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“It looked like you were dancing,” she said, wandering farther into the gym.

“It’s not dancing.”

“It looked like dancing.”

“It’s a warrior’s exercise.”

“So, dancing.”

He gave her a look, which only made her grin. She came closer and examined the labrys with renewed interest before looking up at him. “Can I try?”

His first response was already there. You’re too young. A few weeks ago, he would have said it without another thought. He would have told her she’d learn when she was older and sent her on her way, satisfied that he’d kept her from hurting herself. Then he remembered Ria telling him to have fun with his niece and his promise to teach Korinnae himself.

“Aye,” he said. “You can try.”

Korinnae’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Before you become too excited, you’re not using this.” He returned his labrys to the rack and pulled down a wooden practice weapon. It was still too large for her, so he set it aside as well. “We’ll start without one.”

“But I want the axe.”

“And someday you’ll use it. First, you learn where to put your feet.”

She made a face but moved beside him. He showed her the starting position, spreading his feet and bending his knees slightly. She copied him, then immediately looked down to check whether she’d done it correctly.

“Look ahead,” he told her.

“How am I supposed to know where my feet are if I can’t look at them?”

“They haven’t gone anywhere.”

She glanced down again. “How do you know?”

“They’re attached to your legs.”

Korinnae laughed, and Asterion shook his head before showing her the first movement. He stepped forward, turned, and brought his empty hands through the path the labrys would normally follow. She attempted to copy him and ended up turning too far.

“No. Again.”

She tried once more.

“Your other foot.”

“I used my other foot.”

“You used the same one.”

Her brow furrowed. “This is hard.”

“It takes practice.”

She tried again and made the same mistake, planting her hands on her hips when she couldn’t get it right. “I can’t do it.”

He opened his mouth to correct her, then stopped. He could almost hear Ria telling him that informing a frustrated child what she’d done wrong for the fourth time wasn’t particularly helpful. He moved beside the calf instead.

“Alright. Forget the whole movement.”

“But—”