Page 66 of Powerless

When a new waltz strums to life, a new partner steals me away. I’m suddenly folded between the arms of a young man, seemingly my age, with pale blue hair meticulously styled atop his head.

“I would have never guessed you were a Mundane from the slums by the looks of you,” he says, his gaze roaming greedily up and down my body. I shift uncomfortably in his tight grasp clamped around my waist, feeling the reassuring weight of my dagger strapped to my thigh. If it weren’t for the favor of the people I’m trying to earn, that little comment would have earned him a fist to the face. His voice is lower than before when he says, “You’re a vision.”

“She is, isn’t she?”

My heart skips a beat. The voice coming from over my shoulder is so cold I nearly shiver. Kai brushes my arm as he steps around me, facing the stunned boy still clutching me to him.

“I’ll be stealing her now,” Kai says simply, completely aware of how inappropriate it is to cut in during the middle of a dance. But, then again, he is the prince, the next Enforcer,a cocky bastard.

The man’s hand drops slowly from my waist, his eyes flicking over me one last time before he offers Kai a quick bow and steps away. The prince doesn’t miss a beat. I’m in his arms before the musicians’ finish drawing out their note.

He feels too familiar.

We fit together perfectly, pieces of a puzzle snapping into place. I shouldn’t let myself relax into his touch. Shouldn’t let the tension ease from my body when he holds me. But I can do nothing to stop it. Utterly and completely powerless.

His palm is flat and firm against my exposed back, callouses brushing my flushed skin. “You looked like you needed saving,” Kai says, and I catch a glimpse of his smirk before he spins me.

“For once,” I sigh, “I’m going to have to agree with you.”

“I’m sure I could think of other things we agree on.”

“Oh really? And what would those things be?”

“That he was right,” Kai says softly. “You are a vision. I’m sure we can both agree on that.”

I swallow, my heart beginning to pound a rapid beat I choose to ignore. Unsure of what to say to him, I instead ask, “And what other things do we agree on?”

“Hmm,” he hums distractedly as his eyes sweep over my face. “Are you having a good time tonight?”

I blink at him. “Well...”

“Spit it out, Gray.”

“Fine,” I huff. “Not particularly, no.”

He cracks a smile. “Then we both agree that these balls are incredibly boring.”

I can’t help but laugh. “And what ifyou’rethe reason I’m not having a good time?”

“If that were the case,” he says with a grin, “you likely would have stomped on my toes or pulled a dagger on me to get away by now.”

“Don’t give me any ideas, prince.”

He chuckles softly. “You’re right. I’d hate to bloody my suit.”

We continue spinning around the dancefloor while I ignore how close his body is to mine and look around the crowded room filled with chatter, laughter, and music. I spot Andy laughing with Jax as they stumble around the dance floor, and it doesn’t take long to find the other contestants in the crowd.

When my gaze lands on Kitt, I’m surprised to find him already watching me. He’s surrounded by a group of fawning girls, but his eyes are trained on Kai and me as we dance, doing nothing to interrupt his brother and steal back his date. And there, clasped in his hands are two drinks, one full while the other is nearly empty.

I’m about to look back at my partner when my eyes snag on a servant. The boy’s dark, curly hair bounces atop his head with each stride as he carries a tray of bubbling beverages through the crowd. His brown eyes sweep across the room as if searching for something or someone.

The boy from Loot. The boy with the leather. The boy I stole from. The boy with the note addressed to my house.

A tidal wave of questions floods my mind. Why is he here? I thought he was an apprentice, not a servant. Is he looking for me, looking for the paper I stole from him?

I’m swept from my thoughts when Kai spins me and my eyes dart to his without my permission.

Mistake.

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