L E I L A N I
After breakfast, Lyra led me to the back of the house, to a small secluded clearing in the woods. There was a training mat laid out on the grass.
"Okay," she said, standing in front of me. "The most important thing to remember is that you're smaller and probably weaker than whoever is coming at you. You're not going to win a fight by brute force. You're going to win by being smart."
She showed me how to break a grip on my wrist, using my thumb to find the weak point in their hold and twisting my arm to get free. She showed me how to strike with the heel of my palm, aiming for the nose or the throat.
"Your goal is not to win," she said, as we practiced the moves. "Your goal is to escape. To create an opportunity to run. Always run."
I listened, my body moving in ways I ne
