Page 26 of Powerless

I sigh before settling into my usual cushioned seat beside Father. Crossing an ankle over my knee, I casually confess, “And after all this time, you’d think that I would have learned something useful.”

The thud of Father’s papers hitting the table is a sound I’ve come to associate with disappointment. “What seems to be the problem?”

“He’s being...” I pause, searching for the right word. “Difficult.” It’s the best I can come up with, earning a snort from Kitt.

Father looks less amused. In fact, he doesn’t look amused at all, and he never really has when it comes to me. “Then make himlessdifficult, Kai.” He pinches his fingers to the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes, the action making him look older, wearier. “Either make him talk or kill him. I have no desire to keep the Silencer alive if he has nothing to offer us.”

I glance at Kitt, his face grave, void of its usual amusement as he watches Father. When the king is distraught, Kitt is devastated.

“It’s that damn Resistance,” Father growls, his hand dropping from his face to reveal a grimace.

“Do you really believe this Silencer is in line with the Resistance?” Kitt asks, concern written in the creases around his eyes.

“Why else would he try to take a prince? My son?” The king shakes his head, staring blankly at the flickering flames in the fireplace. “They’re trying to attack me in any way they can. I thought I took care of them. Purged the Fatals so they couldn’t harm us, overpower us.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “Apparently, I thought wrong. Some remain, and they’ve joinedthem.

“We need to put an end to this littleResistance,” Father spits before downing the rest of the alcohol in his glass. “They may want Ordinaries to live, but in doing so, the Elite race and power will eventuallydie. Ridding my kingdom of Ordinaries is a sacrifice that must be made for the good of the people. But they are too damnselfishto see that. Kai,” his gaze is piercing when it lands on mine, “make this Silencer wish he were dead before bestowing that mercy upon him.”

“Oh, I was already planning on it, Father.”

* * *

I’m drenched in sweat.

Not an uncommon occurrence when training.

My bloody shirt is long gone, and the sun beats down on my back as Kitt and I circle each other in one of the dirt training rings. We go through our normal routine of sizing one other up and spewing nonsense before actually making a move to fight. The familiar pattern calms me, eases my restless mind for the time being.

We dance around the ring, swords flashing, laughing as I nick him on the cheek with the sharp tip of my blade, an action he returns in kind. The swords are soon discarded, replaced by our powers. Kitt easily hits targets with fireballs before dousing the burning wood with water. I, on the other hand, find myself indecisive and antsy: a terrible combination.

I filter through the abilities of those surrounding me, attempting to choose one to train with. The rings are full of dozens of Elites, all filthy from fights and slumped from sparring. I jump from a Flash’s power to a Veil’s before switching to a Shell, though I’ve never especially liked the feeling of my skin turning to stone.

I can’t seem to focus and that only frustrates me more.

I hear thewhooshfrom behind before feeling the familiar wave of heat that radiates towards my back. I drop to the ground, barely avoiding a stream of fire that would have singed off my hair.

“What has you so distracted?” I turn to see Kitt grinning crookedly at me. “Hey, I almost got you there. Wouldn’t be so pretty with that mop of hair singed off your head, now, would you?”

I can’t decide if I want to laugh with him or ring his neck—a common predicament I find myself in.

“I guess beating you in the ring today was too easy. Now I’m bored.” I shrug and grab some throwing knives from a weapons rack before beginning to pelt them at a tree a few yards away.

“Hmm,” Kitt hums. Even with my back to him, I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “Can’t stop thinking about the girl who saved your life, huh?”

By way of politely answering, I spin and throw a knife at my brother. It just barely skims past the side of his head, sinking into a target far behind him with a thud. He blinks at me. “Touchy subject, I take it?”

I push past him and rip the blade from the wood. “Now, what would give you that impression?” I shrug casually. “She clearly wants nothing to do with me.”

I like a challenge.

“And besides,” I add, clearing the thought from my head, “It’s not like I’m ever going to see her again.”

Kitt’s response is quickly drowned out by the sound of our names being yelled across the yard. We turn in unison, watching as a lanky boy bounds toward us. I see the flash of a white smile against dark skin before he disappears, simply winking out of existence. Before I even have time to blink, he’s standing right before us with a goofy grin splitting his face.

I curse under my breath. “If you pop up like that again, I’ll make good on that threat to stake you to the ground.”

“What our brothermeansto say,” Kitt cuts me an amused look, “is ‘hi, Jax, how are you?’”

The boy before me is only fifteen and growing like a weed. He’s gangly, clearly still trying to figure out how to work his long limbs. I don’t know when he suddenly started growing up, and quite frankly, I don’t like it. The small boy who lost his parents in a shipwreck is now the tall young man we’ve adopted as the little brother we never asked for. But after all these years, Jax hasn’t just grown in height—he’s grown on us.

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