Powerful (The Powerless Trilogy, #1.5)

by Lauren Roberts

come home to. Though, I suppose she’ll be able to buy half the slums if she happens to win these Trials. How remarkable would it be if she manages it? Manages to win what is meant to showcase the Elite power, though she has nothing of the sort. But if any Ordinary could, it would be Pae. She will fool them all with her “Psychic” abilities, because if she hadn’t told me otherwise, I likely would still believe her act of observance. I burrow into our blanket, my mind buzzing with possibilities. And then I nod to myself, settling on my Fort redecoration surprise. This will be my gift to her. I haven’t realized I’ve drifted asleep until a ray of sun tickles my forehead. Rolling over, my face finds the mound of scraps to be rather comfortable before the strands have me sneezing. Once my nose has finished throwing its fit, I sit up, brushing back the bangs sticking to my forehead. My sleepy eyes are slow to open but quick to find the spot beside me empty. I stutter from where I sit behind the Fort, unsure what to do with myself. For the past five years, Paedyn has only woken up due to my perseverance each morning. And maybe a part of me reveled in the routine of it, of being the first person she sees. Though, the task is certainly not for the faint of heart. She’s stubborn, even in sleep. With resolve I’d rather not muster at the moment, I manage to get to my feet. Exchanging one oversized shirt for another, I attempt to run fingers through the tangled curls earned from a night ...