[TAKES PLACE DURING POWERLESS]

• • •

"That was sloppy, Gray, even for you."

My first instinct is to hold my ground at the sound of his voice. But I can't help whirling away from the tree I've been attacking with daggers at his little comment.

As I cock a hand on my hip, I turn the blade in my palm away from my body to shield myself. My typical tank does little to protect me from weapons, even one as meager as this.

"Are you implying," I say, meeting a pair of stormy gray eyes that glimmer with the hint of amusement, "that all my tosses are sloppy?"

He has the audacity to laugh. "Of course not." His lips tug into a crooked grin. "But they certainly are when I'm standing behind you."

"I didn't know you were there."

He approaches, leaving only a hairbreadth between us. "Then why," he murmurs, "did you miss?"

I swallow. I refuse to glance back at the enormous tree I've been attacking. Since I've exhausted all my usual practicing techniques, today I took it upon myself to skewer every single branch of the tallest tree on the palace grounds. It seemed worthwhile for the first several throws, seeing as the branches were low-hanging. But as I've strained my neck to aim for the ones towering hundreds of feet above, my careful aim has faltered.

"Because," I mutter, "the branches I've been trying to hit are too high." Gritting my teeth, I mockingly add, "Even for me."

He smirks. "Then why try?"

"I'm no quitter."

If I'm able to pelt just a few more . . . I'll have decorated each and every branch of the entire tree with a blade.

Kai's laugh is low. And then, his lips part to utter the most ridiculous — and unpredictable — words I've ever heard.

"Get on my shoulders."

This time, both my hands fly to my hips. "Excuse me?"

"My shoulders," he repeats. "With my help, you'll be able to skewer those last three branches you're insistent on hitting."

"I don't need your help."

"You're right, Gray." He takes a step closer and revises my statement: "You need my height."

I mutter a slew of colorful words beneath my breath.

I'm not short for my age, but I'm certainly not above average either. And Kai . . .

Is — unfortunately — almost a foot taller than me.

And that's all I need.

Kai taps on his shoulders, still smiling unbearably. "Need me to kneel down, or would you rather climb your way to the top?"

I scoff. "Kneel, prince. But only because I can pretend you're worshiping me."

"There's no need to need to pretend, Gray. I am." The wink that accompanies his words makes my eyes roll.

As Kai kneels down on the soft grass beneath his boots, I circle around until I'm just behind him. Then, without informing him of my plans, I hop easily and adeptly onto his shoulders.

Although his posture doesn't buckle, he grunts at the surprise. "Are you trying to clobber me?"

I grin. "I'm not trying not to."

"You're unhinged."

"You're insufferable."

"Absurd."

"Foolish."

"Psychotic. Which is ironic, since —"

I slip a dagger from my boot and press it to the column of his throat. "Would you prefer to finish that sentence," I hiss, "or keep your head?"

Kai pushes the dagger gingerly away from his windpipe before he huffs. "If I lost my head, I'd lose the privilege of speaking to you. And beholding you. Not to mention —"

"You're more concerned about that than imminent death?"

"Losing you is death, darling."

At this comment, I still. He's done it.

The prince has rendered me speechless.

And when he whips to his feet in a half second, knocking the air from my lungs in surprise, it seems he's rendered me breathless as well.

He smirks as I shift, clinging to his broad shoulders to steady myself. "Can't keep your hands off me?"

Since I'm still gripping a blade, I slide it right back into residence at his throat. "Not when I'm holding a dagger, no."

He laughs despite the weapon pressed against his skin. "Twice in one day? I think that's a record."

"If you don't seal your lips anytime soon, it'll be three." I slide it back to my side as I instead stare up at the tree I should be focusing on.

Kai huffs as I continue shifting atop his shoulders, seeking the best position.

"Not strong enough to support me?" I say through a smile.

"You're a stick, Gray. Even a malnourished servant boy could throw you over his shoulder."

My smile slides into a smirk. "Then why are your legs shaking?"

His gaze snaps to his strong legs, which are not, contrary to my words, shaking.

"Little witch," he mutters.

"I've been called worse," I respond, staring up at the branch I'm determined to skewer. Sparing a glance down at the prince, I add, "Mostly by you."

His grin spreads. "And if you don't start throwing those knifes soon, I'll be adding incompetent to that list."

"Desperate to get me off your shoulders?"

"On the contrary, I'm enjoying this." He meets my eyes as I cock a blade towards my preying branch. "However, hesitation is a weakness. Aim," he murmurs, mimicking holding a blade up in synchrony with mine, "and fire."

Muttering below my breath, I do his bidding.

Aim.

And.

Fire.

"Impressive, Gray."

I've not only punctured the branch, but done it with precision. Right in the middle.

I feel myself grin.

Two branches left.

I pull out another blade from my boot, but just as I'm hurling it upward, the prince has the audacity to sneeze. I watch, utterly annoyed, as my blade misses the branch by several feet.

