The healer beside the nearest court wasn't looking at me. A student lay on the floor with his leg held between two padded supports. His partner stood several steps away, pale enough that an attendant made her sit too.
I remembered hearing another whistle during the exchange. I hadn't had enough attention left to wonder why. Now the entire row of courts had stopped.
"Keep the passage clear," Veylan called.
Students moved reluctantly. One stepped sideways into the route he had been asked to clear and received a look that corrected him faster than another instruction would have. The attendant beside me loosened the last strap of my chest padding.
"Easier?"
I took a breath.
"A little."
"Stay sitting. If it gets harder, tell me."
She left the padding open and went to fetch a clean cloth. I could see the struck side now. The skin had begun to redden beneath the edge of my shirt.
