I let my rapier fall by my side. It's late, and only starlight shines through the abandoned training room window. I mop sweat from my own forehead. My arms feel like they're made of lead, and my lungs burn with each breath. "Oh. Right. Now that you've reminded me my life is on the line, maybe I'll just magically be better. That's a great suggestion."

He has been pushing me even harder than usual all night, and my temper is admittedly running thin.

"I've heard humans often press their meat sacks together in mating rituals to relieve tension. I could close an eye, if you wished."

"An eye? Don't you mean both eyes?"

"I won't let your enemies sneak up on you just because you've shed your clothing and put your disgusting, fleshy body on display."

Raith raises his one-handed sword, then flicks it toward my legs. "Stance wider, Nessa. You know better."

Clenching my jaw, I widen my stance and raise the rapier. Sometimes, having Typhon interjecting in my head makes me feel a little like I'm going mad. But I put his prodding from my mind and focus on Raith.

Even when we're just training, Raith requires my full attention. He's the most skilled opponent I've faced by far. Every time I get better, he seems to ratchet up his own skill, proving he's still holding back against me.

"Mating rituals are nothing to be ashamed of," Typhon continues, despite my attempts to block him out. "Though the elemental mating ritual is far more beautiful than the human ritual. I've seen what you humans do. My last primal was quite fond of the ritual, and she would perform it most nights. Disgusting. She sometimes even performed a solo variant that was quite pathetic to witness."

"Typhon? Would you please shut up?"

"Insolent, small, insignificant⁠—"

I tune out his indignant words as Raith advances.

He performs a series of attacks like a whirlwind of death. I dodge what I can and block only as a last resort. Each block requires me to grip the tip of my rapier and the handle together. I have to brace my whole body against the attack, and the vibration sends a shock through my arms that makes them go numb and tingly.

It's like trying to stop a horse charging at full speed with nothing but a narrow sliver of steel. Each blow makes me think the rapier is going to snap in half, but by some miracle, it holds.

Part of me wants to ask him to take it easy. To ask why tonight of all nights, it seems like he has ramped his usual intensity up several dozen notches. But I don't say anything. I keep on training.

It's nearly an hour before he finally makes a loose gesture with his sword. "Take a rest. If you need one."