"Bastard," I mutter.

"'Bless you', would be appropriate." Kai's finger traces lazily over my ankle as he reaches up to scratch his nose. "Although 'bastard' is a start."

"Sneeze one more time and I'll slice your throat open."

"I can't control when I sneeze, Gray."

"Learn to." Before cocking my weapon, I slide it just a hairbreadth away from the skin of his neck.

The next knife I throw is just as successful as the first, although it's less impressive since it's lower than the previous.

"Would a round of applause also earn me a knife to the throat?" Kai murmurs.

"Yes, it would."

He falls silent, still smirking. When he offers me a small salute to show his acknowledgement, I nick his ring finger with my knife.

It draws blood.

Kai lifts the finger to his lips to pause the bleeding, unfazed. "This is far from a fatal wound, if that's what you were going for."

"It's a reminder," I correct him, "that annoying me has its consequences."

"I'll take my chances."

Since I've already put a blade to his throat several times, I settle for a headlock. I constrict his breathing just enough to restrain him from speaking. If I do more, he'll likely make us both collapse.

With my arm still tight around his neck, I say, "There's only one branch left, Malakai. If you keep quiet I might actually thank you."

His eyebrows fly upward in interest.

I loosen my hold, and when he remains silent, I release him from the headlock altogether. Miraculously, he stays both quiet and still while I aim my knife and let it fly with enough power to slice through the tree branch.

Kai starts to say something but covers it with a cough, remembering his vow of silence.

I grin.

I fully intend to shimmy my way back down to the ground, but Kai deigns the honor of kneeling back onto the dirt. He even offers me a hand, although my pride is too inflated to take it.

After I've hopped down to the dirt, admiring the tree I've decorated with daggers, Kai opens his mouth, and my smile fades into a scowl.

"I'm not hearing a thank you."

"I said I might thank you. Not that I would."

He huffs out a breath. "She-devil."

"Half-wit."

"Pickpocket."

"Headache."

Kai smirks as I dust the dirt off my pants. "Your insults are getting weaker by the day."

"Well, I'm running out of loathsome words for you."

Laughing, he says, "And I thought that was impossible." He leans in too close for comfort as he adds, "I suppose you'll have to resort to using nice ones, then."

I'm about to utter a string of insults even Kai wouldn't dare repeat, when suddenly, a force unbeknownst to either of us knocks me off my feet and onto my back.

The air is thrust out of my lungs, leaving me lying helpless while I sputter to cough. When it finally arrives, I flip over and nearly hurl.

The moment I'm back on my feet, however, my dagger is drawn and directed pointedly at Blair, the owner of the tele ability that just deprived me of the most basic human need: air.

She's standing near one of the many trees that ring the palace. Instead of being out to train like the rest of us, she's out for blood.

Before I can fling the knife at her, I realize that the dark-haired young man beside me has beaten me to it.

Kai has the audacity to look bored as he chucks a dagger of his own at her head. And while she focuses her attention on blocking it with her mind, he borrows his brother's dual ability to set the ends of her lilac hair on fire.

Until now, I hadn't noticed that Kitt was standing nearby, overseeing his future people train for the purging trails, although I must admit, it's clever of Kai to borrow the ability now.

Not that I would admit that to his face.

As Blair shrieks, dropping to the ground, I can't help my laugh. She rolls around until the flames have been extinguished, but that doesn't stop a chunk of hair from being seared off.

"I'm going to stab you," she hisses at Kai, struggling to her feet.

He smiles, nonchalant. "Once you look in the mirror, you'll want to do much more than stab me."

Her eyes widen in horror. She clutches her hair, trying to gauge the damage that's, by now, irreversible.

Finally, she huffs. At me.

"You really need a prince to protect you, Paedyn?"

The words slide under my skin, just as she'd wanted them to, but Kai jumps in before I have the opportunity to harass her with my knife.

"She's perfectly capable of protecting herself." Then, he winks. And I can't tell, for the life of me, if it's directed at Blair, or me. "I set your hair on fire simply because I wanted to watch you squirm." Grinning, he adds, "And you are particularly good at that."

Blair tries to sweep Kai off his feet next, but she's too exhausted to do much more than make him trip.

He regains his balance quickly and takes my arm. "If you'll excuse us, Blair —" He smirks "— I'll be needing my legs to take Paedyn to her room."

As he drags me along beside him, leaving Blair to her singed hair, I mutter, "That was callous."

"I kill for a living, Gray. That was merciful."

As we climb up the steps to the entrance of the palace, I choke back a laugh and say, "I changed my mind."

"About what?"

"About you being a gentleman."

His lips twist. "Oh, I am a gentleman, darling." As if to prove his point, he holds the door for me and ushers the guards out of the way. His lips brush my ear as he adds, "But only for you."