Page 28 of Black Hearted
When he got within striking range, I clipped his jaw with an uppercut. My hits were fast and hard. Even though it was a light hit since he shifted left at the last moment, it still rattled him. He shook his head as if trying to clear the ringing in his ears.
He tried to counterattack, but his punches were sloppy. They had weight, but I was able to block every blow.
After only a few minutes of fighting, Hammer was already winded. He swung at me—a move I saw coming from a mile away—and I easily dodged. His punch missed entirely, and his momentum carried him forward, slamming him into the bars.
I couldn’t help but grin as I watched him stumble before regaining his footing. I moved to the other side of the cage, and he twisted back toward me with a growl.
To think I thought these fights would be a challenge. I mean, I was an Ethereum lord, but since I wasn’t using my magic, I’d expected to at least work for my wins.
With a roar of fury, Hammer charged at me with renewed energy. He faked left, and I should have seen it coming, but I’d gotten cocky. He landed a solid blow to my right ear that sent me staggering to the side. As I steadied myself, I felt wetness trickling down my cheek.
Wetness.
Blood.
Blackblood.
No.
Panic seized me as I realized my huge oversight. I’d been so careful not to use my magic since I saved Nellie, but I’d completely forgotten that my magic wasn’t the only thing that set me apart from the seelie in Faerie.
Reaching up, I quickly covered my ear with my right hand. The lighting in the cavernous room wasn’t great. Maybe no one had noticed the color of my blood yet. If I could get throughthis fight, I could clean up and bandage my ear. As long as I avoided another hit, I might still have a chance to continue in the tournament and win the prize money.
But with my ear covered, I’d have to fight one-handed.
Hammer came for me again. I jabbed out with my weaker left hand, landing three quick blows to the side of his head. The hits opened a gash over his eye, and crimson blood trickled down his face. He staggered back but didn’t go down like I’d hoped.
“Both fighters look hurt. Zane appears to be protecting an injury on the side of his head,” the Enforcer announced as the crowd roared.
“Knock him out!” a familiar voice ripped through the noise, and my blood ran cold.
Nellie.
No. She wouldn’t.
I flicked my gaze toward the voice and saw her pressed up against the bars, cradling her injured arm to her chest.
My heart skipped a beat.
I barely had time to process the fact that she’d snuck out and found her way here before Hammer lunged at me again. Twisting away, I stuck my foot out at the last moment and tripped him. He went down hard.
As he lay on the ground at my feet, I punched him in the back of the head four times until he went limp—knocked out cold.
The crowd went wild as the bell rang, and my heart hammered in my chest.
Think. Think.
The second I took my hand off my ear, it would expose my black blood.
Hammer regained consciousness quickly and rolled onto his back. His eyes were unfocused, and his face was covered in red blood from the damage I’d inflicted with my fists.
Reaching down with my free hand, I grasped his face, smearing blood all over my palm and fingers.
“That beating was for my wrist,” I growled at him before pulling away.
I swapped hands quickly to cover my bleeding ear, hoping that Hammer’s blood, now smeared over my hand and the side of my face, would hide my own incriminating black blood.
My heart raced as Bucky leaped into the ring with a small patch-up kit, probably intending to stitch up my ear.
