Page 6 of Powerful

With the hand unmarred by my sneeze, he combs long fingers through dark hair. It’s parted and shaggy and likely long enough to partially tie back with a strap. But when he brushes the strands out of his face, I catch sight of a silver streak hiding amongst the rugged black waves.

My heart stops at the sight. At the reminder of Pae.

‘Was walking through the wall not proof enough of that?’ he asks blandly, his eyes finally flicking to mine.

I doubt I’ll be getting so much as a smile any time soon. Or a kind word for that matter. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try to earn one.

‘Sorry, um, I’ve just never met another Phaser before.’ I smile despite the stony expression he wears. ‘I mean, obviously I knew there were others. I’m not special enough to be the only one. Although—’

‘See, as incredibly interesting as wherever the hell you were going with that is, we need to get down to business.’ He pairs a solemn nod with what he likely thinks is a sympathetic look. ‘So, I’m gonna go ahead and let you ask one more question before I dive into everything.’

I blink at him, temporarily dazed. ‘Excuse me?’

He raises his eyebrows. ‘Are you sure that’s the question you want to ask?’

‘W-What business are you talking about?’ I sputter. ‘What is going on?’

‘All right, that’s two questions. So, pick which one you like more.’

We stare at each other.

I can only imagine what Paedyn might have done at this point, and it most definitely involves a dagger. But I choose a far less violent approach – maybe I can annoy him out of my life.

I take a deep breath before plastering a smile onto my face. ‘Fine,’ I say sweetly. ‘Could you stick your hand through the wall for me? I’ve just always wanted to see someone else do it.’

He lifts a hand to run it down his face. ‘Honestly, I shouldn’t even be surprised.’

I wait until he’s walked towards the brick and stuck out a hand. ‘Oh, wait.’ I giggle innocently while he takes his time turning towards me. ‘Not that wall. No, I wanted you to stick your hand through that one.’

I point towards the bricks opposite him, earning a sarcastic grin from the nameless man I’m not sure I wish to see again. When he reaches my wall of choice, he turns to raise an eyebrow. ‘Do you have a hand preference? Perhaps the one you sneezed on?’

‘No, that would be silly!’ I laugh lightly.

His left hand reaches for the wall.

‘On second thought, your right one.’

He turns stiffly, barely containing his abundance of annoyance. ‘Any other requests? Maybe stick my head through as well? A foot?’

I shake my head, smiling a bit too widely. ‘Nope!’

He turns back towards the wall. Several heartbeats pound past in which he simply waits. After throwing a glance over his shoulder, he deems it safe to finally slide his hand through the wall. I watch it disappear onto the other side, smiling at the familiarity of it all. It’s oddly comforting, finding someone with the same power running through their veins. No matter how rude they seem to be.

After freeing his hand from the wall, he throws me a tired look. ‘Satisfied?’

I cross my arms over my chest in an attempt to seem intimidating. ‘And if I’m not?’

‘Life is abundant with disappointment, I’m afraid.’ He strides back over to me, voice deep and tone dull. ‘Now, it’s time I tell you why I saved your ass.’

I pin him with a questioning look. ‘Yes, I have been wondering that. Because I’m getting the impression thatit certainly wasn’t out of the goodness of your heart.’

‘Obviously not.’ He crosses stained arms over his leathered chest. ‘Speaking of, why the hell didn’t you just phase into a building and lose the Imperial?’

With a sudden urge to defend myself, I lift my chin. ‘Well, I… I never know what’s waiting on the other side.’

I am then distracted by my dim surroundings, as though seeing them for the first time. We are standing in a crumbling building, deserted by everything but whatever creatures are likely crawling around.

He stares at me for a stressful few seconds before stating, ‘Odd.’

---