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She looked nervous, staring at my opponent. If she looked at me, I would try to convey that it was going to be okay, but I couldn’t do anything else. With a movement that looked like I was scratching my ear, I took out my earpiece and slipped it into the pocket of my jacket on the floor.

This was a fight. Anything could happen. I couldn’t afford for it to be knocked out or discovered.

Enough stalling. I stretched my arms and made my way over to the ladder that led down into the pit but didn’t bother to use it. I dropped straight in, landing on the balls of my feet.

“Last call for bets,” the bookie shouted. People moved. Now that they saw the comparison between me and the guy across from me, they were more than willing to bet. On him, I imagined.

My back was to Kate. Which meant that she would see some of the worst of my scars.

Not now.

I thrust my mind into darkness and breathed in the terror, anger, and desperation that were always so close by. I would take it and use it. Wield it. Excise it.

“That’s it,” the bookie’s voice reached me. “Bets are closed.”

“Then let’s do this,” Max said.

The guy across from me moved. I didn’t. Let him make the first move. I wanted to watch him. It wouldn’t take long to pick up what kind of style he was used to.

He ducked and charged. Okay then.

I lunged to the side, avoiding his attempt at a hold, and used my elbow in his back to drive him into the wall. The crowd stilled. This was already more interesting than they’d anticipated.

Smiling, I gestured to him. Come at me. He did, and again, he missed. That was the thing about big opponents. They didn’t always know how to use their mass to their advantage and ended up flailing.

“Fucking pussy,” the man spat at me. “You just going to jump around and avoid me?”

He threw a punch, and I pushed it to the side, using my other hand to land my own, straight up into his jaw. That was the answer to that.

New anger flooded my system. My opponent took on more darkness than he had. He was one of the specters that haunted my nightmares, and I saw exactly where I could hurt him. I saw where I could kill him.

It would be easy.

He was still recovering, and I had just enough humanity left to know that I needed to end this quickly, before I went too far.

I only let him turn. Running to the wall, I pushed off it and up, giving me enough height to land another punch directly in the giant’s face. He crumpled like dirty laundry. I followed him to the ground, punches still flying.

Blood spilled from his nose, and I punched him again. And again. His eyes would be black.

It would be so easy to keep going until there was nothing left. Let this darkness and hate burn me alive until I pressed it all into this man’s body.

But when he went limp, I managed to pull my hand back.

There was nothing but silence around me.

I could hear a pin drop. It wasn’t the outcome they’d been expecting, and not many—if any at all—had bet on me.

Smiling, I looked up at Max. “How’s that for a newbie getting his ass kicked?”

I didn’t wait for his response, climbing out of the pit and grabbing my clothes. I put the shirt on, and the jacket. I didn’t bother with the earpiece. We were close enough now that I didn’t need it.

“Guess I was wrong about you,” Max said.

He was behind me, Kate at his side. Her eyes were wide, and I couldn’t figure out what was behind them. Did I scare her? That was a possibility.

“Yeah, you were.”

Max pulled Kate under his arm possessively. She stiffened, and my hands itched to throw him into the pit along with the guy who was currently being dragged out of it.