Page 25 of Powerful

‘But,’ his voice is alarmingly lethal, ‘we have our mission tonight. We have a plan. A plan forbothof us to sneak into the castle.’

I shake my head, hoping a smile will lighten the mood. ‘Mak, your uniform is done. You are free to go to the castle whenever you—’

‘No, it will be much riskier without you. I need your power there with me,’ he mumbles, more to himself.

I shift on my feet. ‘Look, I can see why you would be nervous to go alone. Why don’t you just write Hera a note, and I can make sure it gets to—’

‘You don’t understand!’ he shouts, shoving a hand through his disheveled hair. ‘I need to be there! We were meant to go together so I could ensure you’d be in my range, but now I’ll have no idea where you are…’

He trails off, murmuring more things I don’t understand. ‘Mak.’ He shakes his head at the mention of his name. ‘I… I don’t understand. What are you talking about?’

I reach out a hand, hoping to run it comfortingly down his arm. But he steps back, shoving space between us. ‘I need to get her out of there! Out of this kingdom! And if you’re too deep within the castle, I won’t be able to wield your power,’ he rambles. ‘Or worse, I’ll run into the prince who will sense exactly what I am.’

‘Wield my power?’ I echo quietly.

‘Yes, Adena, wield your power,’ he breathes. ‘Because that is what I do. What I am.’ He steps towards me, forcing me back until my shoulders hit the wall. ‘And now it will be even harder to save her.’

My mind reels, running over every bit of information given to us about the Elites. It’s public knowledge that Kai Azer is the only recorded Wielder in all of Ilya. Some believe it is because no one has ever possessed such power, while others speculate that the king has ensured his son is the most powerful Elite in the kingdom by killing off any other threat.

And I think I may be staring at one. May have been staring at one for weeks.

Confusion clogs my throat, forcing me to swallow. ‘You’re not a Phaser.’

He laughs, the sound strained and bitter. ‘No, honey. I’m not. And Hera is going to die in these Trials if I can’t get her out.’

I shake my head, fighting the tears starting to sting my eyes. ‘Get herout? You mean, run away with her?’ He opens his mouth, but anger is already spitting out of mine. ‘You were going to leave me! You were going to get Hera and flee the kingdom!’ I suck in a quivering breath. ‘You were going to die when they caught you.’

‘I was bound to die anyway,’ he breathes. ‘It was only a matter of time before someone found out what I am. And there can only be one Wielder in the kingdom.’

My vision clouds with unshed tears. ‘You lied to me. You used me.’

He shakes his head, urging me to understand. ‘Hera is all I have left—’

‘You had me!’ I choke. ‘You had me, and I would have kept your secret. You have no idea what I’m willing to do for the people I care about. But you lied.’ I stumble towards the street, wiping furiously at my damp cheeks. ‘At least I had the decency to say goodbye.’

I shake out of Mak’s grasp, hearing the faint shout of my name as I disappear into the current of people.

CHAPTER 10Makoto

I watch her climb into the coach, reliving the moment I watched Hera do the same.

When the door swings shut, she’s sealed from sight, likely smiling with her friend as though she wasn’t just wiping tears from her face. Tears that I am to blame for.

I used to wonder what it would take to break her. How long it would be before that happiness of hers was dulled like the rest of us. And now I wish I had never found out.

Because I did this to her.

I turn away when the coach begins rumbling downthe road, stealing her away from me. Loot is overflowing with gawking bystanders, all smiles and waves for their contestant who stopped by for a visit.

Pushing carelessly through the crowd, I feel the weight of every surrounding ability, each of them threatening to smother me. It’s the first time in days that I’ve allowed myself to acknowledge the burden of it all, the sheer suffocation of power.

If only she knew what I would give to be like her, be what I lied about. Because the Wielder I am has only ever made me weak. Targeted. Alone.

But all of that was forgotten when I was with her. When I was simply a Phaser in her presence. Now I may never get the privilege of being in her presence again.

Maybe I should have let Father have his way with me. Let him finish what he started the day I earned that gash through my lips. It would have hurt less than lying to Dena through them.

But instead, I ran to Hera – and now I need to do it again. But this time, I’ll be the one saving her.

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