“Don’t counter unless you absolutely have to. I’ve told you that,” he says roughly, and releases me. “You’ll instantly put yourself at a disadvantage. You’re fast and you learn quickly, but you need to be ready. You need to pay attention to visual cues.”

“But I saw your shoulder move and—”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” he says, and it’s obvious that he’s still frustrated about the Aarya meeting. “I gave you three cues that I wanted to fight and you fixed your hair instead of getting yourself into a defensive position.”

Wow. He’s in a mood.

“Okay, well, what were your cues?” I spit back at him. “Rolling up your sleeves?”

He cocks an eyebrow at me. “You’re frustrated. That’s good,” he says. “Maybe now you’ll pay better attention.”

Man, I wish I could fast-forward to being a better fighter so that I could knock him out.

“I taught you what to look for when you’re already fighting—which foot is back, where your opponent’s eyes go before they take a swing, and which muscles tense. But what you don’t know are the signs that tell you someone wants to fight,” he says.

“Are you getting any of those vibes from me right now? Because you should be,” I say.

He lifts an eyebrow again. “Look for your opponent’s chin to jut out or their jaw to clench—like this,” he says, gritting his teeth and lifting his jaw in my direction. “When people are angry, they frequently grit their teeth. And jutting your jaw is a territorial gesture—a sign that you’re threatening someone’s personal space. Now, it’ll never be as pronounced and obvious with Strategia as with some idiot in a bar, so you’re going to have to be alert for a more subtle version of it.”

I nod. “That makes sense. Charles did that before he threw the knife at me.”

“Exactly,” he says. “Another thing to look for is the nostril flare. It’s a survival mechanism to get more oxygen into our lungs and get the blood flowing before a fight. The same is true of pupil dilation—they’ll expand to take in as much information about an opponent and the surroundings as possible.”

“Got it,” I say, nodding.

“Another thing you might detect is someone puffing themselves up, trying to look as imposing as possible. The more space someone’s body takes up, the more testosterone they produce—giving both men and women strength and speed. If you’re paying close enough attention and wind up spotting a couple of these cues, then you need to move immediately. Don’t let Aarya get a hit in. You’ll greatly regret it.”

“And what if I only see one cue?” I ask.

He frowns. “One isn’t enough of an indicator. It might just mean that she’s angry rather than planning to hurt you. So whatever you do, don’t mirror any of her behaviors. It will only escalate the situation. Keep your posture relaxed and open.”

“I can do that,” I say.

“And again, don’t counter unless you have to,” he says. “Just get away from her and let me deal with it.”