Then they lifted to mine.
Something sharp flashed there — fast and furious. Gone just as quickly.
“Well,” she said lightly, straightening. “That was unexpected.”
She smiled.
It was wrong on her face.
Before I could breathe, she moved.
Her hand clamped around my wrist and twisted hard. Pain ripped through my arm as she stepped in and drove her shoulder into my chest. The world tilted.
Then the mat slammed into my back.
Hard.
The breath tore from my lungs in a broken gasp. Pain flared along my ribs, bright and blinding. I tried to curl — couldn’t.
Sable’s knee pinned my sternum. Not crushing.
For a split second, something dark surfaced in the depths of her china-blue eyes — sharp, furious, unguarded.
She was hurting me.
On purpose.
“Sable!” Kieran barked.
The sound snapped something into place.
Her jaw tightened — just once — before the darkness vanished behind smooth control.
She stood and stepped back as if she’d merely completed a drill.
I scrambled away, chest burning.
Dev and Ash were at my side immediately.
“You okay?” Dev asked, his jaw tight, every word restrained.
I nodded once, though it felt like a lie.
I couldn’t stop staring at Sable.
She looked… unsettled.
Her gaze flicked briefly to the men, then back to me.
“I’m fine,” I said quietly.
A beat.
Then Sable straightened, composure locking back into place.
“You need a lot of work,” she said calmly. “Upper body strength. Core stability. Endurance.”
Her eyes didn’t leave mine.
