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“We need to put an end to this little Resistance,” Father spits before downing the rest of the alcohol in his glass. “They may want Ordinaries to live, but in doing so, the Elite race and power will eventually die. Ridding my kingdom of Ordinaries is a sacrifice that must be made for the good of the people. But they are too damn selfish to see that. Kai,” his gaze is piercing when it lands on mine, “make this Silencer wish he were dead before bestowing that mercy upon him.” “Oh, I was already planning on it, Father.”
He hands me the flier, and I quickly scan the list. My eyes snag on a particular arrangement of letters before my breath snags in my throat. There, at the bottom of the list, lies a name I’ve thought of far more than I care to admit. It’s her.
He almost looks apologetic, and I hate it. “The contestants always head to the palace two weeks in advance for training, interviews, and of course, the first ball.”
“Don’t you dare say you’ll be fine,” she huffs as anger temporarily swallows her fear. “Pae, the Trials are deadly enough, but if they find out about what you aren’t, they will—” “Kill me,” I finish for her. “I know.”
I’m leaving the only person who knows me, the only person I can truly trust. She’s been a constant in my life, an anchor that I’ll be drifting without.
She knows how at the age of five, my life changed before it had even begun. Father sat me on his lap, whispered that I was different, that I had to pretend to be something I wasn’t if I wanted to grow up with him by my side. It was our own little game, he said. A game of pretend. A game in which he’d already chosen the perfect role for me to play for the rest of my life. “What’s a Psychich, Daddy?” That question is still so vivid in my mind, though it was over thirteen years ago when I’d asked it. Father had just chuckled softly, a seemingly simple sound that I wish I could have memorized. “A
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A pained laugh slips past my lips. “And you are all I have left, A.”
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!”
His eyes snap to mine, nostrils flaring. “I’m Ace. Ace Elway.” He says this proudly, straightening the collar of his shirt as he continues, “I’m an Illusionist. Rare. That’s why I’m here.” His smile is as cold as his eyes. “And I’m going to need those twenty thousand shillings to finally get me out of these slums, so I’m sure I’ll be making quite the reputation for myself soon enough.”
A bed. An enormous bed. After sleeping on jagged cobblestone for five years, the thought of getting to sleep on that is overwhelming.
His eyes search mine. “Then remind me to show you the gardens sometime.” He offers me a nod. “I look forward to seeing you at dinner, Paedyn.” I blink at him. “Strange,” I say slowly. “I don’t remember telling you my name.” “Oh, you didn’t need to.” That crooked grin is teasing his lips once again. “I make it my business to know all the pretty girls who save my little brother.” Plagues, he’s— “I’m Kitt, by the way.” He flashes me a grin before turning to stride down the hallway, leaving me shocked and staring. Prince Kitt. As in “future king of Ilya” Kitt.
Her next words are little more than a murmur. “All I know is that this year is supposed to be… different.” “Different?” I echo. “In what way?” She shrugs, fistfuls of my hair grasped in her hands. “I dunno. Just different somehow.”
And he’s right. It is laughable. The Psychic girl who unwittingly saved a prince she clearly couldn’t care less about is now rewarded for it by being forced into Trials that could kill her. And now she’s sitting right in front of me.
And yet she still hasn’t even bothered to look at me. That just won’t do.
I lean back in my chair, grinning. She could see it in my eyes that I would, in fact, spoon-feed her if she didn’t start eating, and there was no way in hell she was going to let that happen.
Paedyn gently drops her fork and stares at the king with so much intensity in her gaze that she briefly reminds me of Blair. There is a certain emotion clouding her eyes as she looks at him—an emotion she is trying to hide. I don’t have time to try to decipher it before she schools her features into neutrality with the blink of an eye.
Her smile is all teeth. “I’m sure whatever I called you was warranted.” A pause. “And accurate.” A smile. “And deserved.”
“Ah, yes, your father. Adam Gray was a great Healer. A very educated man,” Father says thoughtfully. Paedyn goes rigid in her seat. “You,” she clears her throat, “you knew my father?” “Yes, I did. He would come to the palace during fever season to help our own court physicians when there were too many patients to attend to.” Paedyn nods. “Yes, I remember him doing that every winter.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I say with a quick smirk. “My room just happens to be across from yours, so I might as well be a gentleman just this once.”
She’s only partially right. I do have a grand room, though I refuse to let servants wait on me.
suddenly think of how she fought the Silencer, so skilled and so sure of herself. Perhaps she has a better chance of surviving these games than she gives herself credit for.
Vicious little thing, isn’t she?
Perhaps I’ll relieve him of one of his hands, so he never has the opportunity to lay it on a woman again.
We watch each other for a long moment. Her gaze is unwavering, reminding me of the still ocean, the calm before the storm. “Mark my words, Prince, I will be your undoing.” I lean in, ignoring the knife against my throat as I murmur, “Oh, darling, I look forward to it.”
