God, I want to. I know the bullets are nonlethal. I hate that my trigger finger is rebelling against me. But Dev is still my brother. No matter what he’s done, I find shooting him at point-blank range very difficult to manage.

“I thought so,” he growls. “Stupid little girl, you’ve ruined everything.”

Then he charges at me.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

The two of us have had the same combat training, but Dev has had years more practice.

He grabs my wrist, slapping the gun from my hand, then steps in and twists, attempting to throw me over his shoulder. I use the “boneless toddler” defense, collapsing so my entire body weight works against him. He shuffles, off-balance, and I turn my fall into a backward roll, leveraging Dev’s own grip to pull him with me. He sails over my head and crashes into the starboard gunwale.

One point for Ana.

My wounded side is on fire. I can feel warm blood trickling down my belly. I struggle to my feet. Dev rises, looking unperturbed.

“You’re wounded,” he notes.

He has the audacity to sound concerned. His earlier words still drip in my mind like hydrochloric acid. Stupid little girl.

“You’ve already lost, Dev.”

“I don’t think so. We’ve got enough tech and data now to make our next Aronnax a Nautilus-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.

The Varuna speeds 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.