Dust caked my leathers and veil like a second skin, gritting between my teeth as I hit the ground again—hard-packed earth jarring my bones, breath exploding from my lungs in a ragged gasp.
This was beyond any expectation; that alpha knight was a goddamn wall of muscle, her honed strength shrugging off my raw shoves like I was a child hurling pebbles at a wall.
Without tricks—without my alley-honed feints or chain snaps—I couldn't touch her. My silver hair, once a neat bun, hung in ruined tangles streaked with dirt, lilies crushed and wilting, pearls scattered like fallen stars across the field.
I staggered up, lungs burning, and charged again—boots churning divots—but she sidestepped with predatory ease, her gauntleted hand clamping my shoulder and hurling me back down in a blur of sky and dirt.
