Mark moved first.
He lunged at her with a growl, all brute force and arrogance, convinced that she would crumble the second he touched her. But the moment his hand sliced through the air where her face had been a heartbeat earlier, something inside Iva snapped into place—cold, sharp, familiar.
Her training.
Years of dawns that started in pain, of bruised knuckles and burned lungs, of pushing herself until her vision blurred just to prove she was not weak.
She twisted sideways, dropped low, and rolled out of reach before his fingers could close around her again.
Mark froze for half a second, clearly not expecting that.
“What the—”
He came at her again, faster this time, anger flaring in his eyes. Iva ducked under his arm, her shoulder screaming in protest as she pivoted sharply and s
