MIRA
Lucian didn't give me a chance to find my footing before he was on me again. I tried to bring my weapon up to block, but he was too fast and too strong, and every time our blades clashed, the vibration traveled straight into my bone. I was gasping for air, my lungs feeling like they were filled with hot lead, but he kept swinging without mercy. He didn't let me breathe, and he didn't let me catch my breath, and eventually, he caught my ankle with a sweeping motion that sent me sprawling.
I hit the stone floor hard, the impact jarring my teeth, and my wooden sword clattered away from me across the room. I lay there for a second, staring up at the vaulted ceiling and trying to remember how to breathe while my ribs throbbed in rhythm with my pulse.
"You're a weakling, Mira," Lucian s
