Keriya did her best with the exercises. Wallis was going easy on her, and she wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or offended. She decided it was the former when her strength began flagging. The wooden weapon was lighter than her old sword, but after swinging it for a solid hour, it may as well have been made of lead.
Wallis landed a few good thumps. He hit her once in the shin, which left a b****y scratch; once in the ribs, which she knew would leave a bruise; and once in her arm, which caused her to drop her sword.
“Sorry,” he said as she knelt to retrieve it. “I didn’ mean to hit so hard.”
As Keriya stood, she was overcome by a wave of dizziness. She staggered to the side of the arsenal and vomited. Since she’d hardly eaten any of Rana’s sludge, only bile came up.
Her knees caved and
