Chapter 43

“You favor your left side,” he said simply. “I know that because I know you.”

“Okay,” she croaked, rising to her feet again. “Know your enemy. Got it. But how can I do that if I don’t know my opponent?”

Fordham picked back up where he’d left off, and she reluctantly followed him. Though she was more on guard this time. This was a lesson, not basic footwork.

“If you don’t know your opponent,” he told her, “then you rely on your training. You must understand how others fight, all the potential ways they could attack you, have a mental dictionary of ways that an opponent could hurt you. Then, you train every one of those mistakes out of you.”

Maya slid into the next movement, considering what he’d said. “You’re going to train my mistakes out of me?”

“Yes and no. I’m going to train every mistake out of you. So that when an assassin comes at you again, you aren’t surprised when they jump out of the shadows.” He finished the last sequence and let the sword drop to his side.

This time, when