My students relaxed their stances. This class was my beginner level. Most were only four years younger than me—fifteenish, give or take—but they seemed like babies to me. Probably because none of them lived under constant mortal fear like I did. I was pretty sure that kind of danger had aged me faster than most, but rampant crime—especially personal assaults—were at an all-time high on Earth. If these people wanted to make it through the next decade of their lives unscathed, they had to toughen up.

“We’re sparring tonight.” That got me a few smiles. Most looked a little nervous, but no one looked particularly freaked out. “This is going to be fun. I promise.” I gave them a grin, hoping to put them at ease. “It’s important to try what we’ve learned on an opponent because…?”

The room was quiet as my students looked at each other.

“Because SpaceTech doesn’t care about us. They won’t protect you. Ever. So, when shit goes down, you need to be able to protect yourself, and more than that, you need to be able to help those who can’t protect themselves. Roan!” I yelled for my best friend to join us, and he waddled out from behind the curtain where he’d been putting on thick, neck-to-toe padding.

“You all need to feel okay about beating the crap out of someone, so Roan’s going to be our punching bag.” Roan somehow managed to wrap an arm around me even with the constraining pads, and I nudged him softly. “Don’t be afraid to rip into this guy.”

“Hey,” Roan’s light green eyes filled with laughter, and he tugged on my long braid. “Don’t listen to Maité. I have plans tonight. Don’t want to mess up my face.”

“That’s why you’re going to put on the mask I gave you,” I said.

“You didn’t tell me Yvette was in this class,” Roan murmured in my ear. “Been trying to get a date with her sister for years. Think she’ll put in a good word for me?”

“Roan.” The word was a warning, but he looked at me with wide, innocent eyes. I elbowed him in the stomach—this time harder—and he let out an oof.

Roan wasn’t the least bit intimidating. At three inches shorter than me and a little too energetic to be anything but adorable, he was more like a speedy teddy bear than anything else. He could keep up with me and made me laugh constantly. Which is why he’d been my best friend for nearly a decade, but his timing needed work.

“If anything happens to them because you were goofing off when—”

“Come on, Maité. I’ll do my job here. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make this fun.”