14
“Better.” Cati planted the tip of her staff on the ground and reached down to help me up. “But you’ve got to learn to attack, not just defend.”
“Right.” I took Cati’s hand and jumped to my feet, doing my best to pretend I couldn’t feel the stinging pain behind my knees where her staff had pummeled me. “I’ll try and attack you and see how much faster I end up in the dirt.”
“Survival isn’t meant to be easy.” Cati handed me my staff. “If learning to fight wasn’t hard, the Guilds would have overrun the mountains last century.”
“Then I will take the pain, knowing the paun feel it as well.”
Before Cati could respond, I twirled my staff over my head, bringing one end down toward her shoulder.
Cati swiped her own staff through the air, knocking my blow toward the ground.
I slackened my g
