She watched as Sapphire was pulled forward, she numbly took a step forward.
"Step back, girl," Ryven growled, not even looking at Kira as his grip tightened on Sapphire's shoulder.
Kira hesitated,
But Sapphire gently looked back and gave her a single, tight nod. Reluctantly, she stumbled backward, her chest heaving as she joined the perimeter of the yard with the other children.
"Stance," Ryven barked, stepping back and raising his fists. His guard was compact, tight, and completely impenetrable. "Show me the alignment I just taught you. Punch me."
Sapphire swallowed the lump of fear in his throat. He dropped his weight, raised his trembling hands, and drove his fist forward toward Ryven's chest. He tried to focus on his knuckles, on the straight line of his wrist.
Smack.
Ryven didn't even move. He simply slapped Sapphire's punch aside with a brutal, heavy parry that sent a jarring shockwave straight up Sapphire's arm.
The force spun Sapphire half-around, his balance shattering.
"Tragic," Ryven muttered. Before Sapphire could recover, Ryven's palm struck the boy's chest. It wasn't a punch, but a heavy, structural shove. Sapphire went flying backward, hitting the dirt hard, knocking the wind out of his lungs.
From the edge of the platform, Eoman let out a soft, rhythmic whistle, clapping his hands in slow motion. "Oh, the form! Delightfully pathetic. Do it again, brave one!"
"Get up," Ryven commanded, looming over Sapphire like a thunderstorm. "Your wrist buckled. If that was a stone wall or a breastplate, your hand would be pieces of meat and broken chalk right now. Again."
Sapphire gasped for air, pushing himself up from the dirt. His palms were scraped and bleeding from the gravel, but his eyes locked onto Ryven with a fierce, quiet fury.
He stood up, reset his feet, and threw another straight punch, forcing his wrist to stay rigid.
Crack.
This time, Ryven didn't parry. He let Sapphire's knuckles strike his rigid forearm. The pain exploded through Sapphire's hand, but he didn't break.
Immediately, Ryven closed the distance, stepping deep into Sapphire's space. "Too slow," Ryven hissed.
He grabbed the back of Sapphire's neck, pulling him forward while driving his padded elbow just an inch short of Sapphire's jaw. The rush of air split Sapphire's lips. "When I close the gap, you don't stare at my fists. What do you do?"
"Elbow..." Sapphire choked out, trying to bring his own arms up to shield himself.
"Then do it!" Ryven roared, sweeping Sapphire's legs out from under him.
Sapphire crashed into the dirt a second time, a hard groan escaping his lips.
From the sidelines, Kira's hands flew to her mouth. A small, involuntary sob escaped her throat.
She wanted to run forward, and she wasn't the only one. Kealor, Nirro and Lucian all looked like they wanted to rush forward too, but that might put Sapphire at greater risk.
Eoman's presence felt like a physical weight pressing down on her shoulders.
She glanced at Eoman. He wasn't looking at the fight anymore. He was staring directly at her. His head was tilted at an unnatural angle, a terrifying, wide grin splitting his face as he watched her panic.
The hero doesn't die early, My Lady. Calm your unstable heart. Eoman's voice purred inside her mind, cold and dripping with malicious delight.
'A sheer will can drive someone to an unimaginable'
Kira gripped her own skirt so tightly her knuckles turned white. She forced herself to look back at the yard, silently begging Sapphire to just stay down. To just give up.
But Sapphire was already dragging himself to his feet again. His knees were shaking, a line of dark blood trickling from his split lip, but his posture didn't yield. He planted his boots into the dirt like roots taking hold of a cliffside.
Ryven watched the boy rise, his own expression completely unreadable. Inside, a grim frustration was building.
Yield, you stubborn idiot, Ryven thought, his eyes narrowing. Yield and walk away from the girl, or Eoman will tear you apart just to see what's inside.
"You're still standing," Ryven said aloud, his voice dropping into a low, threatening rumble. "That is a flaw in your judgment. Again."
Sapphire raised his bloody hands, his gaze unwavering. "Again."
Sapphire didn't wait for Ryven to strike this time. He lunged forward, throwing a desperate, heavy left jab.
Ryven's hand moved automatically to swat it away, exactly as he had done before.
But it was a trap. Sapphire let the momentum of the parry twist his body intentionally, using the rotation to snap his right arm upward. He didn't try to punch.
He remembered the lesson. He closed the distance, tucked his fingers, and drove the hard bone of his right elbow directly toward Ryven's jaw.
It was fast. Fast enough that the air hissed.
Thud.
Ryven's left palm intercepted the elbow just an inch from his chin. The sheer force of the collision rippled through Ryven's arm, kicking up a tiny puff of dust from his sleeve.
Silence fell over the training yard.
Ryven stood perfectly still, his heavy hand capping Sapphire's elbow. He looked down at the boy. Sapphire was panting, his teeth bared, his muscles trembling from the strain of trying to push through Ryven's iron defense. But the alignment was perfect. From the elbow straight down to the hip, it was a solid, unbroken line of structural force.
A grim, almost imperceptible nod passed through Ryven's features. He actually listened.
You're growing soft, Angry Fist.
Eoman's voice slithered directly into Ryven's mind, cold, mocking, and laced with sudden curiosity. Ryven didn't blink, keeping his eyes locked on Sapphire, but he could feel Eoman's gaze burning into the side of his head from the platform.
Is he the one you find interesting? Is that why you're holding back? Eoman's mental laugh was a jagged, unpleasant thing. Be careful, Ryven. If you give the mouse too much hope, I might have to see how much weight it takes to snap his spine.
Ryven completely ignored the voice, shutting his mind down like an iron gate. He shoved Sapphire back, not brutally this time, but firmly enough to break the engagement.
"Enough," Ryven barked, his voice loud enough to shatter the tension in the yard. He wiped a smudge of Sapphire's sweat off his palm. "Your reaction time is still abysmal. But you didn't break your own bones. That is the bare minimum of what I expect."
Sapphire stumbled back, gasping for breath, his chest heaving as he finally let his guard drop. He immediately looked past Ryven's shoulder toward Kira. She let out a ragged breath she had been holding for minutes, her shoulders finally dropping in relief.
Ryven turned his back on Sapphire, facing the rest of the trembling children who had been watching in absolute terror.
"What are you all staring at?" Ryven's voice boomed across the dirt. "Did I give you permission to stand there like fence posts? Pairs! Now! I want to see straight punches and elbow alignments. If I see a single limp wrist, you will be doing push-ups until the sun goes down!"
The children instantly scrambled into pairs, terrified of drawing his attention.
Ryven began to stride down the rows, his intense gaze scanning their movements. "Fix that stance, boy! Your feet are too close together; a gust of wind would knock you over. You, tuck your thumb! Do you want to tear it out of the socket?"
Behind him, Eoman remained on the platform, his fingers resuming their rhythmic, maddening tapping against his lips as he watched the chaotic dance of the training yard unfold.