Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy, #3)

by Lauren Roberts

“You buried him.” It’s not a question. But it’s not a surprise, either. Not anymore. “Nothing gets past you, Little Psychic.” Kai sighs out the words before adding, “Out in the poppy field. I figured that was a good place for him to rest.”

“I only wish Adena was there with him.”

“You really are becoming quite the gentleman.” “Only for you, darling.” He flicks my nose gently before backing away with a wry smile.

“As my queen, you would command it.”

“No chance, Kai Pie. I need you with me.”

And all it cost me was the torture of watching myself nearly kill Paedyn. Witnessing my deepest fear come to life while I tried uselessly to claw my way to her.

Vulnerably, she shows those who hate her the one thing she hates most about herself. And unashamedly, they stare.

I will tease her until my dying breath, spar until I’m buried six feet beneath her feet.

I am forever her rival, and I revel in it.

Psychic, indeed. Something else, entirely.

“I am no Elite. And that is all you see when looking at me—everything I am not. So let me tell you what I am.” She takes a deep breath, the scar above her heart rising and falling. “I am power earned, not gifted. I became one of you. Observant enough to pose as a Psychic, strong enough to survive your Trials. Over and over, I have proved myself worthy of your loyalty. “But I have faced far worse things than my own powerlessness.” She lifts an arm, running fingers over the scar beneath her collarbone. “I once wore this carving with shame, but now it is proof of my survival. No ability could have withstood what I alone have.” A smile touches her lips. “A king left his mark upon my heart, and now, I will leave mine across his kingdom.”

“The Plague runs through my blood, same as yours.” Paedyn’s voice is clear, carrying over the silent throne room. “But it did not bless me with strength. I took it.”

“I am Ordinary. Elite. A power of my choosing. And I will be your queen—all that I am and fiercely what I am not.”

“But so much of observing is taking risks. Coming to a logical conclusion. And I have been wrong before, sure, but I’ve spent a lifetime mastering this Psychic ability.”

“I forget that you are so young. Still so much for you to learn.”

“I have plenty of knives at my disposal to press to your pretty neck.”

She will not thank what has stolen everything from her.

Tilting my head toward the ceiling, I proclaim, “You hear that, A? I like the corset. You win.”

“Right.” I glance over at him. “Like the cockroach I am.” Those red curls fall over his brow with a shake of his head. “That does sound less and less like a compliment, I’m beginning to realize.”

But just as constant and formidably fierce, he has been my home.

Shadow and Flame.

She looks lethal. Formidable. And, oddly, she doesn’t look like a stranger.

You’ve made me look like a queen.” “I did nothing of the sort.” She tilts her head at me. “You have always been more powerful than you believe.”

But I do thank the Plague. I whisper my gratitude for it when you are sound asleep in my arms, when your fingers flick the tip of my nose.

When I thank the Plague, it is not for the power it has gifted me, but for the privilege of you. Nothing makes me stronger than the weakness that is you, Paedyn Gray.

He is a poet. A fool. A man writing his final goodbye.

Surely, we will not go through with this wedding. Something will happen

This is Queen Mareena’s crown—the trophy of my first Trial.

He looks as lost as I feel.

His hands fidget with the cuffs of his sleeves, twisting the buttons there incessantly. He doesn’t want this either.

This is duty, I remind myself. This is hope for the future and forgiveness of the past. This is sacrifice.

But, terrifyingly, he looks rather content to stitch his soul to mine.

Those who have in the past are dead. The one who would in this present is likely under a willow tree, already mourning me. So I face my fate alone and look it in the eyes.

“Don’t let her be your weakness.” Mother’s warning came far too late. She is not only my weakness—she is my everything.

“I can’t lose her too, A.”

Our marriage is for Kai as much as it is for Ilya. The Enforcer will never have to take the life of another Ordinary. He will no longer be controlled by guilt or shame. And above all, this kingdom will remain standing.

The mask he wears has choked all emotion from his face, and without me to pull it free, he becomes a shell of the man he once was.

There was once a time when I would have done unspeakable things to steal even a single gem. Now, I get to wear them around my neck like a trophy. Or a pretty noose.

And yet, staring down at the note, something nags at me distantly.

stare at the queen. She stares up at one. Blood claims blood.

I had felt that distant nagging then, that prick of intuition, and chose to ignore it. My trust in Calum had built a wall around my heart, yet all it took was a rose to have it crumbling.

A Fatal. A Resistance leader. A man who is always in the right place at the right time.

When I fought the king, his words meant nothing. Until now. “… a friend told me of his intentions and this Resistance he was a part of.”

Blooms did not spring flowers from the earth for Calum overnight. No, he has been tending to them for years. Because he is the king’s Mind Reader.

Father—my real father—taught me to trust my instincts. Never falter. Never leave anything unnoticed.

Even a Mind Reader can be read.

that is not the only royal you have killed.”

“It was the queen you loved. The one who died giving birth to me.”

This is not the first game I have been forced to play. And it will not be the first I lose.

“After you killed Queen Iris,” he bites, “the king handed you off to a Silencer. That is when he discovered that an Ordinary—an Ordinary—killed one of the rarest Elites known to Ilya.”