She suspected everyone in the training hall would get a turn at trying to land a blow against her.
This was going to be protracted—and messy.
Kira slipped to the side as a Tuann man charged, arms outstretched to wrap her in a bear hug.
Kira pivoted as he blundered past her, kicking the back of his knee hard enough to send him crashing to the ground.
She bared her teeth at the rest. “Come on then. I was starting to feel cooped up. This will be a nice exercise.”
A pair of Tuann who looked like twins snickered as they circled to either side of Kira, keeping five feet of distance between themselves and her as they tried to split her focus.
Kira kept on the balls of her feet, prepared to move in any direction at an instant’s notice.
“You’re not supposed to fight back,” the one to Kira’s left said.
Kira kept her guard raised, knowing that the words were an attempt to draw her focus and give the other an opening to exploit.
“I’ve never been a fan of playing by the rules.” Kira let her eyes un-focus, her mind going silent as she waited.
There.
A shift in the balance of the Tuann who had spoken as they prepared to spring forward.
It turned out that the other was a decoy.
Kira darted forward, easily dodging the stream of ki. She grabbed the person’s arm, directing it at the twin.
There was a grunt breaking her opponent’s concentration.
“Felix.”
Kira smirked. Exactly as planned.
She shifted her grip, yanking him into the path of another who’d tried to attack while she was preoccupied.
To her right, the sound of laser fire rent the air as Jin pursued Caius.
The two wove across the floor in a graceful dance, taking turns attacking and evading.
For such a big man, Caius was surprisingly nimble. He moved as if he knew exactly where Jin would attack next.
No wonder he was part of Roake’s upper echelons.
“Where are you looking?” a Tuann woman snarled.
Kira bent backward, avoiding the wooden blade that missed her face by a centimeter.
Kira’s hand snapped out, latching onto the woman’s wrist. “Enough of this.”
She twisted.
The woman yelped, the practice blade dropping from her grip.
Kira caught it.
“Thanks,” Kira said in a chipper voice as she shoved the woman into another group of Tuann.
It gave Kira time to break out of the encirclement. She raced through the room, several warriors following.
