Page 114 of Powerless

“Only if you start listening to me,” I reply with a small smile of my own.

“Deal,” he says simply before we slowly begin to head down the path once again. “I have another question for you.”

I almost laugh. “And I likely have an answer for you.”

He smiles before his face is suddenly serious, and he tucks his hands behind his back as we walk. “In the Trial, Ace made you...see me. And at the sight of me dead, you seemed...” He shakes his head, searching for the right word. I’m reminded of how he watched that scene play out on the screen in the Bowl, saw the look on my face upon seeing him, heard the scream that tore from my throat.

“Upset?” I say weakly. “Terrified, even?” For once, I look at him until he meets my gaze. “When I saw you dead, I guess I suddenly saw all the potential you have die with you. All the potential to be a better king for Ilya, to make changes, to rule how youshouldand not how you aretold.”

We’ve finally made it to the center of the garden where we stop beside the fountain. Now that I’m finally willing to look at him, Kitt’s eyes don’t seem to want to leave mine. “Thank you,” he says with a smile. “I know I can always count on that brutal honesty of yours. You’re the firstrealperson I’ve had the pleasure of knowing in a while.”

I almost laugh at that.

If only he knew. I’m a liar and a deceiver who used him as my partner so I could get the people’s attention. I stand before him as an Ordinary, one he would have killed if only he knew the truth, and I would die by the hand of his future Enforcer I’m too stubborn to admit my attraction to. And in the end, it wouldn’t matter howrealhe thought I was.

But I offer him what I hope is a sweet smile before turning to face the beautiful fountain that is so large, I now understand why the princes couldn’t fight the urge to swim in it. I lean over the edge, peering into the crystal water reflecting my face back up at me.

Shillings.

There had to be hundreds of them, just casually lying at the bottom of the pool. I recall how I felt on my first night here after seeing all the wasted food. I feel sick. So much money lying idly. And for what? So the rich could make their petty wishes?

I gulp down my disgust.

Play the part.

“Alright, what is it?” Kitt asks with more than a hint of humor.

“Hmm? Nothing.” I pause and peer up at him. “What do you mean?”

He laughs deeply. “You are fighting the urge to tell me off, aren’t you?”

I blink at him before sputtering, “How do you—?”

“You do this thing where you scrunch up your nose before you start arguing. It’s a dead giveaway.”

I open my mouth, and for once, no words seem willing to fall out. He smiles as he watches me struggle before I finally clear my throat and say, “Fine. The reason for me scrunching my nose,” I throw him an annoyed glance I likely shouldn’t have, “is because of all the shillings.”

When I don’t say anything more, Kitt urges, “Go on.”

“Well, money like this could feed dozens of Ilyans in the slums for weeks, months even,” I say evenly. “And yet, here it sits, wasting away for people’swishes.”

Kitt’s eyes flick to the fountain, and he frowns. “You’re right. I’ll see about having it removed and distributed.”

My heart leaps against my chest. “Really?”

His frown flips into a wide grin. “We made a deal, remember? You keep looking at me, and I’ll keep listening to you.”

I almost snort before turning back to the fountain. I remind myself that this small victory with the shillings could mean nothing. In fact, removing and distributing them in the slums may never happen. But he’s listening, and that is progress. It’s potential.

I bring my face close to the surface, trying to see through the ripples to the shillings beneath.

“How much money do you think is down th—”

My words are cut off by the cold water that rises from the pool to meet my face, splashing me lightly. I straighten and whirl to find Kitt laughing, his hand slightly raised at his side.

That damn Dual ability of his.

“You were right,” I say with a deceptively sweet smile. “I will stab someone for less than just sneaking up on me. Perhaps for even splashing me in the face.”

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