Page 30 of Ravaged From Fate

Yeah. Cyrus may be correct this time. Fuck it.

All that tension and pain were unleashed. It was like their power over me flowed out of my hands as I shouted those words. Cyrus was right. Something is broken inside me.

As hard as it is to admit it, this is the best I’ve felt in a very long time. All thanks to some big bald Samoan guy in a boxing ring, of all fucking places.

But I know this feeling is only fleeting. All that anger and violence and pain inside me is still there. It’ll take a hell of a lot longer than a single boxing drill to drain that out of me.

It’s good Cyrus doesn’t try to come over and talk things through as I sit and absorb what just happened. He knows to leave me the fuck alone.

I sit there in the corner of the gym for a long time, basking quietly in this newfound lightness of my heart, before Cyrus summons me back to the ring with a wave.

“You ready for a round?” he asks me. “With me?”

Maybe I am.

“Yeah.”

“I bet you’re itching to beat the living daylights out of me,” Cyrus remarks.

“What do you think?”

* * *

As I fit the boxing gloves around my fists, I take in a long breath and steady my heart rate.

This is all pretend. This isn’t real.

I can make it through one sparring match without feeling I’m going to lose complete control. I’m going to last the next few minutes without the trauma of my past rearing its ugly head in my mind.

Yeah, I can.

Fuck the past.

I look up at Cyrus standing opposite me in the ring. I appreciate he hasn’t tried over-explaining what’s just happened inside me.

But now I’m going to beat him up.

Cyrus nods at me. “You ready?” he asks.

“To fuck you up? More than ready.”

“That’s what I want to hear, bro.”

And that’s when the front door of the gym swings open and in steps Elsa.

14

ELSA

Boy, can Caspian really fight. Sure, I saw him against those goons in the bar, but seeing him in the boxing ring reaffirms my suspicions. I watch on as he and Cyrus trade jabs at each other with the safety of their boxing gloves. The two men are like giants in the ring. Big. Burly. Strong.

I saw Caspian notice me when I walked in. If he was thinking anything about my entrance, he characteristically didn’t show it.

“He’s good, isn’t he?” Juniper asks me, sliding up to my arm.

“Yeah.”

Juniper conspiratorially nudges me on the elbow. “I didn’t have you down for the strong silent type, Elsa.”