Page 78 of Shattered by Grace (The Locke Empire Duet #1)

Chapter Sixty-Seven

“ F ight.”

The roar of the crowd was a distant hum in Victoria’s ears. Her eyes locked onto Lena, who stood across from her, a smirk curling her lips as she rolled her shoulders in preparation.

Lena started circling. “You know, Tristan and I go way back.”

Victoria didn’t respond. Her fists stayed steady, her stance unwavering.

Lena pressed on, her voice dripping with amusement. “I guess he didn’t tell you about me, the long nights we shared. The things he could do…” She let the words hang, too smug, too sure of herself. “With that sexy mouth.”

Victoria’s lip curled slightly, but she refused to take the bait.

Lena laughed. “Not much of a talker, huh?” She lunged forward, throwing a sharp jab.

Victoria dodged, retaliating with a right hook that Lena barely avoided.

Another smirk. “You should’ve known,” Lena taunted, shifting her weight. “It was bound to be us. Two of the deadliest bloodlines, bound together. Tristan and I…we were supposed to take it all.”

Victoria’s pulse pounded in her ears.

Before she could respond, a sickening crunch cracked through the noise.

Victoria’s head snapped toward the platform just as Tristan’s fist collided with Justin’s face. The loud snap of bone echoed through the arena as Justin’s nose shattered, blood splattering across the platform.

For a split second, Victoria’s focus broke.

And that was all Lena needed.

Her fist came flying, slamming into Victoria’s jaw. Pain exploded across her face.

Victoria staggered, barely registering the next brutal kick to her ribs before it sent her reeling.

“You’re distracted,” Lena taunted, grabbing a fistful of Victoria’s hair and yanking her close. “And here I thought you’d actually put up a fight.”

Victoria gritted her teeth, white-hot pain searing through her. Then she surged forward, slamming her elbow into Lena’s stomach.

Lena gasped but didn’t fall. Instead, she laughed through the pain. “Nice try.”

Victoria took a slow, steadying breath. Her pulse was a war drum in her ears.

“You’re so fucking loud,” she muttered. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix that.”

This time, Victoria struck first.

A left hook. A right jab. An uppercut.

Lena barely stumbled. She recovered fast, dodging Victoria’s next swing.

Then she lunged.

Victoria’s world tilted as Lena’s knee grazed her face.

She had to focus.

Lena’s voice slithered through the haze, quieter this time, but just as venomous. “You’re wasting your time.”

Victoria shook her head, clearing the fog.

Focus.

She feigned left, baiting Lena, just before dropping low and sweeping her legs out from under her.

Lena hit the mat with a sharp thud.

Before she could react, Victoria was on her, fists driving into her face with brutal precision.

Lena didn’t make a sound.

The ref yanked Victoria back to check on her, but Lena was already pushing up. She spat blood onto the mat, wiping at the stream running from her busted brow.

“Still standing?” Victoria muttered, breath coming fast, knuckles aching.

Lena’s bloody grin widened. “Guess Tristan trained you too?”

Victoria barely heard her. She was already moving.

A jab to the temple. A kick to the ribs. A final, savage punch to the nose.

Lena swayed but stayed upright.

Another sickening crack.

But this one wasn’t from the fight below.

Cassian’s voice rang out, cold. Final.

“You are not loyal to me. You are no longer my son.”

Victoria’s stomach twisted.

Her gaze snapped to the platform.

Cassian stood rigid, fury bleeding into every line of his face. Across from him, Tristan stood tall, jaw clenched and shoulders squared.

Something shifted in Cassian’s stance.

Victoria knew that stance.

So did Tristan.

The first punch flew.

Before Victoria could react, Lena tackled her.

Pain exploded across her back as she hit the mat.

Lena pinned her down, panting, blood dripping from her nose onto Victoria’s skin.

“Guess he finally cut the leash,” Lena rasped, pressing her forearm against Victoria’s throat. “I should thank you. You made him weak.”

Victoria snarled, twisting, then flipped them over.

Now Lena was beneath her.

“That so?” Victoria ground out.

Then she swung.

A brutal punch.

Lena’s head snapped to the side.

Another.

And another.

Blood splattered across Victoria’s knuckles, but she didn’t stop.

Another.

Lena’s body twitched. But she was still grinning.

Victoria hit her again. And again. And again.

Until finally…the perfect opening.

Victoria’s fist shot forward, knuckles slamming into Lena’s throat with a sickening crunch.

Lena’s body seized, eyes widening, hands flying to her neck.

Her mouth opened, lips forming a sound that never came.

Her body went slack.

She twitched and then went still.

The crowd had gone eerily silent.

She barely heard the whispers.

The ref lunged forward, grabbing Victoria’s wrist and yanking her back. “Step away! Now!”

She stumbled, breath ragged, as Lena’s lifeless body slumped against the bloodied mat.

The ref dropped to his knees, fingers pressing against Lena’s throat, searching desperately.

Nothing.

Slowly, he lifted a shaking hand and signaled. Fight over.

Silence.

Thick. Unforgiving. Deafening.

The crowd exploded, chanting Victoria’s name.

But she heard nothing. The pure panic in her head was louder.

I just killed someone.

Victoria barely felt the blood dripping from her hands.

She felt something sharp lodged in her knuckles.

She lifted her hand slightly, breath hitching when she saw it.

A sharp, white fragment buried in the torn skin of her fist. A tooth.

Victoria exhaled shakily, fingers curling slightly.

But movement caught her attention on the platform above.

She turned her head, just in time to see Cassian’s body hit the floor.

Her stomach twisted.

Her gaze snapped up.

Tristan stood over him.