Chapter 91: Get Up, I ordered Myself

Lia

Viktor looked at me, then at the crowd, then back at me. Something broke in his expression, the realization that there was no good option here. Only varying degrees of terrible.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. Then, louder: "I accept the challenge."

The crowd erupted in approval. This was what they wanted, drama, violence, a clear resolution. They didn't care that it was grotesquely unfair. They just wanted the problem, me, to disappear.

"Excellent." Vera gestured to the warriors. "Remove her chains. We'll begin immediately."

My wrist restraints fell away, silver cuffs clattering to the platform. But my hands were still bound together at the wrists by the shorter chain. I could move my arms, could theoretically fight, but with severely limited range and no ability to shift for strength or speed.

Viktor climbed onto the platform. He moved like he was walking to his own execution rather than mine.

"I won't hold back," he said, low enough only I could hear. "If I do, they'll know. They'll use it against both of us."

"I know." I flexed my fingers, testing the limited mobility the chains allowed. "Do what you have to do."

"Lia…"

"No." I cut him off. "No apologies. No guilt. You're doing exactly what I asked. Protecting Kai. Protecting the pack." I managed a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Besides, maybe I'll surprise you."

"Maybe." But his eyes said he didn't believe it.

Vera raised her hand. "The trial begins now. Fight until one of you can no longer continue. No mercy. No surrender."

Her hand dropped.

Viktor moved.

For a split second, I thought he was going to pull his punch, go easy on me. Then his fist connected with my jaw and I realized he meant what he said. He wasn't holding back at all.

Pain exploded across my face. I stumbled backward, tasting copper, my vision sparking with stars. The silver in my restraints prevented any accelerated healing. Every blow would land full force, every injury would last.

I ducked his next strike on pure instinct, muscle memory from years of training taking over. But with my hands bound, my balance was off. I couldn't use my arms for leverage, couldn't grapple or clinch the way I normally would.

Viktor's knee caught me in the ribs. Bone cracked, at least one rib, maybe two. I bit back a scream, refusing to give the crowd the satisfaction.

Get up, I ordered myself. Move. Fight. Do something.

I rolled away from his next attack, gaining space but nothing else. My chest burned with each breath. My jaw throbbed. And we were less than thirty seconds in.

"Come on, Luna!" Damien's voice carried from the edge of the platform. "Show us that legendary hybrid strength. Or was it all talk?"

The crowd picked up his jeering. Calling for blood. For vindication. For proof that they'd been right to fear me, right to want me gone.

Viktor came at me again, and this time I was ready. I couldn't punch with my bound hands, but I could use them together as a club. I brought both fists down on his extended arm, hitting the pressure point at his elbow. His arm buckled, giving me the opening I needed.

I drove my shoulder into his stomach, using his own momentum against him. We both went down hard, and for a moment, just a moment, I had the advantage.

Then Viktor's hand closed around the chain between my wrists and pulled.

The silver burned. The metal dug into already raw skin. I felt something tear, warm blood trickling down my arms. And Viktor used my own restraints as a weapon, yanking me off balance, exposing my torso to his strikes.

His fist hammered into my broken ribs. Once. Twice. A third time that made my vision go white.

I was going to lose. Not just the fight, but everything. My life. My place here. Any chance of making things right with Kai.

The thought of Kai, devastated, alone, forced to watch or worse, kept away entirely, gave me a surge of desperate strength.

I twisted in Viktor's grip, accepting the burn of silver to free one arm. My elbow cracked into his temple. Not enough to knock him out, but enough to daze him, make him loosen his hold.

I scrambled backward, putting distance between us. My ribs screamed. My wrists bled steadily, silver poisoning making the wounds resist clotting. My jaw was swelling, making it hard to focus.

But I was still standing.

"Yield," Viktor said quietly, urgently. "Lia, please. Yield before I have to…"

"Never."

If I yielded, they'd kill me anyway. At least this way, I went down fighting.

I charged.

It was reckless, stupid, exactly what Viktor would expect me not to do. Which is why it almost worked. My bound fists caught him in the solar plexus, driving the air from his lungs. I followed with a knee to his thigh, aiming for the nerve cluster that would temporarily paralyze the leg.