Page 113 of Powerless

I bite my tongue as soon as the words tumble out of my mouth. I may say whatever I please to Kai, but this is the future king. If I wish to keep my head, I’ll have to learn to hold my tongue.

But the boy beside me only laughs, seeming less kingly by the second. “Good,” he chuckles, “because I have something to ask, and I expect nothing but brutal honestly from you.”

I swallow.

There is nothing honest about me.

“The Trial...” he says slowly. “Your thoughts?”

I choke on my scoff. That was certainly not the question I was expecting. “My thoughts? You mean, other than the obvious?”

He stops walking to take a step closer to me, dwindling the little distance between us. “And what would the obvious be?”

My eyes are pinned to the top button of his shirt, so I don’t have to look into his father’s eyes. “That these Trials are a twisted way to celebrate a tragedy.”

And there I go again, biting my tongue too late. But there’s something about this prince that makes me reckless, makes me want to tell him exactly what is wrong with everything he thinks he believes.

“Tragedy,” he echoes, his voice even. “You mean the Purging.”

“Yes, the Purging,” I breathe. “The banishment of thousands of people and the continuous killing of them that follows.” I’m practically spewing treason, but I can’t seem to stop now that I’ve started. “Those areyourpeople, Kitt. Innocent people who are still being killed today because of something they have no control over.”

He stares at me while I stare at his collar, avoiding his gaze. “The Purging needed to be done, Paedyn. You know that.”

His voice is gentle while mine is anything but. “Why, because the Ordinaries arediseased? Supposedly weakening the Elites’ powers? Even though they lived alongside the Elites for decades?”

He blinks. “You think they’re not diseased?”

I am playing a very dangerous game.

I clamp my mouth shut, knowing I’ve said too much. To answer that question truthfully is a risk even I’m not willing to take, so I take a breath before hurrying to change the topic. “I just think that as the future king, there are a lot of things you need to think about.”

I don’t look at him, but I can feel his eyes on me. “And you’re going to enlighten me about those things? Enlighten me about my own kingdom?”

Play the part. Play the part. Play the—

I bark out a bitter laugh. “Don’t be an ass and don’t pretend you know your kingdom! Have you seen the slums? Seen the segregation, the starving citizens?Yourstarving citizens.”

So much for playing the part.

I throw my hands up, shaking my head at the flowerbeds. “Would you even listen to me if I tried to enlighten you, tried to tell you to make a change?” He stands there, silent and still. So I ask again, voice urgent. “Well? Will you listen to me?”

His hands are suddenly cupping my face and guiding it towards him as I fight the urge to flinch. “If I listen to you, will youlookat me?”

My breath catches in my throat.

“Look at me, Paedyn. Please.”

And it’s the softness, the pleading in his voice that has me taking a breath and shutting my eyes for a moment. When I finally open them again, I see so much compassion and concern filling his green gaze. And for the first time, I allow myself to study those eyes. Because they have never looked less like the kings. The warmth in them washes over me, overwhelms me.

“All this time,” he says quietly, “I’ve been searching for a gaze you wouldn’t give me, waiting for you to want to look me in the eyes.” He pauses to take a breath. “Why do you avoid my gaze, avoidme?”

So, clearly, I’ve done a terrible job at playing the part.

“You...” I swallow. “You reminded me of someone from my...past. But the more I get to know you, the more different the two of you seem.”

I study him for a moment, surprised by my honesty. The king and his heir may look similar, but in this moment, they’ve never seemed less alike.

He smiles softly at me. “Does that mean you’ll start looking me in the eyes?”

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