{RIVEN'S POV}
Steel clashed against steel. Sparks burst like fireflies between our blades as I locked eyes with Thorne Rhaegor. His bulk form towered over me. The clang of our clash rattled through my bones, the vibration biting into my wrist and traveling up my arm. My breaths came hard and fast, each inhale sharp with the taste of iron and smoke.
I shoved, twisting, trying to find an opening—but his sword met mine again and again, each strike ringing like a hammer on an anvil.
He was stronger and faster than I anticipated. Every move was precise and practiced, no wasted motion. His blows drove me back step by step, my boots grinding into the blood soaked earth, slick mud sucking at my heels. Sweat dripped down my brow, stinging my eyes, seeping into the scarf across my face.
