He nodded.
Typical.
“The Council added it this morning,” Hale went on.
“Because of the interrogation?”
“Because someone wants to know what happens when pressure comes from the other side.”
He raised his stave again.
“The strike will come at your right shoulder without warning. If you miss the block, it will hurt. If you overcorrect, your left side opens. If you freeze, you lose.”
“And if I get it right?”
“Then they learn something else.”
“You make winning sound very rewarding.”
“Staying alive another day is the best reward you can hope for at this point.”
The room went quiet after that.
He had said alive instead of safe. I hadn’t missed the difference in the definitions.
Hale showed me the block.
Once slow.
Once slower.
Then he handed the movement to me.
I botched it completely.
The stave came up crooked. My left foot moved when it should have held. My right hand slid to the wrong place.
Hale watched the whole disaster without blinking, but a grimace twisted his lips.
“Gods help us.” His voice came out utterly deadpan.
“That bad?”
“Worse.”
“Do you give all your students this much positive reinforcement?”
“Try it again, Astra.”
I did it again.
The right hand was still wrong.
Hale stepped closer.
“I’m going to move your hand.”
I nodded.
