Jin had been watching me for twenty minutes without saying a word, which was normal for Jin. What wasn't normal was that he'd stopped sparring to do it.
The combat hall was empty except for the two of us. His twin shortswords lay crossed on the bench beside him. I was alone in the middle of the floor with Evolvis, running Tempest Dance at half speed, and somewhere in the third form, the blade had begun to sing.
Sword Resonance. I'd had it for a while now—that clean, high note I felt in my teeth more than heard, the steel and my aura vibrating at the same frequency until it was hard to say which one was making the sound. But tonight it was different. Tonight the note kept climbing, and with every cut the gap between me and the blade got thinner, and I could feel something on the far side of that gap the way you can feel a drop in the dark before your foot finds the edge.
Sword Heart.
One more step. One more surrender. My body knew exactly how to take it.
I stopped.
