Reborn Deceit

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Damian

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Damian was preparing the small gym in the basement of his home, getting all the necessary equipment ready for his training session with Rose, when his brother-in-law's voice cut through his thoughts. In all the years the two had known each other, Damian could read Caius' moods just as well as he could read his sisters, so he was very aware of Caius' frustration before he even turned to look at him.

Damian stood to his full height, rolling his shoulders a bit as he did so, and pivoted round on the matted floor to face Caius, who was just as pissed off as Damian suspected he was.

"I think I'm getting ready for my daily teaching time." Damian kept his voice cool and level, but the sarcasm in his words was clear as day. He wasn't quite sure what Caius' problem was today, but he had a pretty good guess. All three of his housemates had been on his damn back all week, and if he was being completely honest, he was losing his patience with them.

"Cut the shit. You know what the hell I'm talking about." Caius crossed his arms across his chest and rested one shoulder against the wall behind him. To any other person, he would seem relaxed. But Damian wasn't any other person, and he knew very well Caius was anything but relaxed. The tension between his brows, the slight twitch in his jaw, and his exposed white knuckles were proof of the anger Caius was good at keeping at bay.

"You need to take a break from these training sessions. Let us take over for a while."

Damian let out a noise that was something between a snort and a cough. This conversation was nothing new, and just like every other time it was brought up, Damian chose to ignore it. Turning around and giving Caius his back again, he was reaching to spread out a corner of the matt that had been tucked under itself when Caius spoke again.

"You need to figure out this obsession with Rose before someone gets hurt... again."

Damians hand froze over the corner of the matt. The words registered slowly, but when they did, Damian was taken to a whole new level of pissed off.

"It'd be best for you to leave now." His words came out rough and strangled, and Damian tried to cool his temper as his hand continued its job of smoothing out the matt.

"Has she fought an actual Demon yet? Has she learned how to yield a weapon? Has she even begun to tamper with her magic?" Caius spit the words out as fast as a gun with a banana clip. Damian refused to acknowledge his words; refused to even contemplate an answer, because he knew what Caius was getting at was right, but Damian also knew he was close to exploding.

"You need to let someone else take over these training sessions. Just until you sort yourself out."

Damian let out a breath from between his clenched teeth, making the air come out in a strangled sounding hiss. "She's doing just fine with me."

"Because you're going easy on her!" There were only a handful of times that Caius had lost his temper enough to actually yell. This was one of those times. "You're treating her like she's as fragile as a damn flower. She needs to be pushed."

Damian clenched and unclenched his fists, trying desperately to rein in his anger and frustration. "I'll get right on that." The words dripped with sarcasm, but there was truth behind them. He knew he was taking it easy on Rose, although he was the last to admit it. No matter how hard he tried to move on from what happened before, it was playing an active role in his life still. He couldn't risk pushing her too hard and putting her in harms way, but Caius had a valid point. If he didn't start encouraging her to work harder now, she'd never be able to fight an actual opponent. Looking back down at the equipment he had set out for today, Damian made a decision.