Page 104 of Powerless

He cocks his head to the side, inspecting me. “How are you feeling?” I open my mouth, but Kai beats me to my rehearsed response. “And don’t bother saying that you’re fine, because we both know that’s a lie.”

Another stroke of his thumb across my knuckles.

“I...” My eyes flutter closed, and I take a deep breath. “I’m feeling like I almost died today. I’m feeling overwhelmed and in over my head. I’m feeling furious and frustrated because I don’t knowhowto feel about all of this.” I pause while Kai waits patiently for me to continue. “And I’m feeling like I owe you a thank you. I would have died today if it weren’t for you saving me.”

He leans closer, eyes brimming with barely bottled-up emotions. “And I’ll save your life again and again, aimlessly hoping you will allow me to stay in it.”

We stare at each other.

Those pretty words of his have my heart pounding, brain puzzling over possible meanings. The tension between us is tangible, taking my breath away as he takes me in. I’m grasping for something,anything, to say, but I’m too busy staring to think straight.

And then a quiet question slips past my lips, snapping the tension between us. “How are you so calm after all this?”

I know the answer, and yet, I find myself wanting to hear it from his own lips. “I didn’t always used to be like this,” he says softly. “But practice makes perfect, and I’ve had a lot of it.”

We stare silently at one another, and once again, I’m struggling for something to say. Then I remember the leather strap I had stolen from him and slip my hand out of his to pull it from my pocket. “Well, I suppose this is the only way I can repay you. Though, it’s yours to begin with.”

He gives me a lazy shrug. “Keep it.”

I huff. “I don’t want your pity.”

“It’s not pity, Paedyn.” He sighs out the words, myname. “Besides, I have another one of my own now, and taking down Sadie was a joint effort.” I level him with a look, prepared to argue since we both know he didn’t necessarilyneedmy help with Sadie. He doesn’t miss the fight in my eyes. “Just take the damn leather, Gray.”

If he wants to offer me the one thing I need to help me win these Trials, then fine.

I’ll take the damn leather. But not before I’ve had some fun.

A smile twists my lips. “Say please.”

He looks away from me, shaking his head at the starry sky. “You have just been waiting to make me say this, haven’t you?”

“Dying to, actually.”

His forearms rest on his bent knees as he leans even closer, face hovering close above mine. The smile he gives me is equally as lazy as his gaze traveling over my face. “Please, Pae.”

A shiver runs down my spine at the caress that is his voice. “That seems to be a foreign word to you, prince.”

“Thanks to you, I have a feeling I’m going to grow very familiar with it. Few have the power to make me plead.”

I swallow, choosing to ignore his words as I shove the leather into my pocket and roll to face the fire once more, suddenly cold and content to be quiet. The temperature has dropped significantly tonight, and my thin tank does little to keep me warm.

“I do have one condition, though.”

I roll my eyes.

Of course he does.

“And what would that be?” I ask through my teeth, not bothering to look at him.

An arm wraps around my middle, carefully avoiding my wound while tugging me against a broad chest. I startle at the sudden contact, and a soft laugh sounds close to my ear. “I get to use you to keep me warm.”

There’s a certain hesitancy to him, the type of timidness he only lets me see in moments like these. He holds me loosely, delicately, like whatever shared fragile feelings between us could shatter if handled with a lack of care.

A question laces every lingering touch, every look too long, every layer of ourselves we choose to divulge to one another. The arm around me is no different, speaking volumes in the form of hovering fingers and hesitant hold.

Is this okay?

I swallow hard. My throat has gone dry.

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