"Contact."
The formation held them apart while pale lines travelled across the lane, confirming the registered strike and resetting the restraint seals.
Valeria used the pause to restore her footing.
The cost of the unfinished continuation announced itself at once. Heat pulled through her reinforced rear thigh, the knee carrying more strain than the landing should have demanded, while the slight shift beneath her boot confirmed that her balance had not settled cleanly. Her turn had also left her side exposed. Had the exchange continued beyond the registered contact, Lucavion's estoc would have possessed an answer.
The continuation remained incomplete.
It had also worked.
Against Lucavion.
Satisfaction rose before caution could diminish it. She had shown him the Olarion recovery he remembered, allowed him to enter the opening it promised and changed the sequence only after he committed. For one exchange, his certainty had placed him exactly where she wanted him.
