MAETHYS POV
“All right,” Trig said, stepping away. “Now. Basic punch.”
I had put the thoughts of Valik to the back of my mind. I had to focus.
He showed me once, a clean forward motion that started in the legs and traveled through the body. It looked simple because his body understood it.
Mine didn’t.
“Try.”
I did.
It was clumsy. My shoulder lifted. My wrist bent.
Trig caught my fist gently before it could go farther. “Wrist straight.”
I corrected. Threw again.
“Again.”
I hit the air, the motion stiff.
“Again.”
I repeated until my arm started to burn, until sweat dampened the back of my neck, until my breath grew louder in the room.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
My knuckles didn’t meet anything, but the sound of my body moving was its own rhythm. A beat that said I was here. Alive. Le
