"I want to change my opponent!" Eliana said quickly, lifting her hand and looking away from Keith. It would be truly pathetic if she died during the very first fight.
The mentors exchanged glances. They knew Eliana wouldn't survive a match against Keith. She was still deeply traumatized from the last time he nearly killed her. Just as Isaak was about to speak up, Lucifer's gravelly, menacing voice echoed through the training hall.
"No. Start the fights."
The room hesitated for just a second before the recruits launched themselves at each other. All except Keith, who stood eerily still, staring at her with unblinking eyes.
The mentors wanted to step in, especially Dane but they knew they couldn't show how much Eliana meant to them or Lucifer would use that weakness and get suspicious. They now needed to trust into her but it didn't look good. It was like watching a tiger fighting against a small kitten.
Eliana suddenly regretted dolling up. The outfit might look good, but it was definitely impractical. "Look, we can talk about this. Doesn't our deal still stand, that you'd go easy on me? We are combat partners, right?" she said with a nervous smile, stepping back.
Keith closed the distance between them with a slow, menacing step. "You had one job. Play the good quiet girl and obey. But no, you had to be a bitch," he hissed, grabbing her by the throat.
His grip tightened, cutting off her air. She gasped, struggling to speak. "What… what happened to your previous combat partners? How long have you been here?" she choked out, remembering Tristan's words when he warned her of Keith. Maybe this would distract him before killing her.
Keith's grip didn't loosen, but he launched into his twisted tale. "I've been here for years. My parents dumped me here because they couldn't handle me. I was looking for the perfect partner, but no one ever obeyed enough. I thought you were different… until you punched me back..."
She tuned him out. This was straight out of a movie, the villain monologuing long enough for the hero to make a move. Except Eliana didn't feel like a hero. She felt like a desperate, cornered animal.
So she did what any cornered animal would do. She slammed the sharp heel of her boot straight into his crotch.
Keith let her go instantly, collapsing to his knees with a guttural groan of pain. Eliana scrambled across the mat on her hands and knees, trying to escape. But the mat wasn't large, and before she could get far, Keith grabbed her ankle and yanked her back.
Flashbacks of his brutal assault during their last combat session when he almost broke her spine flooded her mind. Panic rose in her chest. Her body switched to autopilot and she lashed out like a wild animal.
Keith blocked her strikes, but her erratic and uncontrolled attacks made it difficult to anticipate her next move. "Hold still, bitch. I'm going to break your pretty spine. Then you'll be my little doll to play with," he sneered.
Why was everyone in this place an absolute psycho?
He slammed her head against the mat—once, twice, again. Her brain rattled in her skull. She screamed, clawing at the hand buried in her hair. Her nails dug deep and she tore out a chunk of his flesh.
Keith roared in pain and pulled away momentarily. "Stop fighting back! You're only making it worse for yourself, you cunt!" he screamed.
Then he froze.
Eliana had driven the spiked heel of her boot directly into his eye. She didn't mean to that, she was only defending herself and kicked him into his face.
Blood gushed down his face. He twitched, reaching up weakly with one hand before collapsing. Was he… dead?
Her heart pounded as she tried to pull her foot away, but her boot remained embedded in his skull. A panicked sob tore from her throat as she struggled with the zipper, finally managing to wrench the boot off.
She scrambled away from the body, trembling and gasping, before vomiting violently.
She had killed someone.
She was a killer now.
Tears streamed down her face. She turned to look back and saw her boot still stuck in his eye socket, the eyeball disturbingly protruding, dangling on a nerve.
She threw up again.
Someone slowly clapped beside her. She looked up to see Belial crouching with a wide, entertained smirk.
"Wow. That was impressive. A real brutal way to kill someone. You're a natural, kitten," he cooed.
She watched, horrified, as he grabbed her boot and yanked it free—eye still attached.
She dry heaved since there was nothing left in her stomach anymore.
"But you did a bad job," Belial added, sounding disappointed. "He's still alive. Next time, shove the heel in a little deeper so it goes through the brain."
The only thing she heard was that Keith was still alive for now.
Relief and dread fought in her chest. She wasn't a killer. But Keith was still alive. Would he come for her again?
Isaak's calm, commanding voice boomed over the chaos. "All fights are over now. Move to your next opponent. If you won, move left. If you lost, move right."
She sat frozen, watching Keith's limp body being dragged away. His eyeball still dangled grotesquely, her boot pierced through it. Blood streaked across the mat.
She vomited again, but nothing came out.
Someone snapped their fingers in front of her. It was that Belial guy with the creepy eyes again.
"What is your problem?" she rasped.
"Move on to the next mat, kitten. I want to see more of those claws. I've waited to see you fight since the day you arrived when I watched you," he said with a grin.
A shiver ran through her. She remembered the feeling of being watched. Now she knew who it had been.
"You're really cute when you sleep."
Great. Now she had a stalker too.
She didn't want to hear any more revelations. Couldn't everyone just stop talking to her and leave her in peace?
Unable to handle more, she curled up on the blood-soaked mat and sobbed. A girl could only take so much before breaking.