Reckless (The Powerless Trilogy, #2)

by Lauren Roberts

“And I’m sorry I was the first to start that pattern.”

Something clamps around my ankle with a click. I pull away, looking down to see the metal chain he brought out of the sewer with him.

I’m not proud of it. Not proud of what I did to get that shackle on her ankle.

I know how she thinks, so I know that she assumes it was all a ploy. Every touch, every word, every kiss.

My life is not my own. And, for that reason, she can never be mine.

“I’d like to see you try, actually.” She tugs my hand away from her jaw, seemingly surprising by the sound of her voice. I crack a smile. “She speaks.”

Ignoring me, she throws her hands up in mock innocence. “I’ve put my thieving days behind me.”

“You are,” I say, taking a breath before continuing, “an unbelievably difficult creature.” She laughs harshly. “Maybe you should have considered that before chaining yourself to me.”

“What?” I grind out. She snorts. “Possessive, are we?” “I chained you to me. What do you think?”

I drop to a knee before her, reaching for her foot to unravel the excess chain from around her ankle.

When I look up, it’s into widening blue eyes. “I’m not proposing, don’t worry,” I murmur. “Step on my leg; I’ll give you a boost.”

“I loathe you,” she says simply. I blink. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“I have enough blood on my hands.” “Your fingertips, maybe. But not your hands,” I say evenly. “Three lives are hardly enough to stain your soul.” I would know.

“You’re shaking the bed,” he says quietly. “And you’re more than welcome to roll off if it’s bothering you so much.”

He takes a step back, breathing heavily. Gray eyes crash into mine, swimming with an emotion I don’t bother trying to decipher.

I WANT TO DECIPHER ITTTT

“Ready?” he asks casually, as though I’d imagined the last five minutes. Fine. If he thinks nothing of it, neither do I. So I adjust my hat, nod curtly, and hook my arm through his.

He should be back by now. It’s been over two weeks, and he should be back by now.

WAIT TWO WEEKS??

They think I’m mad with grief over a man who felt little more than disappointment and obligation for me. How absurd.

How absurd to grieve a man who offered me no praise. How absurd to grieve a man who could never be pleased.

How unfair to grieve such a man. So, I won’t any longer. I’m ...

Kai and I were good. Especially so after Ava. We became impossibly closer with every night he spent fighting tears in my bedroom.

Her teeth snatch it from my palm, narrowly biting me in the process. Which she’s tried. Several times.

we managed to climb onto the roof of a run-down building where she had the nerve to pull a knife on me in my sleep.

I’m slightly concerned that she managed to get ahold of a weapon without my knowledge.

“I need my arms to climb down.” I smile slightly. “I could just catch you at the bottom.” “This chain would pull me off the roof before you even got there.” “Fine,” I say simply. “Then you’ll beat me to the bottom.”

IM DEADDDD

“Not what you wanted to hear, was it?” he says roughly. “Makes it harder for you to hate me.” I turn away slowly, resuming my slow steps down the street. “Harder, maybe,” I say softly. “But not impossible.”

“I was out of practice.” Emotion flits across her face. “Well, I’m sure you’ve brushed up on your skills since then.” I’m only confused for a moment before realization rams into me. She thinks I’ve been with other women.

The thought almost makes me laugh, and yet, I play along. “Does that bother you, Gray?”

“Haven’t braided any woman’s hair but yours,” I say softly. “Well, yours and Ava’s.”

“Ava?” She laughs humorlessly. “Let me guess, one of your many lovers? Perhaps one you actually liked?”

I’m silent for a long moment, swallowing back the emotion climbing up my throat. “Yes, I l...

“Why are you telling me all this? To make me jealous?”

I smile. “There is no reason to be jealous—” She cuts through my words. “Really? Because it sounds like—” “Of my sister,” I finish, talking over her.

I think I hear her jaw ...

“Didn’t know I had a sister?” I say simply. “Of course you didn’t. You and the rest of the kingdom weren’t supposed to know.”

“She was born eleven years ago—her birthday was nearly three weeks ago. For her health, my mother wasn’t supposed to have any more children.

“Ava wasn’t supposed to survive the birth, but she was a miracle despite all the odds.”

“So Ava was hidden, was a secret kept by the entire staff. Still is.”

“She was four when the sickness took her away from me.” I swallow. “I learned how to braid because of her. She was weak, and doing her own hair was something she struggled with. So I learned to do it for her. I used any excuse to spend time together. I’d endure every bit of training the king put me through because I knew she was waiting for me on the other side of it.”

MY POOR KAIII

“She had this beautiful thick, black hair. Big, gray eyes like my mother.

Everyone joked that she was the prettier version of me. And when I looked at her, I saw ...

Kitt never brings her up either. He knows not to. But everyone loved her. Everyone knows not to talk too much about her when I’m around.”

She’s buried beneath that willow in the gardens. The one you found me under that night during the Trials.”

“I think you overestimate love,” I say simply. “You can’t overestimate something that is infinite.” Infinite. How equally intimidating and intriguing.

“You going to attempt to stab me in my sleep?” I pause. “Again?”

“Well, it didn’t exactly work last night, did it?” “Still breathing,” I assure her. “But it was a valiant effort.”

“Don’t mock. I’ll push you off this loft.” “Then you’ll be falling with me.” She rolls ...

Hay is stabbing me in the head. And so is the finger Kai jabs me with. “You sleep like the dead.”

But I am Ordinary. I am the embodiment of the weakness he has been taught to hate.

I haven’t stopped thinking about Ava.