This was not a body Kori could simply outclass.
She also realised, as her vision cleared, that the woman had not been trying to kill her. The backhand had been calibrated to immobilise - to stun, to drop, to buy the figure the seconds she needed to disengage. If the strike had been intended to kill, it would have been a closed fist, or the edge of the hand, or simply one of the blades. The choice of an open-palm backhand was the choice of a fighter who had decided the opponent in front of her did not need to die today.
Kori slid backward. She pushed herself up onto one elbow, then onto her hands, then onto her feet. Her face throbbed. She raised one hand and brushed the cheek where the strike had landed.
She looked at the woman, but she had already turned away.
…walking slowly straight toward the ledge.
"Wait!"
Kori's voice came out rougher than she had intended.
The figure stopped - her back still turned. Her cloak settled around her in the cold air.
