CHAPTER 70As Adroyan moved, countless fading images trailed behind him like a wake — as though time was overlapping itself — one moment unable to move freely to the next. An eerie sight, it distracted Esyal with almost fatal consequences for Adroyan was indeed armed. Older and wiser reflexes jerked Esyal back a step and tumbled her on to the floor. As she fell, she saw a brief bright arc of flashing steel pass over her, and both heard and felt the hiss of the air fleeing its lethal passage. The sensation vibrated through her and heightened her already intense focus into an unbearable sharpness. At once willed by her mind and yet ahead of it, she pivoted rapidly on her back to follow Adroyan’s movement and both her legs straightened in a powerful kick to his knees. It did not connect fully
