Liora read the practice limits and handed them back.
"This allows you to hold a stick."
"A practice blade."
"For a few controlled exchanges. No Aether. No hard contact. Stop if the wound pulls."
She looked at the sling I had folded beside my coat. The duty healer had allowed short periods without it. That wasn't the same as forgetting why I had worn it.
"It's a very expensive way to hold a stick," she said.
I had asked for the exchange. Veylan had agreed to supervise only after reading the current check and limiting it further. Slow work. Short reach. No attempt to repeat the release I had used in the official duel. Liora had agreed because she wanted to test how I reacted to the same opening without that release.
Neither of them had called it a rematch. I picked up the wooden blade with my right hand. The scar lay beneath a thin dressing. Ordinary healing had closed the knife cuts, but the arm still felt tight when I reached too far. I kept my elbow close.
