"Again," Diana barked out.
Grace was drenched in sweat, her muscles screaming. They'd been at this for hours in one of the smaller training arenas, a circular platform floating away from the arena.
"Block! Dodge! Redirect!" Diana shouted as she launched a series of slow but powerful strikes at Grace.
Grace managed to block two, dodge one, but the fourth caught her in the shoulder, sending her stumbling.
"You'd be dead if I was a Primal," Diana said flatly.
"Thanks for the encouragement," Grace muttered, rubbing her shoulder.
Diana circled her, eyes narrowed. After a moment of awkward silence, she asked:
"So. You actually killed a demon. Permanently."
The question caught Grace off guard. Diana had been drilling her relentlessly for an hour without a hint of conversation.
"Um, yeah. Two now, actually."
"What was it like?" Diana's voice sounded casual, but her eyes were intense. "When you stabbed it."
