On her way to combat training, Eliana shook off her thoughts about Dane. She had no time for confusing feelings—there were more important things to focus on. When she arrived at the training room, Keith was already standing on the mat, waiting.
"You're late. Don't let that happen again," he said, annoyed. He had been changing more and more since the first day she met him. Back then, he was nicer, even a little cute but now? He was becoming ruder and bolder by the day.
"Sorry, I had to visit the infirmary after fitness training. Damon put me through hell," she mumbled, unsure. "That's why I wanted to ask if you could maybe go a little easy on me today. I'm really not fit."
By nature, she was a more submissive person, and when someone behaved like Keith—dominant and taking the lead—she always tended to back down. Though she had been changing slowly since arriving at the academy, those tendencies still lingered, especially around Keith.
"Okay, whatever. Let's just start," he said with an annoyed sigh, getting into a fighting stance.
Eliana took a moment to remember what Cobra had taught her and mirrored the proper stance, which made Keith frown. He didn't know she was now training with Cobra and just chalked it up to luck that she was standing correctly for once.
They began to spar. Keith, to her relief, actually held back this time. Still, she took a few hits. Her muscles ached and her body felt heavy from training with Damon. But then Cobra came over to watch, and Keith's demeanor shifted.
As soon as Keith noticed Cobra observing, he got more aggressive. She didn't really understood how Cobra was even knowing what was going on but she supposed he was hearing who was moving and landing a hit. Eliana tried to block, but her arms were too heavy. Still, Keith seemed increasingly distracted, constantly glancing toward Cobra.
This was it—just like Cobra had told her when they were training last night. Her chance.
When Keith looked away again, she acted. Remembering the movement Cobra made her do again and again the day before, she pulled her arm back and, with the little strength she had, landed a punch directly on Keith's nose and lips. Her technique wasn't perfect, and there wasn't much power behind it, but it was the first time she had ever hit back.
For a second, everything was silent. Keith clutched his face in disbelief. There was no blood, but her fist throbbed in pain.
She glanced at Cobra. He looked surprised but also approving.
Distracted by her moment of triumph, she didn't see Keith's retaliation coming. He lunged forward, tackling her onto the mat. The air left her lungs as his weight slammed into her. He straddled her and his voice turned dark.
"Not bad, little girl, but this wasn't supposed to happen. You take the punches like a good girl and aren't allowed to. Hit. Back!"
His fists pounded into her face with brutal force. She felt her nose break and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. She tried to fight back, but Keith was lost in rage, a beast with no restraint.
He flipped her onto her stomach and yanked her hair back violently. "Don't forget your place, bitch. I help you out, and for that, you do what I fucking say!" he hissed.
His other hand palmed her breast—not with lust, but dominance, ownership. Her head twisted painfully, and panic overtook her. He was going to break her neck. Her vision blurred. Panic filled her as she realized that he could easily kill her right now. A broken sob escaped her lips.
"Please... don't..." she whimpered. Her voice was faint, pained, and trembling. She tasted blood and realized teeth were missing from when he pummeled her face.
Keith pressed his boot into her spine, pulling her hair back even harder. Her bones were close to breaking and she felt too helpless as her nails dug into the mat. "Don't be scared... shh, don't cry... I won't break your neck," he growled. "I'll just break your spine, bitch."
Eliana saw her life flash before her eyes. Her family. Her old life. Everything she'd never see again. She was going to die like this. Just after she at last started to fight back and take her fate into her own hands, it was going to end here. She would not even be able to reach the tournament. It felt so fucking unfair. She was not ready yet to leave this world.
Just then suddenly, Keith was ripped off her.
She collapsed onto the mat limply and heard Cobra's voice booming through the training room.
Cobra's voice cut through the chaos. "That's enough!"
His voice thundered across the training room, sharp and commanding.
Eliana couldn't register anything more as she curled into a ball, sobbing and shaking. Pain radiated through every inch of her body. Her face was numb, swollen, bleeding.
Her vision blurred, the world spinning. The only thing she could see clearly were Cobra's shoes in front of her before she passed out.
She always knew that there was the possibility that she could die at this place but she never thought it would come this fast and suddenly. Today she had come too close to death. And it had shattered something in her.