Chapter 180

[Third-Person’s POV]

Evelyn had lost count of the number of times her curled fist connected with the hanging punching bag. The first few times were fine, having been shown the proper form. However, after the tenth time, she was really beginning to feel the burn in various parts of her body. Her joints were aching and she was beginning to feel a thin sheen of sweat cover her skin.

“Jesus Christ,” she heaved under her breath.

When Evelyn had first approached Erik and Thomas about their earlier offer to train her, she was entirely sure what was in store for her. Both men greeted her with a smile that instantly grew the moment they realized she wasn’t wearing the mask.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Erik said.

“So, I’ve given your offer a lot of thought and I’ve realized that it would be beneficial for me to at least learn how to defend myself should the occasion ever call for it,” she said, feeling a bit sheepish.

Thomas nodded his head in agreement. “Great! We’re actually headed over to one of the training tents now.”

“How about you tag along and sit on a few of the sessions?”

Evelyn eagerly nodded and followed behind the two men, wanting to keep out of the way as much as possible. Over the next few hours, she had fallen into what felt like a mindless trance as over half a dozen of Alexander’s soldiers showed off their individual fighting skills and techniques.

Occasionally, either Thomas or Erik would check in on her or ask if she believed she could mimic any of the moves she was seeing.

“I...I honestly don’t know.”

At times it was rather difficult to watch. Most of the men were as large as Alexander and had a tendency to use all of their weight to throw either a punch or literally throw their opponent across the mat. Most of them moved with a swift, effortless agility that made her question herself.

What the hell am I doing here? I can’t fight like this.

The second she stood up to leave, Erik noticed and quickly called her out.

“What do you, Luna? Wanna give it a go?” he asked with an encouraging grin.

“Erik...From what I’ve seen, I really don’t think that I can do what you all can do,” she admitted. “Maybe this was just a mistake—”

“I assure you, Evelyn, it’s not a mistake,” Thomas said. “Why don’t we start out on, at least, showing you the proper way to throw a punch?”

I dragged myself over to one of the training mats and waited for further instruction. Erik came up behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders. “Imagine your opponent is in front of you, right?” I nodded. He slowly maneuvered my body to an offset angle, drawing back my right shoulder and arm. “When you curl your hand, remember to never tuck your thumb in. You could easily end up breaking it.”

“Noted.”

“Alright, now as you bend your elbow you’re going to draw up your arm and keep it leveled with your shoulder. Now, as you get ready to throw the punch, I want you to keep this form as much as possible. Understand?”

“If you lose the tension in your muscles then chances are you're opening yourself up for an easy attack,” Thomas added. “Form is everything. Losing your form is like losing control.”

“Throw the punch,” Erik said.

She’d clearly overestimated the amount of force she had put behind the punch, because the moment Evelyn threw her arm out she almost toppled over. Oh God. Her face flushed with embarrassment. Could she seriously not throw a decent punch correctly?

At least Erik and Thomas were kind enough to spare her any humiliating laughter. Instead, she was strangely met with approving nods.

“Believe me, although you got a little wobbly at the end there, it’s good to see that you still have that fire in you?”

I turned back to glance at him with a questionable look. “Fire?”

The two shared a knowing look with each other. “We, uh, heard about what happened with your Stepsister.”

“Word always travels fast around here,” Erik commented. “Rumor has it that you were able to pin Samantha against the wall by her neck.”

She curved her shoulders inward on herself. “Yeah, I may have also threatened to carve her face up with a shard of glass I’d broken from a picture frame.”

Thomas chuckled. “It’s nice to know we have a badass Luna.”

Erik rolled his eyes, “What we’re getting at, is that we know you have the drive for this sort of thing. It just needs to be properly controlled.”

“How long is that going to take?” she asked.

“That depends,” Thomas said. “How deep does your rage go?”

Oh God.

The majority of the morning, Erik had Evelyn set up in front of one of the punching bags so that she could practice keeping her form. By the afternoon, both he and Thomas suggested that Evelyn take a break and move back over to one of the mats.

“Alright now, the second main thing we’re going to tackle today is seeing how you handle your defense.”

She stood up a little straighter. “Does this mean you’re going to start throwing punches at me?”

Erik gave a smooth chuckle and shook his head. “Not quite. What Thomas is going to do is he’s going to take his stance on the opposite side of the mat and face you. The object of this exercise is to knock your opponent to the ground while you stay on your feet.”

“But how am I supposed to do that?” she asked. “Thomas is clearly stronger than me.”

“Yes, which is why you’re permitted to do whatever is necessary to knock me off my feet,” Thomas confirmed. “Let’s see if that punching bag has done you any good, yeah?”

Evelyn’s eyes widened. Her whole body went rigid. “Wait, what? No. No, Thomas, I can’t hit you.”

“Yes, you can.”

“No. I can’t,” she pressed.

“I’m sure that once you get past the first few throws, you’ll be able to—”

“Thomas, stop! You’re not hearing me.” Evelyn shook her head and ran a hand through her tangled hair. “I can’t hit you.”

She tore her eyes away from him and stepped off the mat. Hurrying her face in her hands, she let out a frustrated groan.

“Look, the only reason why I was able to do what I did to Samantha was because I hold a deep-seated hatred toward her. At the time, I wasn’t even thinking clearly. All I knew was that I wanted her to feel what they made me feel. Afraid. Powerless. Weak,” she explained. “Surely, you know that Alexander had stopped me before I could do any real damage to Samantha. He was right to do that. If he hadn’t I would be living with the guilt of having done something so horrible to another person.”

“Even if the other person deserves it?” Thomas questioned.

“No one ever deserves it,” she said quietly. “I appreciate all the time you two have given me, but maybe...Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Erik said. “You’re just not used to it, yet.”

“Why don’t we call it a day? Get yourself cleaned up and give your hands a rest.”

Evelyn nodded her head and offered a small smile in return. She left the tent feeling worse off than when she’d first entered it.