“You should be more concerned about how you’re going to beat me,” Crow quipped. He rolled his eyes when Penelope spun the dagger in her hands. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” As she prepared to fight, he took a moment to size her up, his eyes sweeping over her body. Since he didn’t have much experience with fighting, he needed to take advantage of any weaknesses he could find.

He took note of her stance, the way she held her weapon, and where her eyes were focused. He didn’t know enough about dagger techniques to know exactly what she was planning to do, but he could see that her weight was shifted to her back right foot and her gaze was fixed on his torso. From those details, he could at least make a few guesses about what her first move would be. He braced himself for her attack.

When Penelope lunged at him, his first thought was that she was fast—much faster than William. He parried her dagger with his own blade, stepping backwards with his right foot and twisting at the waist to use her momentum against her. The sound of clashing metal filled the air as he deflected her attack, sending her off to his right side so they stood parallel with each other. He followed through by bringing his left hand around to give her a sharp push between the shoulder blades, intending to knock her off balance while he jumped back out of her reach.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Crow taunted once he was safely beyond her range of attack. “I would understand if you want to save face and surrender to me now.” He winked at her wryly, raising his weapon to defend himself if she came at him again.