جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 66

The night was quiet at first. Through the thin curtain of the hotel room, the city’s lights glimmered faintly; the air conditioner hummed steadily, and footsteps from the hallway reached them only rarely. Aria lay on the left bed—her ribs still wrapped, but the skin beneath no longer throbbed. Kai was on the other bed, half-turned, the blanket half-slipped off him. The day had gone smoothly: training, dinner, the draw, a brief planning session. Their bodies had finally accepted that they were allowed to rest. Then, somewhere in the middle of the night, the air changed. At first, it was just a dull, irregular movement: the mattress creaked, the springs gave and snapped back, someone gave a low groan. Aria opened her eyes. As her vision adjusted to the half-light, she saw Kai on his back, arms twitching as if groping for air. His jaw was clenched, his forehead damp with sweat, and a distorted sound pressed through his throat, as if he were murmuring commands from far away—or def

The deep rumble of the arena settled into the chest like a slow, constant drumbeat; the lights dimmed, the ropes of the ring gleamed tight, and the announcer’s voice became nothing more than background noise to routine, as Kai sat in the corner with his robe over his shoulders, Aria checked the mouthguard and adjusted the wraps, and Christopher, stopwatch in hand, repeated in short, precise sentences the key steps of the opening plan: the first minute is for reading, cut the long reach with your legs, no wasted exchanges, you set the rhythm—not the crowd. “—If anything starts spinning in your head, ‘red,’” said Aria, tapping Kai’s wrist through the glove. “Return route’s ‘blue.’ I’m here.” “Here,” Kai nodded, and that short, tight smile—the one that only ever appeared before a fight—clicked into place. The gong rang, the first jabs shot out immediately. The opponent was tall and disciplined, “probing” with his long arms; he didn’t want to throw big yet, just draw the distanc

The next morning began calmly, but the air already hummed with excitement. Kai and Aria followed their usual routine: a short warm-up, stretching, then preparing their gloves and wraps. This time they skipped the hotel breakfast because the bus was scheduled to leave for the gym in the early hours, where they would follow the daily training plan to prepare for the upcoming matches. The bright, spacious gym awaited them even from a distance: the ropes were tight, the mats smooth, and in every corner of the room, the focus essential to Kai seemed to hang in the air. “Alright, let’s start the warm-up,” said Christopher, scanning his notes and going over the day’s plan again. “Today it’s especially important to stay focused, every movement must be precise.” Kai nodded and, as if always meant to be there, began the first set of exercises next to Aria: jumps, squats, quick footwork. Aria always watched from the other corner, and if needed, she would quietly give instructions, indica