“River Marks.” Nana shakes her head, as if her heart is actually breaking. “How could you be so rough? And so insensitive!”
River glares at Cole before bowing his head. “I’m sorry, Nana.”
“The human body is like a flower. Treat it well, and it will bloom.” She approaches the ring and extends two cookies. River and I accept with eager thanks. “Let’s be kind to each other and keep our punches away from the face and groin.”
“Yes, ma’am,” we say in unison. Then, of course, we devour the offering as if we’ve never tasted sugar.
“Good, good.” She brushes the crumbs from her fingers. “I’ll leave you kids to your practice.” She kisses Ali, then Cole, and leaves.
“Are you a rose?” River sneers at Cole. “Or a lily?”
“Orchid. And your jealousy is showing,” Cole responds.
“I’m a weed.” I crack the bones in my neck, then my knuckles. With as much pent-up aggression as I’m dealing with, I need an opponent that will fight as dirty as me. River fits the bill. I also have an urge to hurt him for hurting Camilla.
Dude. I shouldn’t even like the girl, and now I want to defend her? Protect her? Avenge her?
“You ready for—” River begins.
I pop him in the mouth before he can finish his sentence. His lip splits in the center and blood trickles down his chin. He wipes the drops away and smiles with relish. A smile that only whets my appetite for more. More pain, more violence. I take another swing at him, but he’s ready this time and ducks, coming up to nail me in the stomach. Air explodes from my lungs, pain shooting through me. When he draws back his elbow to take a double jab at my kidneys, I spin to the side...behind him...and elbow him in the spine. As he stumbles forward, I turn the rest of the way and kick him from behind.
Yeah, I’m that guy.
He lands on his face, but rolls forward and comes up to meet my new approach with a roundhouse kick, Chuck Norris style. Impressive. I’m the one who lands on my face this time, but like River, I don’t stay down long. In a blink, I’m up and slamming a fist into his sternum. I think I hear bone crack.
“Man-meat in action!” Ali calls. “Hurt him! Hurt him so bad!”
I’m not sure which of us she’s cheering for.
River circles me, his expression no longer tolerant and eager, but tense and dark. “You shouldn’t have brought her here.”
I don’t have to ask who “her” is. “Oh, you claim her now? A minute ago, you looked through her as if she didn’t exist.”
His eyes slit, his black lashes practically fusing together. “She betrayed me, betrayed us all. What kind of leader would I be if I showed her favoritism?”
“Maybe she doesn’t want a leader. Maybe she just wants a brother.” And damn it, I’m not doing this. I’m not pushing her brother to forgive her when I will forever hold a grudge.
I nail him in the cheek, and his entire body rotates with the blow.
“That all you got?” he taunts.
I nail him with my other fist, sending him flying in the other direction. The dual forces make him dizzy, and he shakes his head. I use his distraction to my advantage and throw another punch. But he’s expecting it, and he uses my own move against me, spinning to come up to my side...behind me...and elbowing me in the spine.
Adrenaline prevents me from feeling the pain—right now—but doesn’t save me from a fall. My hands absorb my weight as I kick back with both my legs. Contact! River stumbles backward, hitting the rings. He bounces forward. I meet him in the middle, throwing a punch while winding my foot behind his ankle and tripping him.
“Not even close,” I say.
He goes down, and I use my knees to immobilize his shoulders. He isn’t so easily subdued and quickly bucks me off. I land on all fours. Outside the ring, I catch a glimpse of Ali standing beside Kat and a little girl I recognize only from pictures—Ali’s dead sister, Emma. The three are talking, and none are smiling.
River drills a fist into the back of my head. As I go down, stars wink through my vision. I come up swinging, popping River so hard I’m pretty sure I break his nose. Oh, well.
Blood pours down his lips and chin, and his knees buckle. He howls in pain.
“Have Cole use dynamis on you, and the injury will heal in minutes.” Or a few days. Whatever. He’ll heal faster than usual, and that’s good enough.
“Kat.” I jump over the ring, lowering the top rope with my weight while allowing my legs to soar over. “What’s wrong?”
She wrings her hands as she focuses on me. “I just... I’m feeling guilty. Emma found out about— Well, she pointed out that doing to your enemy what your enemy did to you makes you a hypocrite. And she’s right. I know the devastation such an action causes, and yet I’m doing it anyway.”
“I don’t understand. Doing what?”
“Anima...betrayal...”
I’m still lost. Feelings of guilt...taking a play from Anima’s book... “Have you lied to me about something?”
“No. I’ve told you the truth.”