selbree bot

for briana matthews and selwyn kane

[selbree bot @selbreebot]

finally happy to announce that, as of today, selbreebot is back up and running!! thank you guys for your patience in the past year and i will be updating the bot in april to start posting quotes from oathbound, with a warning beforehand for people who haven’t finished by then <3

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“I’m Selwyn Kane.”
His gaze sends tiny, invisible sparks of electricity dancing across my cheek. I flinch and throw my hand up between us like a shield.

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“You were furious with me earlier. Why?” I ask, feeling brave.

“Because, silly thing”—his finger draws along my jaw before falling away—“you truly thought I would leave you.”

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When I open my eyes again, Sel is watching me with unguarded hunger and amused awe, like he knows everything my body is feeling, the warmth and torture and shock… and hopes it never ends.

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My instinct is to look away, give him privacy. But he obviously doesn’t care, because he took his damn shirt off while we were mid-conversation, so when he looks for my eyes in the mirror, I look back. He grins, then hisses when he presses the alcohol swab to the knife wound.

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“I know that look,” Sel says with a sigh.
“Tell me, will you always be the mystery girl?”

I smile. “Probably.”

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Sel doesn’t look pained—he looks intoxicated: eyes half-lidded, and unfocused, cheeks flushed, mouth parted and panting. He drags his tongue over his lower lip—and looks up to find me staring. I stiffen and turn away.

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“I told you, I’m keeping an eye on you, mystery girl.”
“Because you think I’m a demon?”
“Are you saying you’re not?”

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I pull away from him, and step carefully through the mist. It shifts and breaks around my knees, but coalesces behind me in a thick layer. I turn back to Sel to see his reaction, but he’s not watching the water. He’s watching me.

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The words spill out of my mouth in an angry, sobbing rush. “She didn’t want me to find the Order”—I turn, snarling at Sel—“because she didn’t want me to become your target, but I did anyway.” He flinches, but I don’t care.

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For the first time, I wonder if maybe Sel’s right and I am born of shadows. Or maybe those shadows aren’t who I am, but I keep finding my way to them anyway.

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Sel’s voice is quiet. Patient. “You are harder on yourself than anyone else around you, Bree. You excel at so very many things, punishing yourself is a great example.”

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Sel is a silent shadow to my right. I try again to catch his gaze. To communicate my remorse, to let him know that I realize I messed up.

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“What if the Regents were right to lock me up?” I blurt. Sel’s face is stricken, and I can tell he’s about to argue, but I hold my hand up to stop him.

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“Then I would say you look… devourable,” he murmurs. “And that, for me, is something I don’t wish to share in mixed company. For many, many reasons.”

I swallow. “Many reasons?”

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Just hours ago, I had imagined destroying a demon named Briana Matthews. Now, I am watching a teenage girl named Briana Matthews weep and gag while I gently pull a hellfox corpse off her glowing fist.

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Bright indignation flares in my chest, but his unusual eyes rake across my face.

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Sel clears his throat and turns us again. He admires my hair, taking in the size and shape of it; then his eyes follow the line of my temple to my borrowed earrings, down my neck and shoulders. “You look stunning this evening, Briana.”

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“Hey, birthday girl.”

I feel Sel’s eyes on my face from somewhere to my left. Smile. Hop down from the garden wall, and move in the direction of his attention. “That’s me.”

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Watching Selwyn Kane tear off a piece and struggle valiantly to apply it with one hand so that it stays taut is one of the most awkward things I’ve ever seen. So awkward I can’t watch it without secondhand embarrassment. I step forward between him and the sink without thinking.

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When Nicholas carries Briana Matthews away, her eyes find mine over his shoulder. Inexplicably, they shine with concern and worry. For me. I nearly killed her, and she still looks back