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Devon leapt to his feet, looking even angrier.
“How dare you…?”
“How dare I?!”
I walked right up to him and pulling my arm back, punched him right in his stupid cheek.
Again, I don’t think he was expecting it, but even so, it was one of the most perfect punches I’d ever landed. Aunt Leah and all my tutors in the mountains would have been proud of just what a fine shot it was.
Devon went down like a sack of potatoes and I went after him, diving on top of him, pinning him and raining blows down on him. None of them had the sort of perfection as that first punch, but there was a whole lot of pent up rage to get out of my system and this felt beyond wonderful.
Grabbing my wrists, Devon got me back under his control and, in doing so, flipped me over. I tried to kick and knee him but he was wise to that.
“Are you ready to behave yourself?”
“No.”
“You can’t win against me, Selena.”
“I don’t care.” Suddenly I realized there were tears in my eyes. “You betrayed us! You bastard! We trusted you and you betrayed us! Do what you want to me. Nothing you do will ever be as bad as what you’ve already done!”
The cathartic thrill of pouring out the words I’d been dying to say seemed to give me new strength, and I managed to land a kick into his side. Devon’s grip loosened, and I squirmed out from under him, lashing out as I went and managing to get another decent hit in.
As I scrambled away across the shore, he grabbed my foot and dragged me back. I kicked free. With a spring like a cat, he pounced on me, and I was reminded of watching him hunt fish—this time, though, I was his prey. We tussled on the ground until we seemed to have reached an impasse, our bodies twisted together.
“You’re a very good fighter,” said Devon.
“You’re a terrible person.”
“Probably.”
Fighting in close quarters like this, I was able to get in a few good hits but Devon’s strength would always win out. That, and my knuckles were burning and I could only hope I hadn’t broken any fingers. Devon got control of me again, though I prided myself that I didn’t make it easy for him and managed to knee him in the center of his masculinity, which felt good. I knew, though, that when he returned me across his knee, he’d be even angrier, and I cringed at the thought.
He held me fast and looked me in the eye, even as I tried to avoid his gaze. “You could have died.”
“It’s Uther they want—I’m worth nothing to anyone.”
Devon’s face looked suddenly distraught. “You’d still be dead.”
“Save me the insult of pretending to care!” I snapped.
There was a strange moment of indecision in his face, as if he couldn’t decide what he thought, or what he wanted me to think he thought.
“Back to the camp,” he said, finally.
There was no further punishment. Indeed, later that evening, he came and sat next to me as the fire crackled.
“I’m sorry for… what I did. That was wrong. I was angry. At myself as much as you.”
I said nothing, so Devon went on.
“Did you… Were you trying to escape or…”
It was then that I realized he wondered if I’d been trying to purposely kill myself.
“Escape,” I replied.
He looked relieved. “Don’t do that again, Selena. You’re worth much more.”
