Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy, #3)

by Lauren Roberts

“Every brutal act is born of love.”

is my turn to become the difference I always dreamed of being, even if the king’s reasonings do not resemble my own.

I am the sacrifice that Ordinaries have bled and died for.

Every moment of my life has built up to this one. This one fleeting second of bravery.

Oh we need this but I wish it was Kai

“She does,” the adviser answers on her behalf. “He is still a babe—barely a year old and could easily be passed off as your own.”

soooooo they are only siblings by marriage???

“Roses.”

I wonder if she would pick something different with Kai

“Maybe, but it seems fitting,” I defend. “I admire the rose and its thorns. Even the prettiest things can bite.”

Anyone who knows differently is part of the staff, sworn to secrecy, and stowed away within the palace.

so someone here knows

This is not an opponent. This is the boy who braids back my hair and dances for the both of us.

In the end, an Azer will always choose duty. And my death has just become that.

For the boy I love, not the man ordered to make me his next mission to complete.

I need you to fight back.

you are NOT helping

Kai’s whisper is choked. “I’m sorry.”

its about time...were gunna need therapy after this

above the arena, finding my bloody face staring back. I look tired—so, so tired of surviving. For the first time, I want to be free of my fight.

“What if I want to save you today?” The dagger turns, his hand guiding its tip toward his own chest. “Maybe that will help make up for every time I haven’t been able to save another.”

The dagger’s tip meets his chest.

very romeo & juliet

“I’m sorry. I… I wish it didn’t h-have to be this way.”

okay but did we ever try to reason with kitt?

“I love you, Kai. I love you. I love you. I love you.”

I am grief. I am sorrow. I am anguish alike.

are we alive??

“The door is locked.” Another flash of sympathy. “The king has ordered that you stay here until he says otherwise.”

excuse me?!

“You almost died thinking it was me who killed you. Thinking that I would ever lay a hand on you again for any reason other than a caress. I told you I would never fight you again, but there I was, hurting you like I promised not to.”

oh thank God!!!!!

“And you are mine.” I smother my sobs long enough to whisper, “I love you, Malakai. I love you.”

“I could ask you the same, pretty Prince.”

“Always. And I’ll find your shoes for you in every lifetime if you’ll allow it.”

“It’s Adena’s boy from Loot.” She chokes on his name. “Mak.”

WHAT THE!!!!

“Don’t walk toward me wearing that dress.” I’ve never heard the Enforcer sound so shaken. “It only reminds me that I won’t be the one awaiting you at the end of that aisle.”

She will not thank what has stolen everything from her.

“You don’t want me to beg for you first?” he drawls. My fingers catch his chin. “Is that not what you’ve done since the moment we met?”

“No part of you will go unloved.”

“I love you, Pae.” I say this sternly, unforgivingly. “And I am honored to get the chance to.”

There is always the next ceremony.

this is not going to go well..

Stronger than I feel and more damning than I let on, I utter, “I do.”

noooo

And it tears me to pieces. He was going to save me.

“Thank you—” A raspy cough cuts the sentiment short.

this man is dying

Meet me in the garden at midnight. Wear a cloak—you are too beautiful to be seen with me. My heart is yours, always.

I KNEW IT

And when I look at Iris Moyra, the late and beloved queen of Ilya, I see a shade of her coursing through my veins. And blood never forgets.

wow i need a raise for all these plots im calling

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

“A pregnancy craving?” Kitt asks, in the hope of remaining on this topic. Gail’s face falters. “I… perhaps.”

nope!!!

The maids. They have been concealing his illness as best they could.

“It should only ever be us. You and me, always.” His gaze grows wild. “You remember that, don’t you? Before she came into our lives and left it in shambles.”

uh oh

Hell”—his laugh is ragged—“even the second she was born, Paedyn managed to begin destroying this family.”

ohhh noooo no no noooo

Today was evidence of that. It’s…” He swallows. “It’s best we move on.”

move on?! after all this work?

Paedyn Gray belongs to the queen and her love for a Fatal.

so he did clock that

This is the embodiment of a fraying mind.

“Of course I am.” Kitt’s voice is even. “So I can exchange resources laced with the Plague.”

never gasped so hard in my whole life

distractions

oh.

This was my father’s doom—the truth of our Plague.

“You said so yourself, Brother. That is why you’re here. To save me from brutality.” Kitt takes a step closer. “We make a great team.” A dark shadow crosses the Enforcer’s face. “So, just like your father, you will use me as a weapon.”

HOW DARE YOU?!?!? hello!? now i see where this death is coming from

Silence stifles the room. I step into it, facing the man I’ve married.

“I saw the way all of Loot kneeled before you,” Kitt hisses. “If the slums discover the truth of your lineage, they might rise against me to see you on the throne.”

heck yeah