Page 24 of The Devil's Trials

“There are no wrong answers here,” is all he says.

I exhale a sigh, then make an effort to slow my breathing like I’ve learned over many years of panic attacks. “I feel…heavy. Like my shoes are filled with concrete and bricks have replaced my lungs. My head is foggy and spinning at the same time, and exhaustion clings to me as if I’m covered in molasses I can’t wash away.”

“Molasses? How…poetic?” His fingers skim the bare skin between my leggings and bra when his grip loosens, and my eyes fly open. I move away, whirling on him.

“How is this supposed to help me fight?”

His expression gives nothing away.

I blow out an exasperated breath, visualizing having the strength and skill to kick his ass. “You are infuriating. Can I hit you again?”

“You can try,” he offers dryly. “The way I see it, you haven’t actually hit me yet.”

I swallow a growl and launch myself at him, grabbing the front of his shirt and shoving as hard as I can. He concedes a few steps, reaching for me, but I duck away from his grasp, slamming my elbow back blindly. I manage to catch him in the chest, snickering when he grunts, but my victory is short-lived when Noah snakes a powerful arm around my waist, hauling my back against his chest and wrapping his free hand around my throat, effectively immobilizing me.

“Fuck,” I practically seethe, my pulse pounding in my ears.

“You lash out like that, letting your emotions cloud your judgment, and you’ll quickly lose whatever upper hand you might’ve had.” Noah’s voice is level, unaffected, his lips right beside my ear as he speaks.

I clench my jaw when his breath tickles the delicate skin there.

“Fine,” I say through gritted teeth, swallowing my pride to ask, “How do you suggest Idon’tdo that?”

“Get a grip on your emotions.”

His hold on my throat eases, though he doesn’t let go.

“If you’re caught in a position like this, I want you to throw your entire weight into your captor. They’ll expect you to try pulling away, so you have a better chance of catching them off guard by throwing yourselfatthem. Push against the floor as hard as you can, using your whole body against the demon’s torso. If you can knock their legs out from under them and get them onto the ground, you’ll create a window to get free. But that will come with a lot of practice. For now, plan on using thepower behind your kick and target pain points—groin, ankles, behind the knees.”

I nod as much as I can in his grasp.

“Try it.”

Frowning, I say, “It’s not going to work when you know it’s coming.”

His responding chuckle vibrates against my back, and I try to ignore the way that brings heat to my face. He lets me go, and it takes me longer than it should to step away and turn to look at him again.

“I want you to focus on strength training.” He nods toward the rack of weights across the room. “Have you lifted before?”

I press my lips together, shaking my head. “Not really. Harper’s dragged me to the gym a few times, but nothing substantial.”

Noah’s expression tells me he isn’t surprised, but he doesn’t say anything as we walk over and he grabs the two-pound weights, holding them out to me. When I take them, my eyes flick to his. “These aren’t heavy. At least give me a challenge, Daniels.”

His lips twitch. “I want to make sure your form is proper before we get into the serious lifting.”

“Okay.” I guess that makes sense.

We go through half a dozen arm workouts with Noah showing me the correct movement, and by the time we’re done, my muscles feel like noodles and sweat covers my skin.

Somaybethe two-pound weights weren’t too light…

We return to the mats and sit while Noah gives me a chance to down my water. “Are you going to make me go to a class tomorrow?”

He arches a brow. “I’m not going to make you do anything.”

I nod slowly, chewing my bottom lip as I stretch my legs out. “I’m just thinking about how thrilled some of the hunters are going to be with me coming back.”

“Why do you say that? Because your boyfriend just became our number one enemy?”

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