Page 137 of Reckless
I fold my hands behind my bare back. “Unforeseen circumstances.”
“Ah.” Kitt drums his fingers on the large arm of the throne, looking uncomfortable in the seat. “And her?” he asks suddenly, nodding toward a kneeling Paedyn. Leaning forward, he glides his gaze over my face. “Any other unforeseen circumstances I should know of?”
CHAPTER 49Paedyn
He hasn’t looked at me.
I’ve been kneeling on the floor before him, and he doesn’t even have the decency to look at me.
His hair is disheveled, dull against the golden crown atop his head. It looks uncomfortably heavy, consisting of what must be a dozen gold strands all twisting between one another. I recognize the familiar tangled pattern to represent Ilya’s crest and the use of all powers working together.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes at the utter bullshit of it all.
“And her?” he suddenly asks. “Any other unforeseen circumstances I should know of?”
The silence filling the throne room is suffocating.
His words ring in my ears, hang in the air between us.
But it’s the unspoken question that has my eyes widening.
He’s asking if something happened between the two of us.
I fight the urge to look over at Kai and instead keep my eyes pinned on the king who can’t be bothered to look my way. The courtsurrounding us doesn’t seem fazed by the question they only know the half of.
I can’t imagine we look as though something happened between the two of us. In fact, I would argue that we’ve never looked more like enemies than in this moment with my bloody, kneeling body at his feet.
“I brought her back, did I not?” Kai says evenly.
“That’s not what I asked, Brother.”
I still at the title, feeling the significance of it.
That one acknowledgment of what they still are to each other is enough to have Kai’s voice softening. “No. No, other unforeseen circumstances.”
The lie slides off his tongue, sounding of sincerity. They stare at each other for a long moment, allowing me time to study this king I’m kneeling before.
Dark circles smudge beneath his eyes, aging him with nothing more than lack of sleep. His hair is ruffled, sticking up between the strands of his crown as though he’s been running his hands through it. Wrinkled clothes lie below an unshaven jaw while slightly mismatched socks tell me that servants haven’t been tending to their king. The faint outline of a box draws my attention to his right pocket, though I can’t make out what it is that lies inside.
Ink subtly stains his hands, as though he’s scrubbed them vigorously, leaving his knuckles cracked and dry. Fingers drum against his chair, his only sign of fidgeting, though his knee occasionally bounces. And his eyes…
His eyes are suddenly pinned on me.
Green and crisp like fresh due on a blade of grass.
Green and swimming with emotions.
Green like those of the king before him. The king who carvedhis mark above my heart. It seems to sting at the reminder of those familiar eyes full of hatred.
But this green gaze I hold is considering, scrutinizing in a way that seems too harsh for the Kitt I once knew. But this is not that boy. This is what is left of him.
“Good,” he says to Kai, though his eyes stay fixed on me. “Because I have special plans for her.”
Everybody in the room seems to lean closer in anticipation. This is what they have all been waiting for—my punishment.
I swallow, forcing myself to hold his gaze as he stands to his feet. “Ladies and gentlemen of the court, let me reintroduce you to who it is that kneels before you.” His voice is soft in the way that powerful people can afford to be, forcing everyone to listen closely. “This is Paedyn Gray. Once a contestant in the Purging Trials where she ranked quite highly for a Mundane. And to think aPsychicbecame such a threat to Offensive Elites.”
I catch the shaking of heads in my periphery, but keep my eyes fixed on Kitt as he continues. “But she isn’t exactly what she seems.” Grunts of agreement echo throughout the room. “Not only was your Silver Savior an Ordinary in disguise, but she was a traitor under our noses. Paedyn.” His eyes flick back to me. “Do you confess to not only being a Resistance member, but to conspiring with them as well?”
