Page 52 of Powerless

Why does she do this to herself?

I shake my head, already knowing the answer. Because I’ve done it before. I’ve hit pads, walls,anythinguntil blood dripped from my fists. All to find a release for the anger, the frustration, that was pent up inside of me.

And that is exactly what Paedyn is doing.

She’s still swinging too much with her arms, rather than using her whole body as momentum. She’s typically very technical when it comes to fighting, making this especially unlike her. But she’s tired and frustrated.

And despite me knowing all this, I can’t fight the urge to toy with her.

I step even closer to her back and place my hands on her hips, twisting her body as she throws another punch. She jumps and stumbles into me, her head tipping back against my bare chest. “Stop swinging with your arms and swing with your whole body,” I say, bending my head so I’m close to her ear. She sucks in a breath when my hand sweeps over her abdomen, the whisper of my fingers dancing along her thin tank. “Engage your core, Gray.”

Her chest heaves. Then she takes a step forward, the heat of her body leaving mine. My hands are still planted on her hips when she turns her head to shoot me an irritated look.

She knows I’m right. And she hates it.

She got lazy and didn’t realize until now, too focused and frustrated to notice. The thought has me smiling down at her as she huffs, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes before turning back towards the tree.

“Now, throw a punch,” I murmur, leaning in to add, “Correctly.”

Shockingly, she doesn’t argue, likely realizing it won’t do her any good. She squares her shoulders and bounces on the balls of her feet. Then she jabs, her fist flying towards the mat as I twist her hips in time with the punch. There’s far more momentum behind it, and I can see how much stronger she’s gotten in her short time here with consistent meals and training. When her knuckles sink into the pad, the lean muscles in her back and arms are evident.

“Much better,” I say dully, despite being impressed. After a moment that was most definitely too long, I finally drop my hands from her hips. “Now, do it on your own. Just to make sure you were paying attention.”

She stills, facing the tree.

And then there’s a flash of silver hair as she swivels around, throwing a beautiful jab at my face.

ChapterSeventeen

Kai

I almost don’t dodgein time. Only years of fighting allow my reflexes to react so quickly.

“How was that?” she says sweetly, flashing that startling smile at me.

I huff out a laugh. “What if I didn’t duck, Gray?”

“I knew you’d duck, Azer.” She’s close to my face now, a wicked smile curving her lips when she repeats the exact phrase I told her after throwing a knife in her direction.

“Looks like someone is itching for a fight.” My eyes flick up her body, taking my time. Taking in her stance on the balls of her feet, her slightly raised hands, and every stitch of clothing clinging to her body in between.

“I’ve just been waiting for an excuse to punch that smirk off your face.” She swings at me again, knowing I’ll duck under it. She’s toying withme.

“Wouldn’t be the first time someone said that to me,” I say as we circle each other. We’ve backed into a small opening between the targets and the weapons rack opposite them. I show her my palms, surrendering before the fight has even begun. “You don’t really want to do this and neither do I. Especially because I wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face of yours, darling.”

She all but rolls her eyes at me. “That’s funny because I won’t hesitate to mess upyourpretty face.”

I smirk. “I knew you thought I was pretty.”

At that, she throws another punch at my face that I easily evade. We continue circling each other, slowly. Damp hair clings to my forehead and I comb my fingers through it, pushing it off my sticky skin.

“You do know that I have eight powers at my disposal right now, and any one of them could drop you.” I grin as I say it, watching as her eyes narrow.

“I don’t want to fight your power—I want to fightyou. Just you.” Her piercing gaze never leaves mine as she says it, even as the other Elites turn their attention towards us, finding this fight far more interesting than their training.

“So, you just want me? No powers?”

“Yes. I just want you,” she breathes, annoyed with me.

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