It wasn't the kind of fight I expected. I'd planned, in that split second I understood I needed to let out all of my hurt in a burst of anger, to just scream at her and have her yell at me and cause a general verbal disturbance that might or might not make me feel better.
Instead, a few minutes later, I found myself standing in the amphitheater half a dozen levels below her office, in the battle training ground of the Seat used to teach and as a testing facility for demons to vent, rehearse and generally puff themselves up in prep for plane battles. It had been a long time since I stood in this place, since learning to fight was a matter of life and death. Trapped here with the tall, stunning demon before me, with our silver Persian for backup, we were forced by our Ruler grandmother to fight for the ranks she'd given us.