As soon as I’m on the other side of my own door, I’m pacing around the room that just so happens to be right across from hers. My fingers stray to my neck, feeling the sticky warmth of my blood there. This girl might be the death of me. Literally.
Just the mere thought has me anxiously spinning the ring on my thumb. This time tomorrow, we’ll be showing off to the Kingdom of Ilya while trying to win their favor. From the little I’ve learned from Ellie, the interviews are how the people choose who they want to support in the Trials. It’s a time for the Elites to display their strength, talk themselves up, and try to earn the people’s votes. And that is exactly what I need to do: win the people over. They play a vital part in these twisted games, and the more votes a contestant gets, the more it boosts their score.
Though the future king isn’t a contestant in the Trials, that doesn’t seem to stop him from training and eating with us as though he is one. I’ve kept my distance from both the brothers and my other competitors, though the tension between all of us only grows with each passing day.
There’s Plummet Mount to the north, the Shallows Sea to the west, the Scorches Desert to the east, and the Whispers Forest to the south—all coming together to create a diamond around the city.
She ignores my question, voice smug. “Just thought I would mark my target before the Trials begin.” And then she spins on her heel and struts away, leaving me staring after her. I swallow, feeling smaller and weaker than I ever have before. Blair’s display was a reminder of how easy it would be for any of these Elites to end my Ordinary life. She marked me.
He never answered my question.
No, not glass. Mute. I’ve only briefly learned of the rare material invented by the Scholars, let alone seen it myself. By means that are far too complicated for me to understand, this glass look-alike prevents the Elites within the stands from using their powers, so as not to interfere with the Trials.
“Too stubborn to ask for my help, Gray?” “No,” I say coolly. “Too strong to need it.” His next words are murmured close to my ear. “That’s what I like to hear.”
“You mean, life in the slums?” She blinks at me, surprised by my blunt correction. “There’s not much to tell. Life on the streets isn’t much of a life at all.” I look her right in the eyes before turning to face the hushed crowd. “These past few years, hunger and cold have been the only constant in my life. But it’s not just me. There are dozens of others who sleep on the same hard cobblestone I did. Dozens of others who will do anything for a single shilling.” I pause and take a breath. “Living in the slums is survival of the fittest. So, in a way, I’m more prepared for these Trials than
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I feel sick. I feel used. This is all a game to them. But if I want to stay alive, I have to play my part. I have to play them. Being a pawn in their game is the price I have to pay to survive. Make them believe I like this, and in turn, they will like me. So I straighten, holding my head a little higher as I smile a little brighter. I am no one’s pawn.
But she’s made it abundantly clear on what she wishes us to be: competition. Enemies. And more importantly, why isn’t that what I want as well?
It’s the first time she’s called me by my name, and I realize then that I could get used to the sound of it rolling off her tongue.
Why does she do this to herself? I shake my head, already knowing the answer. Because I’ve done it before. I’ve hit pads, walls, anything until blood dripped from my fists. All to find a release for the anger, the frustration, that was pent up inside of me. And that is exactly what Paedyn is doing.
One minute we’re flirting and the next we’re fighting—possibly even both at the same time. I can’t seem to figure this vicious girl out.
“Oh, darling, as long as you still think I’m pretty, I don’t give a damn what I look like.”
“Oh, and Kai?” she calls, her voice casual. And then I’m ducking. She spun, throwing the knife so suddenly that I barely had time to dodge before it sank into the wooden target a few feet behind me. “I don’t want your mercy. Next time we fight,” I can see her blue eyes smoldering from where I stand, “impress me.”
I’m almost certain I’m not an Ordinary. My power may actually be the ability to lie effortlessly. Lie about what I am, who I trust, and how happy I am to be here.
I hope he’s losing his mind trying to puzzle me out like I am him.
Plagues, how can one person be so equally infuriating and infatuating?
He was born for battle. Raised to kill. And I need to remember that.
“Survival. I expect to survive this.”
“Actually, that was my favorite part.” I throw him a bemused look. “Was it now?” “Yes.” The laughter leaves his voice when he stops to look at me, halting us in the middle of the hallway. “It was the most real thing anyone’s ever said in those interviews.”
“Oh yes. If you get clearance to go, she’ll come back with you and be hired here as your personal seamstress until the Trials are over. Or until…” She trails off.
Adena is going to live here. With me. She’ll be fed and paid. I’ll get to see her. She’ll be safe. Relief washes over me, feebly attempting to replace the guilt I still feel.
“What you need and what you want are two very different things.”
I study his face, stare as a sliver of his mask cracks, displaying all the love and devotion for his brother, all the lengths he is willing to go for him. It’s as if he has a duty to fulfill, as if he is already the Enforcer and this is far bigger than just stopping me from stepping on his brother’s toes.
