She’d thought for a moment. Redtooth and Hime squared off again. In the crowd that clustered around them, Amina stood like a rock, bristling but unwilling to step in where Hime had not asked for help. It was the first time Caledonia remembered seeing the bonds that connected the two girls, the way Amina always knew where Hime was. That looked like love.

Hime ducked, avoiding the next blow, and Redtooth beamed.

“It looks like survival,” Caledonia said.

This brought the slip of a smile to Pisces’s lips. “Exactly my point. For Redtooth, teaching any of us to survive is the most intimate thing she can do. That is how she loves.”

Caledonia was sure Redtooth had shared a more pleasurable kind of love with several of the girls, but she understood what Pisces was saying. Redtooth hit them hard in practice because she loved them all too much not to.

Triple wasn’t only offering Caledonia a spar, but she was also offering the first slender branch of friendship. She could not turn it away.

“I consent!” Caledonia called, using the preferred phrasing of the Blades.

The crowd cheered and closed in once more.

Caledonia spun her staff, letting the wood slip easily around her hands, giving her muscles a moment to reconnect to the fight. Triple, however, didn’t give her that time. She sprang forward, attacking Caledonia with a series of quick strikes, forcing Caledonia to block and give ground. It was the jolt she needed, and the second Triple gave her an opening, Caledonia pushed back with a dangerous jab of her own.

There was no time to feel satisfied in her actions. Triple was far superior with her weapon. Better even than Sledge. Triple moved as though the staff were an extension of her body. She was dexterous and strategic, making up for anything she lacked in strength with agility and speed. It was a skill set Caledonia had seen many times among her girls.

Triple’s attacks were faster than Sledge’s had been. Varied and sharp. But—there! Caledonia felt herself slip into a defensive pattern, a pattern that pointed to a weakness in her opponent’s strategy: Triple attacked in sets of three.

A fierce grin split Caledonia’s face. An opponent she could predict was an opponent she could beat. The next time Triple moved into a pattern of three, she would slip the third strike and surprise Triple with an attack of her own.

One! Caledonia lifted her staff to absorb the blow. Two! She met the strike again. Three!

But just as she began to swivel, Triple’s staff arched around to catch Caledonia across the throat, stopping an inch away from impact.

Caledonia froze in place. Triple’s staff brushed the tip of her chin, smooth and dangerous. She plunked the butt of her own staff against the ground, beat.

“Surprise,” said Triple, satisfied and glowing.