KAI POV
My breath was ragged. My ribs screamed. Blood trickled down my lip and into my mouth, sharp and metallic.
I should have stayed down.
But I didn’t know how.
Another strike. Another rotation. I caught him in the side with the ball of my foot. Then again—faster, harder. His grunt was music, but not enough. He was bigger. Built like a tank. Power through and through.
I shifted my weight, feinted left, ducked under his block. My elbow slammed into his ribs, then I twisted—foot sweeping out, trying to take him down.
Almost.
But almost wasn’t enough.
He countered mid-air. That bastard had reflexes like a cat on steroids.
I hit the mat.
Hard.
My shoulder cracked against it with a dull thud, air bursting from my lungs. And before I could roll out, he was on me.
One knee on my th
