The Devil’s Horns.

"Air, what did she do just now, with her hands?" Hearing Lu's voice made me suddenly think of my position as her older sister. In my past life, it wasn't something I had to think about, since I was the youngest but…

'I'm not setting a very good example by doing this, am I… Should I even care? I mean, she's young enough she could still grow up to be a good kid right?'

Airsidh let out a small groan. "Forget you saw that… It's not something you should ever do."

I let out a sigh as I listened to them chatter. 'Now I feel a little guilty…'

Although, I had to admit it conveyed everything I wanted to say to him. The devil's horns were a gesture that represented a lot of things, the main one being that that person should be stabbed twice and die.

For actual devils, this meant both of their hearts. Of course, since humans only had one heart the second stab would be… Well, I'll leave that to your imagination.

I laid my arm down clenching my fist. Even if he would one day break me, I wouldn't be submissive. If I became submissive I was afraid that I would lose the last of whatever was keeping me going.

Even if it meant the next time he trained me I would struggle to walk, it was the only way I could fight back. A bear cub growling at a dragon that could burn it to death before ever getting in range of its claws… That was the fight I was picking.

I raised my head. 'In some ways, I'm submissive anyway… I let him beat me without a fight, Mara has complete control over me whenever she wants to have it. What decisions have I ever made that were not submitting to them in the end.'

I gritted my teeth. I wasn't afraid of getting beaten again. The only thing I felt within me was anger, rolling into a full boil. 'I said I wanted to be like my sister… That's why I'm trying to taunt him, but she wouldn't stop there and take a beating. She would actually fight back, not just against him, but against my father, and even Mara…'

A bone-chilling laugh slowly started to escape his lips, as if he wasn't sure if it was funny, or if it was making him mad. Placing his plate down, he slowly began coming back towards me. Every heavy footstep on the floor felt like it shook my very soul, and I could hear my heart beating faster and faster.

I might have provoked him knowingly, but I didn't like pain. I shut my eyes, bracing for whatever he was going to do. 'No… This is fine… I can take a hit. If I can even land a hit on Mara then I'll be able to get him too!' 

My instincts slowly made everything visible in a 360-degree radius around me. I could see the entire room as if I were looking at a blueprint, the walls, the floorboards that were slightly sticking out, and most importantly, Bhaltair.

Time froze and I could feel everything around me. How far away he was, how big he was, where his feet were, I could see all of it. It was as if I had left my body entirely.

Airsidh was standing next to Lu, his hand on his sword. His heart was beating fast too… 'He would never do anything though, no matter how bad it gets.'

 Lu was next to him, she seemed confused, and her heart rate was normal. 'That's right, she's probably never seen this side of him. He only shows it to me…'

My saving grace was that Mara was outside the door walking towards us. She would be opening the door shortly, but I doubted anyone knew that.

'When I fought that monster I managed to win… Maybe I can make up a plan to get out of this. Bhaltair is marching towards me. He is about five steps away.

'He could probably get a good three hits in before Mara walks through the door.' I analyzed the situation. It wasn't uncommon for Bhaltair to beat me, even outside of training. Still, Mara didn't like fighting inside of the house, so she would stop him, which I was sure of.

Time unfroze and began again in slow motion, I could sense everyone's hearts beating, I could feel the air entering my lungs as my own pounded in my chest and adrenaline filled my veins.

Boom boom…

Boom boom…

Bhaltair was aggressively moving towards me on a warpath, but every moment felt like minutes, and I had more than enough time to eventually calm myself. 

Years of combat training may not have made me "Strong." But at the very least I knew how to control my own body, and even if I wasn't good enough for them, I knew how to fight.

As for my opponent. I had taken so many beatings from him that I knew how to fight him more than anyone.

'Knowing him he will probably try to grab my hair again since I openly showed how much that hurt… He will likely lift me off the ground entirely with his freakish strength, but I'm sure Mara would stop him once she gets here.'

'I need to at least try to stall until that happens so he can't take it further than that. He's left-handed so he'll probably reach with his left hand.'

'Sense he's walking, even though he's angry, if I'm quick I should be able to slide out of reach from his first attempt to grab my hair. He will become more angry, but he will pause for a short time. After that, he will probably try to grab my wrist and pull me away from the table.'

'If I can yank my arm back at the last second that would stall longer. But after that, it would be hopeless. My fists won't hurt him, even if I wasn't injured…'

'If he reaches for my wrist and I do manage to slip through his fingers, then his hand will be exposed on the table… The table has already been set for dinner. I have a knife… But do I… What would mother…'