She didn't want to be pessimistic, but the battle was definitely slipping from her grasp.
Melisa could feel it in every muscle, in every heaving breath. Lady Belstadt moved with the precision of a predator, each spell cast with the confidence of someone who'd spent years honing her craft (and probably hunting various innocent nim around the world).
In contrast, Melisa was now struggling to keep up as exhaustion was beginning to set in.
[Man, I have not had a fight go on for this long before,] she thought, breathing heavily. [Even that fight in Javir's house was mostly just me running away until the cavalry came. This is a marathon.]
"ACK!"
She ducked under another blast of Blood Magic, the heat and dark, sinister energy of it grazing her cheek.
