Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy, #1)

by Lauren Roberts

These brutal Imperials have been stationed everywhere along Loot Alley by decree of the king due to an increase in crime. Clearly has nothing to do with me.

“Yes, at least two of the brothers will get to be together,” Blair says with a smirk, her eyes flicking from me to—No. Not him.

I fear jax will die :(

“This is not a goodbye, only a good way to say bye until I see you next!” It’s the same cheesy line she’s said for years, and yet, this is the first time it’s sounded like a goodbye. “You’re my favorite, A!” I call back to her, voice breaking without my permission. “And you are mine, Pae!”

This girl might be the death of me. Literally.

“Much better,” I say dully, despite being impressed. After a moment that was most definitely too long, I finally drop my hands from her hips. “Now, do it on your own. Just to make sure you were paying attention.”

And then there’s a flash of silver hair as she swivels around, throwing a beautiful jab at my face.

“You don’t really want to do this and neither do I. Especially because I wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face of yours, darling.” She all but rolls her eyes at me. “That’s funny because I won’t hesitate to mess up your pretty face.” I smirk. “I knew you thought I was pretty.”

“So, you just want me? No powers?” “Yes. I just want you,” she breathes, annoyed with me. My mouth twists into a crooked grin. “I knew you wanted me, Gray.”

“Looks like I messed up your pretty face after all, despite my best efforts.” “Oh, this is nothing.” She laughs breathlessly. “You should see the damage I did to your pretty face.” My lips quirk into a smile as I lift my head toward hers. “Oh, darling, as long as you still think I’m pretty, I don’t give a damn what I look like.”

A deep laugh rumbles from his chest, paired with a genuine smile, one that I’ve only ever seen him wear around his brother. Lethal.

Before I can blink, the knife placed beside Paedyn’s plate is now raised in front of her chest, its point aimed at her heart. The sight sends a shock of anger through me, but my voice is far cooler than my sudden rage

I’m not wearing green, but I feel it, nonetheless. Envy claws at me as I watch them step in time to the very waltz I led Paedyn through only last night. She looks elegant, enticing, entrancing.

The prince doesn’t miss a beat. I’m in his arms before the musicians’ finish drawing out their note. He feels too familiar.

We fit together perfectly, pieces of a puzzle snapping into place. I shouldn’t let myself relax into his touch. Shouldn’t let the tension ease from my body when he holds me. But I can do nothing to stop it. Utterly and completely powerless.

ROLL CREDITS

Suddenly, I’m crashing to the floor with a strong, solid body landing on top of me. No, a strong, solid body covering me.

Kai’s large frame hovers over me, his hand cradling the back of my head so my skull didn’t crack on the hard marble when he threw us to the ground. He’s shielding my body from the debris and knives flying around the room.

A few Shields scatter purple force fields around the room,

Like wandas powers but purple

“How badly are you hurt?” He reaches for me, but I step away, my back colliding with the hard wall behind me. Pain shocks up my arm, but I grit my teeth and ignore it.

“I’m fine, but what is—” “I need you to get to one of the safe rooms. The guards will take you—” “Kai, I’m not leaving.”

He flattens me fully against the wall, boxing me in with his arms on either side of my head. His eyes are wild, like smoke smoldering from a blazing fire. “Then don’t think I won’t throw you over my damn shoulder ...

“Make me.” I practically growl the words in his face through gritted teeth. Wrong thing to say. He looks away and exhales, shaking his head. “You’re too stubborn for your own good, Gray.” And then the world flips upside down.

If I make it out of this first Trial alive, I know exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to find the Resistance.

He’s hurt. And more importantly, why do I care?

His gray eyes only look startled for a moment before they begin roaming over me, searching my body for injuries as I do the same to him.

“Before we get to that,” he fights to keep the grimace from gracing his features, “did a Healer get to you?” He’s suddenly serious, pain forgotten as his eyes sweep over me yet again.

“What happened after you bodily removed me from this room like an ass, even though I could have helped?” Now he’s laughing at me. “You seem to keep forgetting who I am, Gray.” “My apologies, Your Highness. What happened after you bodily removed me from this room like a royal ass?”

“Promise me you’ll stay alive long enough to stab me in the back?” I laugh loudly. “That’s been my goal all along, Prince.”

A strangled scream rips from my throat, sending birds scattering out from the trees around me. Kitt. He’s dead.

WHAT THERES NO WAY

I blink away the pain, though it does nothing to clear my confusion. There is suddenly no pool under my feet, no Kitt floating dead on its surface. I look at the dirt beneath me in disbelief, trying to puzzle out what is going on.

Omg okay kitt lives just illusions okay hunger games

“You just can’t seem to stay away from me, can you, Gray?” I halt, heart hammering.

YESSSS

“Gray…?” Between my drooping eyelids, I can see Kai take a hesitant step toward me, all amusement wiped from his face. And I must truly be hallucinating because I think I see worry flickering in his gaze.

“Paedyn! Hey, Pae, look at me.” Rough hands are gripping the sides of my face, forcing my eyes to flutter open. They feel cold against my fevered skin, now slick with sweat, and concern is written all over the beautiful face hovering over me. I’ve never seen him so worried, so full of emotion. His cool mask has cracked, shattered, splintered into a million pieces as he lifts my head off the ground, pulling me toward him to search my face with wide, gray eyes.

PAE IM CRYING

“Hey, hey, hey.” Calloused hands are pushing the damp hair off my forehead while words are muttered close to my face. “Pae, stay with me.” His voice is stern despite the panic lacing each word.

I’m smiling up at him now, grinning like an idiot. I can’t stop. Delusional. I’m completely and undeniably delusional.

But in this moment, I don’t want to die—if only so I can hear him say my name one more time.

“Remind me to make you smile like that again, when you aren’t dying, and I have all the time in the world to memorize it.”

“Paedyn.” Kai’s voice is so far away, so distant from where I’m slipping into oblivion. “Paedyn, open your eyes.” It’s an order, strong and stern. And I ignore it. How very typical of me. Even in death my body refuses to listen to the commands of the future Enforcer. “Open your eyes, dammit!”

Far, far away, I hear a male voice muttering panicked words. “If you die, I’m going to kill you.”

I’m holding her life in my useless, unequipped hands.

But above all, she wasn’t playing with me, wasn’t teasing me or twisting her mouth into that sly smile of hers that I enjoy so much. And that’s what worried me the most.

And now I’m suddenly furious with her. She wanted me to leave. She was going to try to deal with this alone. She would have died alone. She’s so damn stubborn that she would choose to fight me until she collapsed rather than let me see her injured.

But it’s simply another mask, seeing that I’m currently simmering with rage. “Which one of them did this to you?”

My fingers find her chin and then I’m tugging her face back in my direction so I can look her in the eyes as I say, “I’m going to ask again. Who did this to you?”

I’m reminded of when she hit the ground. When I was feral, frantic, and I was suddenly aware that I hadn’t said her name to her since we met.

So I said her name, again and again. I finally let myself do it. Let that last piece of attachment to her lock into place. Just saying her name felt intimate, personal, somehow.

And now I forever want her name on my lips and rolling off my tongue until I’m drunk on the taste and sound of it.

Okay kaz brekker i see u

Then I catch her shiver slightly in the brisk, night breeze. Well that just won’t do.

But now? If I am to be her enemy, I want it to be because she loathes herself for wanting me.

He didn’t say my first name. And for some maddening reason, I wish he had.

I try to blink away my confusion, to no avail. “You used all of it on me?” “Without hesitation.” Cool, calm, collected. That’s Kai.