Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy, #3)

by Lauren Roberts

beating for her, beating for every moment we may never get to spend together.

when words finally spill from her lips, she might as well have plunged a dagger into my back like she promised so long ago. “Then I will marry you, Kitt. To save this kingdom from itself.”

Omfg

Like braille, the severed flesh tells a story. Each drag of the king’s sword is traced along my skin, embedded into my very being.

I won’t let her see my marred skin, the O branded above my heart. That piece of myself has only ever been shared with Kai. And I intend to keep it that way.

“Do you think Adena would like this dress?”

for the first time since her death, the sound of Adena’s name doesn’t feel like a twisted knife to the gut.

I want to remember her like this. See her in the stitching of a dress or in the rays of the sun.

She paints my lips a deep red, perhaps to match the blood forever coating my hands—

I keep my gaze lowered after the jarring thought, hiding from my own reflection in the mirror. Because I’m scared of what I’ll see there.

“You look… hardened, in a way.” Those words don’t surprise me. But her next ones do. “In fact, you look like a queen.”

Comfort. Relief. Him.

Gray eyes flick between mine, soft in that way they only are when looking at me.

even the strongest of ties wear over time. It will be the slow death of us, spending every day alongside each...

I miss the carefree boy he was before

Before I pushed him to be like this.

Everything changed in that study, history unwritten and loyalties reformed.

Our marriage will be nothing more than a political union, but if we are meant to spend the rest of our lives together, I hope to restore some semblance of the friendship we once had. That is, if he even wants it.

I never thought I’d hear the truth from a king’s lips.

He looks at Kai like he once had—like a brother.

never imagined living in a world where I no longer had to hide what I wasn’t.

is a small price to pay for a thriving kingdom.”

I’ve always known of Kitt’s love for Ilya. That alone is why he’s willing to sacrifice power. Not for the Ordinaries. Not for me.

He must ache to grant these shouted requests for justice. After everything I did, he was going to kill me. That is, until I became useful to him.

The scar above my heart sears, as if to remind me what truly happened that day. “… I will leave my mark upon your heart, lest you forget who’s broken it.”

I can feel the imprint of the sword’s hilt, remember the exact amount of pressure used to drive the blade through Edric Azer’s chest. Feel the flick of a dagger, the release of a bowstring, the plunging of a sword.

Every death I’ve doled lives in the lines of these hands. And I fear who will find themselves beneath their next calloused touch.

My eyes slide to Kai, even as I slowly reach for his brother. But he doesn’t look at me. No, the Enforcer’s gaze is on the palm I’ve placed atop the king’s, growing darker with every second our skin grazes.

as we stride from the room, hand in hand, I will Kai to meet my eyes and read the message within them. Pretend.

This is home, however unconventional. However broken its inhabitants.

She feels like death itself. No, that can’t be right. Adena is the most alive person I know. She could never feel like anything less.

“Adena, wake up. I need you.”

A strangled gasp claws up my throat, tearing through the shuddering silence. There’s a bloody branch skewering Adena’s chest.

Blood blooms beneath the lavender shirt, staining her favorite color with dwindling life.

I scream again. Scream each time that branch lifts and lowers, over and over again.

“It was just a nightmare,” he whispers, slowly lowering our joined hands until the blade tumbles onto the mattress. “You’re okay. I’m right here.”

A nightmare is an understatement. That… that was torture.

“I heard you scream. And nothing… nothing has terrified me more.”

it didn’t stop. You just kept screaming. So…” A pause. “We both know it will take more than a locked door to keep me from you.”

He had kicked the damn door down.

Omggggg

“Darling, I’d be in this bed beside you if my brother hadn’t slipped a ring onto your finger.”

don’t worry, Prince.” My fingers fiddle with a lock of inky hair falling over his forehead. “I can do plenty of damage with a shoe.”

“You are devastating, Pae.”

“What are you doing?” “Stealing you away,”

“Tonight, we pretend.”

Omgggg

“I was dreaming about her.”

“I’m sorry you’re forced to relive that moment every time you shut your eyes.” “Not every time.” I shift, slipping off his chest to sit beside him. “Not when I’m with you.”

“Then I’ll never leave your side.” I give him a look. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” “It’s not promises I care to keep—it’s you.”

“You’re quite the poet, Prince.” Moonlight pools in the dimple that accompanies his grin. “And you the muse, darling.”

“Forever pretending, sneaking away from reality to steal a few moments together?”

“I pictured a different forever for us. One that took place far from here.