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‘You’ve already lost, Dev.’
‘I don’t think so. We’ve got enough tech and data now to make our nextAronnaxaNautilus-killer. And I don’t think your friends will be bothering this boat with your poor sick professor on board.’
He attacks with a flurry of punches that forces me back to the port railing.
I block, parry and dodge, but my limbs are growing heavy. My head feels like it’s floating on my neck.
I sidestep and trap Dev’s arm, hoping to dislocate his elbow. But he knows that move too well. He sinks on one leg and sweep-kicks me off my feet. I roll out of the way and come up just in time to block his next kick.
He backs away, giving me time to breathe. ‘We don’t have to fight, Ana. We’re still family.’
My weakness is making him calmer, kinder. I hate this about him. He likes me being his needy little sister – the junior Dakkar.
‘Yes, we’re family.’ I wince as I regain my footing. ‘Which is why your betrayal hurts so much.’
I push him across the deck, determined to wipe that smug smile from his face, but he easily parries my attacks.
TheVarunaspeeds through the break in the atoll. The midday sun bakes my shoulders. My nemonium drysuit is light and flexible, but it was not designed for surface hand-to-hand combat. I am breathing hard, slowing down, wearing myself out. Dev knows it.
Anger gives me momentum.
I feint with a jab step, then land a punch to Dev’s gut. My gym teacher, Dr Kind, would have been proud. Unfortunately, I’m too dizzy to follow through. I stagger away, wheezing, while Dev cradles his sore stomach.
‘I’m not the traitor, Ana,’ he says through gritted teeth. ‘Harding-Pencroft got our parents killed. HP could’ve used Nemo’s tech a hundred times to save the world. Instead they kept it locked up. They shut us out of our inheritance.’
I glance over at Gem, still lying facedown on the deck. His fingers are twitching, but there’s no way he’ll be battle-readyany time soon. At least no Land Institute upperclassmen are running onto the deck to help Dev.
It’s just me and my brother. Like old times. Except completely different.
‘TheNautilusisn’t our inheritance,’ I say. ‘TheNautilusbelongs to herself.’
‘Herself?’ Dev scoffs. ‘Come on, Ana. It’s a machine made by Prince Dakkar. It belongs to us!’
He lunges, trying for a full-body tackle. I dance out of his path, though my ‘dance’ is more of a clumsy stumble. My chest wound throbs. The inside of my drysuit is lacquered with warm, sticky blood.
‘I thought about telling you,’ Dev continues, as if we’re having a casual conversation, ‘but you weren’t ready. You didn’t know about alt-tech. You didn’t understand what HP had done to our family. They still have you fooled. It’s time to wake up.’
I scream and charge. It’s not my smartest move. I feint a punch, try to knee him in the groin, but he’s expecting that. He blocks, then tosses me aside like a practice dummy. I land hard on my butt. Pain flares up my spine.
‘Give it up,’ Dev snaps. ‘Don’t be stupid.’
Stupid little girl.
Behind me, my fingers close around textured metal. One of Gem’s pistols.
‘I’ll admit, I underestimated you,’ Dev says. ‘That giant octopus …’ He shakes his head. ‘You’ll have to explain how you pulledthatoff. But you don’t belong at HP any more than I do. We’re going to board theNautilustogether, and you’re going to surrender command to me. Iwilltake what’s rightfully mine.’
Somehow, I get to my feet.
Dev frowns at the gun in my hand. ‘Come on, Ana, you had your chance to kill me. You couldn’t do it, remember?’
Kill him?
Suddenly I realize why Dev has been so uninterested in Gem’s weapons. He assumes they are loaded with standard rounds. A laugh bubbles up in my throat. Dev has no intention of killing me. And he knows I won’t kill him, so the guns are useless. It would never occur to my brother to use anything less than lethal ammunition.Dev tends to play an offensive game.
My hysterical giggle seems to unsettle him.
‘Ana, you’ve lost a lot of blood.’ His tone is so caring, so brotherly. ‘Put that down –’
