QUOTE : We’ve told you before—rollwhen you land a fancy jump,” Wilford squinted in the sunlight as he yelled. “Use your shoulder to take the brunt of your fall and move with it, or you’re going to twist an ankle or break a wrist one of these days!”<br /><br />Tari—impressively—managed to sound like an angry bear as she translated it into Elvish.<br /><br />Gwendafyn nodded as she stood and gave her sword a test twirl, then yipped when her opponent wrapped a meaty hand around her left ankle and pulled it out from under her.<br /><br />“Stay aware of your surroundings,” Thad instructed as he narrowed his eyes. “No opponent is going to stop and let you catch your breath!”<br /><br />Gwendafyn kicked like a jackrabbit, yanking her leg free, then rolled away from the soldier.<br /><br />“For the love of Lady Tari’s favorite lemon bars,” Grygg grumbled. “What part of ‘fight dirty’ isn’t translating correctly?”<br /><br />“Don’t hold back, Princess,” Wilford advised. “We know you’ve got the edge—you’ve broken Grygg’s nose three times. That’s a new record. Phelps, here, could use a little bone re-arrangement, too.”<br /><br />“Shut up, Wilford!” Gwendafyn’s opponent—Phelps, apparently—growled as he staggered to his feet.<br /><br />Gwendafyn crisply nodded when Tari finished translating, then promptly turned and flung her wooden practice sword at Phelps with deadly accuracy.<br /><br />The soldier swore and had to throw himself to the ground to avoid it. Gwendafyn closed the distance between them with the blink of an eye, extended her elbow, and rammed the soldier in the spine with the hardest bone of her elbow.<br /><br />All of Phelps’ air left him in a painful-sounding exhale, and for a moment, he went limp.<br /><br />“Ouch,” Grygg winced in sympathy. “That had to hurt.