Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy, #3)

by Lauren Roberts

“You were supposed to be formidable. But you are nothing.”

But you were mine, and Iris died”—he runs a hand over his hair—“all for you to be nothing! A worthless Ordinary!”

The scar burns above my heart. O.

Two Elites have never made an Ordinary. Yet, here I stand, powerless. The product of strength with none to show for it. And maybe, for the f...

“So that is why you hate me?” I choke out. “Because the woman you loved died giving birth to me?”

“Because it should have been you,” he growls. “It should have been you that died that day, not the queen who bled out for an Ordinary.”

“But you have her eyes. He recognized you the moment you sat down at that table.”

“You are a Dual. That is why you hate me so much. I still managed to be Ordinary, even when you aren’t just one Fatal—you’re two.”

“You’re a Mind Reader, and a Controller.”

“Not only were you unable to kill an Ordinary baby, but you left me on Adam Gray’s doorstep so you could keep an eye on your daughter.”

“I’m right, aren’t I? A part of you wanted to watch me grow up. Every meeting, every conversation with my father, you were learning about me.”

“You brought those to the house when I was a child, didn’t you? Even wrote my name in the covers...

All your power, and you couldn’t even ...

You blame me for Iris’s death, because you couldn’t do anything to save her.

bet you couldn’t even hold her hand, couldn’t even say goodbye, with the king there.

She was never yours, Calum.

But I am. I will forever be your greatest failure.

Do I look like her, Father? Do I haunt you?

I will watch her die, just as I have my wife. I will mar her heart, just as she has mine.

I am lost without the purpose she planted in me. For her, I was better. I was a mere shadow of the beast my father made me.

Beasts don’t get the beauty.

Calum is the reason for my true father’s death, and this is the retribution I have searched for since Adam Gray died in my arms.

This isn’t a goodbye, Father. Only a good way to say bye until we meet again. Because I will haunt you in every lifetime. A shadow of the woman you loved, trapped in the body of an Ordinary you hate.

queen now stands where a thief once had—brave, benevolent, and brutal. She stands victorious.

Their notes, their stolen love—it is Kai’s and my life mirrored.

brother went who so desperately wished to fight his own battles. The one who ached to enter the Purging Trials if only to prove the strength Father never let him use. He was tutored; I was trained. And Kitt had always dreamed of being a victor.

“That was before I truly realized what a great team we make.” He smiles softly. “You are my strength. I am your control. We are matchless.”

“When I discovered my need for you was greater than my wish to be you.”

“If he was a loose end that needed to be taken care of, I would have done that for you. That is why I am here—to save you from brutality.”

Kitt aches for companionship. Brotherhood. Me alone.

“I was his in name, and still, he hated that I wasn’t his in blood,” Kai mutters. “That is why he never loved me, isn’t it? Why he pushed me until I broke? All because my power was never truly his.”

Kai Azer is not an Azer at all. He was a powerful solution.

“If that is true, then the king died thinking that you…” “That I was his greatest failure?” His Ordinary. His weakness. His death. Even powerless, I killed him. A slight smile tugs at my lips. I hope he saw his daughter’s face—the Ordinary he despised—as I drove that sword into his chest. “I’ll live with it.”

“That may be so, but you are my brother. You are more family than I have ever had. More…” He searches Kai’s gaze desperately. “More love than I have ever had. Father was obsession, Mother a ghost, but you… you showed me what love was.”

It is Kai he wants at his side—his brother and friend. And I alone stand between them.

This king is a reflection of the last, whether he sees it or not.

That is where he has always stood, torn in two different directions. Duty. Desire. Loyalty. Love.

Before me are the brothers who taught each other to love with a sword in hand and a muddy ring beneath their feet. They found companionship in what they could control, and in this moment, that is each other.

“You were supposed to dodge,” I say again, my words heavy with guilt. “I thought you were going to dodge.” The delirium that was clutching Kitt so tightly begins to slip away. “I forgot. I… I can’t even remember myself.”

Kitt’s eyes drift distantly to his queen. “I did care for you. I—I don’t want to be a monster.” My hands cup Kitt’s face, turning it toward my stern one. “Hey, I am the monster. Not you, all right?”

“You’re a pawn. But I’m… I’m the king who plays you. Though I don’t remember most of my moves.”

have always been right at your side—your brother, no matter our blood.”

“You were the only person that loved me, Kai.

“My fate was to save you from me.”

“You are the king. You are my brother.”

“You don’t need to be great, Kitt. You are good. You’ve always been good.”

Kitt slips that steel band free. And with the last of his dwindling strength, whispers, “Love each other for me.” Then the ring is pressed into my palm.

am lifeless on the floor beside my brother.

“And those that are nothing will take everything from you. Remember that, Son.” He lifts a stiff finger between them. “Do not make the mistake of feeling for her.”

Kitt will become so much greater than his father. Then, he will have earned his approval. Become worthy of a love he never understood.