Raegar watched as Dominique hissed through gritted teeth, her grey skin slick with sweat. Zahara growled, pushing through sheer willpower, while Rune's silence grew heavier, his breaths sharp.
''Fifty!'' he finished, standing as the others collapsed or knelt, chests heaving. ''No break. Squats next, sixty, deep and steady.''
He demonstrated, sinking low, thighs parallel to the ground, then rising with controlled power. The group groaned but complied. Zahara powered through the first thirty, but her breaths grew labored.
Dominique's agility helped, but her thighs trembled by forty. Vienna's squats grew shallow, her cheerful facade cracking as she muttered, ''This is torture.''
Rune's form stayed perfect, but his red face betrayed the burn, sweat dripping from his brow. ''Keep your knees behind your toes,'' Raegar instructed, his squats flawless. ''Push through the heels.''
