Enchanted Revenge by Theresa M. Jones Page A

was shouting now, which only put fuel to the fire within me.
    “You have no idea what it feels like. I lost my parents. I’m alone! And stuck with a stupid, cocky fairy who is so quiet I can hear my own heart beating!”
    “Are you so naïve to think that you are the only person in the world who has known loss?” His anger faded with his words. Instead, it was replaced with grief. I had seen it back at that tree house. I knew he had lost someone, but right then, I saw it clearly. He was still heartbroken over whatever had happened.
    As quickly as his vulnerability appeared, it vanished. He pulled a mask over his face, leaving only impassiveness and a hint of cruelty.
    “I’m only helping you because I’m curious about your parents. It was obvious they were someone special, and I want to know why they were unmarked in the Mortal Realm. And why they were so brutally murdered. If you want to go the rest of the way on your own, be my guest.”
    The challenge was clear. The threat, obvious. And there was no way I could call his bluff now, not without knowing anything about this place.
    I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nerves. I wouldn’t be nice to him. I didn’t have the energy for it. Instead I walked past him and continued down the trail, hoping that he would take the hint and follow me.
    Eventually the sun slipped lower in the sky, and Alec created some form of light that hovered above his head and a few feet in front of him. I was thankful for it, but didn’t say thank you. I was still angry with him. We hadn’t spoken since our argument, and I wasn’t going to be the first to cave.
    “We should stop here for the night.” Again, I didn’t reply to him, only nodded my assent. Here didn’t seem like anything special to me. We were still just on a trail, walking through the forest.
    We walked off the trail just a little and stopped in a small circle of trees. Alec gathered some branches from the surrounding area into a small group, and then pulled out the box of matches from the tree house. The fire was full and thick, and provided some comforting heat.
    I sat close to the fire, watching the yellows and oranges and reds intertwine and flicker. Despite its destructive properties, fires were glorious to watch burn. The heat they emanated was pure strength. It was so hard to stop a fire once it got burning that often they would burn for days. It was like the fire was soothing me, providing a much needed calm to my insides.
    “Thinking back to the abada,” he started, “it could have been anything that walked through that path. Most Nymph are friendly, but as we both know, not all are. And there are creatures in this forest that are not as nice as the abadas.”
    I nodded. It was something I had been thinking about as well. Along with contemplating my loneliness and lack of…everything, I was also thinking about my inability to protect myself, let alone avenge my parent’s deaths.
    “I think it’s time you learn how to defend yourself.”
    I couldn’t agree more!

Chapter Eleven
Self-Defense : The act of defending yourself.
    “Stand here in front of me,” Alec said as he stood up in front of the fire. The flames cast an eerie glow to his face. He was still in a bad mood, that much was obvious, but at least he wasn’t scary anymore. His eyebrows were constantly tugging downward between his eyes, and his lips never lifted a millimeter up into even an almost smile.
    So without arguing, I stood up in front of him. My feet still hurt like crazy, but I was getting pretty good at ignoring them. This was something I not only wanted, but desperately needed.
    “First we should work on your stance. Basically, how you stand. You are smaller and weaker than most opponents you will face. But that doesn’t mean you have to lose. With the right amount of knowledge, you should be able to at least fend off an opponent so that you can get away.”
    “I don’t want to get away. I want to win.”
    “Baby