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“Woah, what’s that look for?” Bennett asked, putting his hands up in defense.
One second I was on the dock and the next I was running for him and unsheathing my dagger, stumbling a bit as I tried to force my body to find its strength. Blood was pumping in my ears and any sense of sanity slipped away from me.
I jumped, prepared to shove him to the ground, but he was quick and easily stepped out of my range.
Damn Shadow blood.
I spun to face him and could see the hint of amusement spark in his blue eyes.
All of that sorrow had now turned into a hot, burning rage, and who better to unleash it on than the devil himself?
“I hate you,” I spat.
His lip lifted slightly. “C’mon now, you know that’s a lie.”
“It’s not, Bennett. You’ve done nothing but torment me since you’ve returned to Veladis, and I ignored it. I didn’t let it get to me. I didn’t let you get to me. I could even let the poison go, because at least that was a direct attack at me and not my friends. But telling Miles? I will not let that slide. I won’t.”
His expression turned serious for a moment. “I didn’t poison you. You should know I would never do something like that.”
I barked a laugh. “Sure, okay. Just stay away from me from now on.”
He looked disappointed in my response. “You can’t be mad at me for something you should’ve told him in the first place.”
That hurt more than any teasing comment or rude remark he’d sent my way, because this time it was true, and deep down I knew it.
I crossed my arms. “I couldn’t tell him, your father forbade it.”
“Did that stop you from telling Amica?”
I wanted to rip that stupid grin right of his face.
“That’s different.”
He arched his brow. “Is it?”
The honest truth was that it was. I knew I shouldn’t have told anyone, but if I didn’t have Amica to run to after I completed another assignment, to help me wash the blood off of my hands and listen to what happened, I think I would have lost a part of my humanity. Amica was a reminder that I was still Rhia and not just the King’s Favorite.
I rolled my eyes. “You know nothing,” I spat.
“Well, clearly I knew more than Miles did.”
Irritation consumed me and I launched myself at him again, and this time I caught him off guard. I brought him to the ground, hard, his body taking all of the impact.
I got my anger out the only way I knew how. With my dagger.
We were a blur of bodies rolling across the ground. I brought the dagger down on him, not caring about my aim, but he caught my wrist, twisting my arm. I let out a painful yelp and dropped the blade. His grip loosened for a second and I took that chance to elbow his face, hard. I went to strike another blow and he grabbed my arm, his other hand gripping my shoulder as he moved me up and off of him and then back down to the ground beneath him, pinning my wrists to the wooden panels. I struggled against his grip, but he wouldn’t budge. The lower half of my body wasn’t pinned down, and I used that to my advantage as I kneed him in the gut, bringing my leg up and over his side until he was once again pinned underneath me.
My throat started to taste like acid as I began pounding on his chest with my fists, but there was no strength left in me for any of the hits to cause any real pain, which angered me even more. I hit him over and over and over again, my eyes burning as I tried to hold back the tears.
“I hate you!” I sobbed, and somehow the tears I thought were all gone decided to pay another visit. I brought my fists down one after the other, each swing slower than the one before until I just sat there and cried. Even though I still sat atop Bennett, I cried.
He whispered, “I'm sorry—”
“NO, YOU’RE NOT!” I screamed.
Bennett just lay there beneath me and didn’t say a word as I let him watch me continue to fall apart. My eyes and throat burned while my heart felt like it was being squeezed, a second away from bursting.
“How do I—?” I gasped for air through my sobs. “How do I make it stop?”
