My hands curled into fists. He didn’t know shit. If he didn’t know I was broken up about this, too, he was clueless.
I was about to give Ez a piece of my mind and tell him the breakup was mutual, but he got up in my face and spat, “You don’t get a say in anything she does. I think it’s time someone teaches you a lesson.”
“What are you gonna do, Ez?Beat me up?”
Oberi panted happily, like he was encouraging the fight. He thought this was funny.
“Look, we’re friends, and I don’t want to hurt you, but I’ve gotta fight for my sister’s honor.” Ez rocked his weight between his feet, and I felt it with my Earth magic. “Put ‘em up!”
I groaned. “Are you serious, man? Ez, I could knock you out in under two seconds. You don’t want to fight me.”
“He looks pretty serious,” Eddie mentioned. “Do you wantmeto fight him for you?”
“No, he’s just pissed,” I said. “Ez is the furthest thing from a threat.”
“You’re just scared,” Ez accused.
Beside me, Alistair tried to hold back a laugh.
“I’ve bulked up,” Ez pointed out. “You don’t know what I’m capable of. Look, I’ll even make it fair. I’ll close my eyes.”
That statement pissed me the fuck off. “This is ridiculous!” I protested. “I’m not making negotiations, and I’m certainly not fighting you!”
Ez didn’t know a thing about fight club. He had no idea what I could actually do to him. The poor kid would end up unconscious in the infirmary.
Then again, hehadtried to murder John to avenge Ava, and he’d put him in the hospital. The kid was ruthless when it came to his sister.
But I wasn’t anything like John. I cared about Ava-Marie more than anybody.
“The rest of you better back up,” Ez threatened. “I’m not joking. Let’s get this over with.”
This whole thing was comical, at best. “Ez, stop it. I didn’t break Ava’s heart. It was mutual.”
“Oh, yeah? Then how come Chancey told me you’re the one who broke up with her?” he demanded.
Irritation flitted through me at Chancey. The idiot needed to get his story straight, and stop gossiping about me. “Chancey doesn’t know a thing,” I said.
“If that’s true, why aren’tyouupset about the break-up?”
The accusation broke me. The fact that anyone could assume I wasn’t hurt by what happened between Ava and me was ludicrous. It was as if Ez was denying everything Ava and I had been through, claiming none of it had been real. It was the realest thing I’d ever experienced— every breath, every heartbeat was seared into my memory like the brand from a hot iron. I thought about her every second of every day, and it ripped me to shreds that I’d let her go, even though I knew it was the right thing for both of us. To evensuggestI didn’t care was an insult of the highest degree.
I couldn’t handle it. So, I snapped.
My fist cracked against the side of Ez’s face, but it didn’t faze him like I expected. Ez slammed his fist into my nose three times in quick succession. Blood spurted everywhere.
My head was spinning. Damn, he hit harder than I thought he could. Ez tackled me to the ground with a roar, and he managed to punch me a few more times before I kicked him off of me. I got back on my feet again and felt him coming with my Air magic. I ducked his final blow, then landed an uppercut to his jaw. He fell flat on his back.
Ez made no sound for a second, and I thought for sure I’d knocked him out. Alistair roared in laughter, but he wasn’t the only one. We caught the attention of other groups around the yard.
A moment later, Ez came to. His words were slurred, like he’d bit his tongue. “You gonna pay for that!”
Ez jumped to his feet and swung his fist in my direction. I ducked, and the air whooshed above me as he missed. The laughter around the yard grew.
“Stop, Ez,” I said. “You’re making a fool out of yourself.”
“I’d rather be a fool than stand around doing nothing,” he shot back, before taking another swing at me. I dodged that one, too.
Nearby, someone laughed loudly. “What a pathetic loser! The Bandit’s blind, and Ez can’t even hit him!”
