Powerful (The Powerless Trilogy, #1.5)

by Lauren Roberts

“Whatever helps you sleep better tonight,”

dryly.

Hoe.

Right. I’m supposed to be seeing her one last time. Not attempting anything treasonous.

nonchalance

This bitch pmo tf

but perhaps something equivalent to a moonbeam. Mysterious and unnerving. Equally as beautiful, yet, soft enough to stare at.

She will die in these Trials.

“Oh, I’m sure we will be meeting again, Adena.”

“I’ll only disappoint you.”

“You make even the stars envious,”

“And will you be beside me up there?” “If I should be so lucky.” “Promise me,” she murmurs sternly. “I don’t want to be alone.” I nod against her hair. “I promise, Dena.”

Holy shit. I’m not one for profanity, but my current situation seems to warrant it.

Plagues, he’s pretty.

“Can I fill you in after the Trial, A?”

“The king has requested to speak with you.”

Shit

may never see him again. Never see that smile that sneaks out when we are together. Never see that vest that hugs him tightly, just as I wish to right now. Never see that silver streak of hair I find so comforting. Never see if we trip into love together. But worst of all, I may never get to apologize for missing our date at the Fort.

And then I cried. It was a silent sort of mourning at first, tears slipping from behind squeezed eyelids.

Blackness and blinding pain are all I know.

And then my mouth goes dry. I’m forced to clutch the railing in front of me to stop from sinking to my knees. Because I know that dark hair, those curls that bounce with each terrified turn of her head. I can make out those crooked bangs from where I stand. My shout is swallowed by the roaring crowd. I’ve found her. At the center of a Trial.

And on second eight, I know nothing.

Her sewing fingers. They have broken her sewing fingers.

And I suddenly wish that second would come sooner.

“Thanks for picking the closest star, Dena.” I take a shaky breath. Forty, forty-one, forty-two… “Looks like you’ll be around to keep me company.”

In the end, it was all light and dark, loud and soft. I knew nothing but the memory of those I loved. One, a friend. The other, unfinished. And that alone is what I took with me into the next life. But I watched, warm and bright and high above. Just as he promised.