Page 52 of Powerful

My cell door is swinging open before I’m suddenly swallowed by a swarm of Imperials. Two of them are yanking me off the ground, careless of my cracked fingers. I cry out, trying to shield my hands from them and—

Now I’m choking on something.

They’ve gagged me with what feels to be cotton. My protests are muffled as they drag me from the cell and into the hallway. I’m frantic, eyes wide as they meet Al’s through the bars beside me. I can just make out his face now, crowded with wrinkles and covered with worry. He shakes his head at me, cowering in his corner.

All his friends end up dead. And I’m starting to think I’m not the exception.

He turns away from another doomed friend, growing blurry as my eyelids begin to flutter.

And then—

And then, nothing.

Blackness and blinding pain are all I know.

CHAPTER 20Makoto

A parade of bodies lines the path to the Bowl.

The sun beats down on my bent head, slicking me with sweat. I look around, scanning the hundreds of Ilyans trudging from all directions. It seems that the entirety of the slums has come to see the outcome of this final Trial.

I feel the press of each power, weighing down my steps. Following the current, I blend in with the bodies surrounding us and continue the trek to the looming arena.

Under different circumstances, I would have only been walking for little more than an hour. But with thiscrowd and the aggravating ability they possess to walk as slowly as possible, it takes much longer than that.

The sun is at its most scolding point in the sky by the time we file towards one of the many tunnels leading into the Bowl. The arena is coated in concrete, looking cold and uninviting. Conversations and footfalls echo off the arch of the tunnel we walk through before we are spit out onto the raised ring of pavement above the Pit floor.

Rows of seats rise towards the sky, filled with thousands of cheering Elites. The sheer size of this place is intimidating, let alone what is happening below us in the Pit. A giant maze of menacing hedges stretches across the sand, encircling a large opening in the center of it all.

I stand there, gawking at the arena as people brush past me in search of a seat. Only then am I reminded that I need to find one of my own and start striding further down the path.

‘Not only do you have to be the first contestant to reach the middle…’

The source of this booming voice comes from a large glass box further down the path.

The king.

I swallow, feeling years of fear come rushing up my tightening throat. I always thought the day I saw the king would be my very last. But there’s still time for that.

‘… you must also kill the person that awaits you there,’ he finishes, his eyes on the arena though irrationality has me worrying that they will find mine. But his words faze me least of all. I’m unsurprised by his willingness to sacrifice a criminal from his dungeons in order to put on a good show. Anything to up the stakes for his contestants.

The rest of his speech fades away as I focus on finding the one person I’m here for. Hundreds of powers buzz in my blood, and it’s a struggle to suppress them in search of her. I haven’t had much practice with the very ability I possess, seeing that I’ve been forced to hide it my entire life. So I hone in on the first, faint Phaser I can find.

My concentration shatters when the Trial begins with a ripple of shouts and slamming of feet against the floor. I watch as the contestants race into the thick foliage towards that center ring.

Shutting my eyes, I focus again on that Phaser ability. And, this time, when it tickles my skin, I latch onto it.

I follow the feel of it, eyes searching the stands asI head down the path. It grows stronger, closer with every step.

That is, until it doesn’t any longer.

The power hums faintly beneath my skin, and no matter how far I walk down the path, it never seems to get any stronger.

Before I know it, I’ve circled the entire arena, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of her bright smile in the crowd. Maybe a frantic wave of her hands when she sees me coming.

Nothing.

I stop suddenly, spinning around in the path. Confusion crawls up my throat to escape my mouth in the form of a frustrated sigh.

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