Touch of Power (Alythian Legacy #1)

An hour in and I'm already antsy.

It's been five years since I've left the walls of Glasswood and my brain cannot comprehend how large the world is. The world has so much more color than I remember, even in the fading light of dusk. We pass by travelers of all ages with various amounts of livestock or lugging around goods. Now all I want is to find the nearest market and haggle like I used to but without the purpose of finding ingredients for Nan's salves, I don't see why I should make us stop just for this reason alone.

When I'm not staring outside the windows like a small child full of wonder, I'm instead highly aware of the awkward silence between Kit, Henry, and myself. Ferris, a seasoned guard already and has been watching Kit since he was young, has elected to ride alongside our carriage instead of being in this stuffy carriage. A wise choice might I add.

I barely know anything about Henry and despite being nice, it's clear he already is weary of me and my powers.

Sucking in a deep breath, I decide to break the silence. "Despite the rumors, I won't take your powers you know," I say to Henry.

Kit looks up from his book at the guard beside him as Henry seems to be flustered. "I... I- umm didn't think you were going to take them away," the young guards stammers.

I raise my gloved hands so he can examine them. "I wear these gloves as a precaution. I only take away powers if it is done skin to skin so you don't have to be so guarded around me."

"I didn't- I didn't mean to be guarded, Miss Ellis."

"Freya," Kit sighs across from me. "I think you've frightened him more than before."

"I'm not frightened!" Henry insists as his cheeks become a dark red. "It's just we have so little contact with the rest of Glasswood, so it's hard to separate the rumors with the truth."

"And what of the prince? Do you believe he's reading your mind right now? Reading mine?" I have no idea why I feel like a fight, especially to someone I barely know.

"Freya," Kit sighs once more. When I finally turn to him, he warns, "Stop." Then privately he asks, Are you trying to protect me, Ellis?

No, I snap back at him, though I suppose he does have a point. I'm just wondering how much you know him.

Kit narrows his eyes at me then turns to Henry. "Forgive Freya, Henry. She gets quite defensive of strangers."

I feel like kicking Kit in the shin for that comment but I refrain from doing so. "That's not true," I mutter.

"Oh, it's quite true unfortunately. How long did it take you to trust me?" Knowing he's right, Kit resumes his spot in his book while we all revert back to awkward silence.

Five minutes later, Henry suddenly says, "Well as it seems like I am the new one to this dynamic, why don't we get to know one another?"

Kit gently closes his book and looks between us for a moment. "How about I'll ask a question and you both answer."

"Is that an order, Your Highness?" I mutter.

To my surprise, Kit answers with, "Yes." Feeling my body heat up as I start realizing how poorly I'm acting in front of them, Kit ignores my embarrassment and asks, "When did you realize you had powers?"

Henry answers with, "Twelve," and my answer is, "Fifteen."

"And I was eight," Kit says with a pretty smile.

"Showoff," I grumble.

Kit scoffs and after he continues with, "And how old are you currently?"

What a dumb question, I say to him mind to mind before answering out loud, "I'm twenty."