Page 25 of Us Defiant Few

“Jeez, Khalani. How are you that flexible?” Adan panted as he stretched in a straddle.

Khalani turned her cheek over on the floor. “In Braderhelm, I would stretch in the cell when I didn’t have anything else to do.”

She left out the part where Takeshi would run her through frequent stretching exercises before training.

“A stiff body rarely wins fights.” That’s what he had told her.

She’d often wondered if the irony was lost on him that he was the stiffest and coldest person in Braderhelm.

“You used to live in another prison?” Elise asked, struggling to mirror Khalani’s position on the floor.

“We all did.”

Elise’s eyes widened as Serene added, “Yep. We’re all convicted criminals. Especially my brother, Adan. Don’t ask what happened to the other guy.”

Adan scowled at Serene, but Elise’s gaze held renewed interest as she glanced at Adan before reoccupying herself with stretching. Serene gave Khalani a conspiratorial wink, and she chuckled to herself as Brock stood.

“All right, we’re going to pair off and do some mock fights. Adan, you’re with the new girl.” He gestured to Elise. “Winnifred, I want you with me. And Khalani, you’ve got Terror.”

Serene gave Brock the middle finger and sauntered toward her.

“He calls you ‘Terror’?” Khalani cocked her head.

“I call him ‘Dick for Brains.’” Serene shrugged. “But ‘Masochistic Asshole’ is near the top as well.”

She struggled to hide her smile as Brock belted out, “All right! Stop jabbering. I want one person with both palms raised. The other is going to practice hitting the opposite hand—no hard punches. We’re just going through the movement. One hundred reps on each side before switching. Go.”

Khalani turned to Serene, who smirked and raised her palms. “Hit me with your best shot.”

She went through the movements slowly, focusing on her technique, just like Takeshi had taught her. Halfway through, she noticed Serene’s attention kept drifting to Brock, who was helping Winnie.

Khalani snuck a glance over.

Winnie’s arms were trembling as she slowly hit Brock’s open palms. But he didn’t berate or give a condescending remark.

“You got this, Winnifred. C’mon.” He pumped her up, meeting her hit for hit. “Keep fighting. There you go.” Pride leeched out of his voice. “Finish strong.”

Winnie finally hit one hundred reps, sweat matting her silver hair to her forehead, as her arms slumped by her side.

“Winnie hasn’t worked this hard in ages,” she breathed out. “Not sure she’d be much help in a battle.”

Brock frowned and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. “Don’t say that. The Death-Zone is tough for even me to cross, and I’m twenty-six and trained my whole life for it. You overcame the harshest environment on Earth with a smile on your face. Know that if I were putting a team together, you might not be picked, but you’d damn well be considered.”

He spoke with a depth of sincerity that Khalani didn’t know Brock was capable of. Winnie’s eyes held a slight sheen and she mouthed “thank you” to him.

Winnie was the type of woman who’d been overlooked all her life. She had the biggest heart and intellect but struggled to stand up to the people who abused their power.

But Brock saw the truth. Winnie was never their burden.

She was their inspiration.

Khalani’s lips perked up as she turned to Serene, who was still staring at the two of them, an unreadable expression in her eyes.

“You ready?” Khalani asked, holding up her palms.

“Yeah.” Serene blinked, snapping out of it. They continued throwing punches as a familiar figure bounded down the stairs.

“Raziel.” Brock crossed his arms. “Wasn’t expecting you.”