The sound of the colossal sword cutting through the air echoed throughout the training arena.
Samira spun and swung the blade at one of the reinforced pillars. The strike never touched the stone. She stopped the motion a few inches before impact, pulled the sword back, and tried to turn the return into an upward slash. The weapon rose with enough force to produce a gust of wind that struck the ceiling, but the movement ended too wide, leaving her abdomen completely exposed.
She noticed the mistake and cursed.
"Shit."
She took two steps back, adjusted her hands around the hilt, and tried again. Horizontal slash, turn of the hips, change of direction, and vertical strike. The sword's weight made the floor tremble beneath her feet even though Samira wasn't using enough energy to destroy the arena.
She was still strong.
Still fast.
Even so, the memory of Zi Bai deflecting her sword with a single touch remained lodged in her mind.
"Damn mare."
