch before I can even see him and hitting golden scales. Again! I keep attacking him now that he’s close, but their impact is like a regular punch now that his gift is active.At least it can still affect him. Without my gift, he wouldn’t even feel anything.
He doesn’t run away anymore, letting me get my shots in before he flips me up and drops me to the ground. He straddles me, his golden hand with sharp scales along the back of it wrapping around my fragile neck. His hand twitches around it, and it’s enough to cut off my airflow.
Kellan’s blue-green eyes are dark, glowing in their ferocity as he leans over me. His voice comes out in a deep rumble that I can feel straight to my core. “You’ve learned some fun new tricks but forgotten all the fighting techniques I taught you.”
The timer goes off. Cheers erupt around us. Kellan grins, releasing me and stepping back so I can look around. A crowd has gathered at the doors, which have been propped open so more people can watch without entering the room.
“That was amazing!”
“I want to learn how to fight like that!”
“Did you see what she did to that mat?”
“Can you believe she kept up with Kellan?”
“Kellan, you look so cool!”
“Raegan’s so strong!”
My face burns, and I throw my hands up to cover it. “How long have they been here?” I whisper roughly to Kell.
Kellan helps me to my feet. My knee throbs, the pain sharp like broken glass, but I draw a slow breath to keep my expression clear. Kell drags my arms down while laughing and walking us away from the peeping Guild members to the bench. “Around the time you got your first punch in.” He knocks the back of his knuckle atop my head. “They shouldn’t have surprised you likethat. Don’t lose your focus in the fight, but still stay aware of your surroundings,” he chastises.
He hands me water that I guzzle down, then work to unwrap my hands. The Guild members at the door stream inside.
