Page 31 of Ravaged From Fate

“How did you know about me and Caspian?”

She smiles. “Cyrus told me that you were nursing him the other night after he went down protecting you.”

“Ah, of course he did.”

“So. Are you two… together?”

I snort at that. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Right…”

“I am just checking up on a patient, Juniper. Caspian hurt his head pretty badly looking out for me the other night, and I’m just making sure there’s no long-term damage.”

Juniper nods, disbelieving me. “Sure, Elsa. Whatever you say.”

The two boys slow down their fight until they’re both talking animatedly about their techniques instead of punching the hell out of each other.

“You have a great uppercut,” Cyrus remarks.

“And you’re so light on your feet,” Caspian returns.

“Well done, guys,” Juniper says as she claps beside me. I join in with the round of applause.

Caspian steps towards us. His sweat drips off his face like tears. His biceps bulge in the wet. He’s so big. So powerful. So tensed up with raw male energy.

“What are you doing here?” he asks me, breathless from the sparring match.

I smile cheekily up at him. I have to crane my neck just to look into his eyes as he looms over me from the ring. His many tattoos are on full display. “Juniper might’ve messaged me just then saying you decided to come back here.”

Caspian turns to Juniper. She merely shrugs at him, unafraid of his reaction. The man growls.

There is definitely a lot going on under that cold silent exterior and somehow I feel like it’s my mission to unwrap his protective layers.

“You did a good job against Cyrus,” I tell him. “Not many people can last minutes in the ring with that psycho.”

“Hey, who’s calling me psycho?”

“Have you ever boxed before?” Caspian asks me.

“Are you joking?” Cyrus is in tears, laughing from the other side of the ring. “Elsa’s not thrown a punch before in her life. I bet she can’t even make a fist if you asked her.”

“I’ve never boxed, no,” I reply, rolling my eyes at Cyrus.

Caspian nods. “Get in the ring,” he says.

“What? Me?”

He nods again, clearly expecting me to just slide into the sweaty space.

And, surprising even myself, I do.

Alright. Let’s do this.

“I’ll teach you how to throw a punch,” Caspian tells me when I get to my feet inside the ring.

“You’re really doing this? Here? Now?”

“Yep,” he replies.