I do. Until my breath rattles like broken glass. Until I’m crawling across the floor, chest heaving, blind with sweat and fury.
When he finally lets me drop, he crouches next to me. His voice softens, just slightly.
“This is what it takes, Matteo. You want to live? You want tokeep her?” He places his hand on my shoulder and even that feels like it weighs too much for me.
I nod, dizzy. Blood drips from my lip. My ribs ache. My arms tremble.
“Then be the rager they say you are.” He sits down, opening a few buttons of his shirt. “You’re a good fighter, even now you’re not one hundred percent, you still landed a punch on me,” he stops and laughs a little. “And that’s not easy.”
“I know, I’ve seen you fight.” I cough as the pain is there, and it’s not easy to talk. “Do you know the guy I’m fighting?”
“Never seen him, we’ve got someone watching him to see how he fights. From what I’ve heard he’s the size of fucking tank.” He looks around and again chuckles. “How’s the not smoking going in here?”
“Hard. Leo won’t even let me out to smoke. I’m ready to get out.” I lean my head back, hoping this is my last day in this hell. I miss my girl; I miss fucking fresh air.
“And when you’re out, I’ll meet you at training.” He stands up and pats my shoulder a few times, and I look when he starts laughing. “You’re already a fighter, let's show them why they should fear you.” With that, Nico leaves, and I sit there thinking about how I’m going to win this fight.
There is no way I can lose, not just for me, but for Aoife too.
Not sure howmany times Leo has said the poison is gone.
But it’s not.
Not really.
It’s in my bones now, a reminder of the knife, the weakness. The one moment I let my guard down.
I wake up drenched in sweat, ribs aching, mouth dry, like I’ve swallowed gravel and sin. The fire room kept me alive, barely. I thought my skin would peel, sweat slicking my body until I didn’t know if I was melting or surviving.
And through it all, I saw her.
Aoife.
I know she tried to come to the room, but my brothers and Leo wouldn’t let her. So instead, she sat in the corridor with my family, getting updates whenever they would give them to her.
I’ve been training since the moment I came out. I need to win this; I need to train to the point I know I can’t lose.
She steps into the training room, her silhouette backlit by the small light on the wall. Bare feet. One of my old shirts draped over her thighs, and she leans on the wall with a small smile.
This will be the first time I’ve seen her since coming out of the fire room, and I look at the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
I sit on the edge of the fight ring, back cracked and spine loose. “Hello, little lamb,” I croak.
She doesn’t answer, just crosses the room and brings herself between my legs, hands on my thighs, she leans her forehead on mine, and I take in her sexy scent.
Lemon. Honey. Sweet. My angel.
Her eyes scan my face like she’s trying to memorize the version of me that survived. “You're thinner.”
“You're softer,” I tease.
“You almost died.” Her voice breaks.
“I didn’t,” I say. “Because of you.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You stayed, your love kept me alive.” I kiss the side of her neck, holding her closer to me, keeping us in the silent moment for a while, not wanting to let her go.
