"If Eve can handle the intensity," Raphael cautioned. "It's not like feeding from your mates. This will be hostile energy, violent energy. It'll feel wrong, uncomfortable, possibly painful. You'll have to process it anyway."
"I can do it," Eve said with more certainty than she felt. "What else?"
They spent the next hour going through specific scenarios....what Katerina would likely try, how Eve should respond, what openings to look for, what techniques to deploy. Raphael demonstrated movements, made Eve practice defensive positions, drilled her on energy manipulation until her hands moved on autopilot.
Finally, as evening approached, he called a halt.
"That's enough for today," he said. "Your body needs rest. Overtraining now will only make you slower during the actual trial."
Eve wanted to protest, wanted to keep going, wanted to use every possible moment to prepare. But she could feel the exhaustion bone-deep, and she knew Raphael was right.
