Her Soul

🕊 3

I recalled standing in the hand combat room, my body throbbing and blue, blood flowing down my lips. Raven struggled a lot to make me skilled in hand combat. It was not a matter of skill but strength. My body didn't have that kind of strength. It was all good with weapons because it was all about twisting and ducking and blocking. But this was different, I needed a physical strength, which I didn't have, which I hoped I had. Usually, I didn't give up easily, but this time it felt like I was fighting a battle where my failure was pre-decided.

"You remember me so much of your mother." Zach tightened his grip on me, my bones feeling the coercion.

"Rene is not my mother." I may not know how to fight without a weapon, but I did know that eye was a delicate organ. I punched him in the eyes with my knuckles, the bony mounds plunging in. He dropped his hands from me, groaning out a shallow howl. My legs were all prepared to run away from him before he regained from the punch.

Before I could sprint off, his hand caught my hip with an immovable force, circling my waist. His other hand was clenching my wrists in his clasp to stop me from punching his eyes again.

Turning around, I attempted to get out of his grip. I determined it must be manageable since he was clasping both my wrists in a single hand. When that seemed preposterous, I booted in his lower stomach, sending in a deep collision that for sure must have traveled south and north. He let go of me with an animalistic roar, his bruised eye going wide.

What I didn't see was, the couple that sat near the sea had somehow moved near to us. Zach fell to the floor from my kick, pulling the girl with him by her dress. She fell on the sand with a minor cry and Zach fell over her, his hands on the sides of her head.

The sound of her dress tearing ripped through the night like a zipper opening the air layers. Her blond hair was tumbled over the sand; she lay there with a frightened look, trying to get away from Zach. It was dark for me to see her face or features except for her bright eyes and blond hair - lighter than mine. Her angling made it even harder.

Her companion was beside her the next second, pushing Zach off her with no gentleness. "Get the hell away from her!"

By the time I processed the voice and realized who this was, Kade had collected Ava up from the floor, dusting the sand off her. Her peach-colored frock was torn on the upper part, revealing her shoulder blades as she stood shaking from the sudden onset of events. Her right hand held both the ends of her straps together, curbing them from falling.

Her efforts didn't get ignored by Zach, who was glaring at me at the interruption I had no hand in. "It's just a small tear. Be glad I didn't break your pretty face."

If Zach had kept his mouth shut, Kade would have probably gone away after throwing two swears. I didn't think that was going to happen now though, much to my relief.

Kade's eyes took a dangerous turn as his eyes skidded from Zach to Ava, taking in her torn frock. He whispered something in her ear, which I assumed was 'are you okay?', his hands draping his jacket over her like a protective cloak.

She simply gave a nod, not looking up at him. Her head was hunched down, but I definitely could feel her eyes on me - a gaze that made me uncomfortable. It was dark, maybe I was imagining things.

With a single hand, Kade put Ava behind him and placed a step towards Zach with eyes that ascertained agony.

But stopped at Ava's words. "Kade, I don't think we should interfere. They look like a couple."

That was when he took notice of me - standing there like a sculpture with labored breaths. Our sights collided as his brow raised in confusion seeing me there, wondering what I was doing there alone at night. His eyes slid to my wrists that had Zach's fingerprints now traced across them with a reddish tinge.