The world of Powerless cleaves society into supernaturally gifted Elites and hunted Ordinaries, a hierarchy enforced by King Edric and his Purging Trials. In this lethal arena, survival depends on strength, secrecy, and calculated loyalty. Every relationship—romantic, familial, and political—is tested as characters choose between obedience to power and allegiance to conscience.
Main Characters
Paedyn Gray
Paedyn Gray is an Ordinary masquerading as a Psychic—one of the lowest-tier Elites—who has survived Ilya’s slums through razor-sharp observation, sleight of hand, and relentless grit. Forced into the Purging Trials, she carries her father’s murder and a burning hatred of the monarchy into the heart of the regime that would kill her if her secret is exposed. Her enemies-to-lovers bond with Kai Azer complicates everything: he embodies the system she detests, yet he’s the first Elite to truly see her, while her found-family devotion to Adena and a burgeoning friendship with Kitt Azer anchor her to a vision of a better future. As she outwits powered rivals, she proves that strength is more than magic—it's nerve, intelligence, and the will to protect those you love—making her the face of Deception and Hidden Identities.
Kai Azer
Kai Azer is the prince of Ilya and heir to the role of Enforcer, a deadly Wielder trained to sense and weaponize others’ abilities. Outwardly cocky and disarmingly charismatic, he has been shaped by his father into a strategist and executioner, yet he remains fiercely protective of his half-brother, Kitt. Paedyn Gray fractures his certainty: drawn to her defiance and humanity, he begins to question whether duty to a brutal king can ever be moral. His arc challenges the very foundations of the crown as he learns to prize conscience over command, embodying Duty vs. Morality and risking everything to become the man he chooses—not the weapon he was forged to be.
“A king where I am a killer.”
King Edric
King Edric rules Ilya with calculated cruelty, the architect of the Purging and the lie that Ordinaries spread disease. A powerful, brawny Elite, he governs through fear, molding Kai into his blade while grooming Kitt as an heir who remains sanitized from the kingdom’s bloodshed. He is the static force against which every other character strains—unyielding, manipulative, and determined to preserve his “perfect” Elite order at any cost. As the story’s central antagonist, he embodies Power and Oppression, his deceptions setting the entire conflict in motion.
Supporting Characters
Adena
Adena is Paedyn’s best friend and found sister, an Elite seamstress who can phase through solid matter. Her unwavering loyalty and optimism keep Paedyn grounded, even as the Trials drag them into danger. Her capture—and death at the hands of Blair Archer—becomes the story’s most devastating turn, transforming Paedyn’s fight for survival into a mission to dismantle the system that killed her.
Kitt Azer
Kitt Azer, the crown prince and Kai’s older half-brother, is a rare Dual who wields both fire and water. Charismatic and empathetic, he begins to question his father’s laws as Paedyn forces him to confront the realities of life outside the palace. By the Epilogue, after King Edric’s death, Kitt ascends as a reform-minded ruler, embodying the possibility that power can be used to heal rather than harm.
Blair Archer
Blair Archer is a ruthless Telekinetic and the general’s daughter, Paedyn’s chief rival within the Trials. Ambitious and cruel, she despises Paedyn and harbors a possessive, unreturned interest in Kai. Her murder of Adena cements her as a personal and ideological antagonist, escalating the conflict from competition to vengeance.
Minor Characters
Jax Shields
Jax Shields is a fifteen-year-old Blink (teleporter) and the adopted younger brother of Kai and Kitt, whose irrepressible warmth and innocence contrast the Trials’ brutality.
Andrea “Andy” Vos
Andrea “Andy” Vos is a Shifter and the princes’ cousin—sharp-tongued, playful, and fiercely loyal, especially to Jax.
Ace Elway
Ace Elway is an Illusionist from the slums whose psychological torment in the first Trial makes him a standout antagonist for Paedyn.
The Resistance
The Resistance unites Ordinaries and sympathetic Elites—including Calum (a Mind Reader and leader), Lenny (a Hyper and Imperial guard), Finn, and Leena—into a covert network seeking to topple Edric and pursue Revenge and Justice.
Character Relationships & Dynamics
The central romance between Paedyn and Kai evolves from wary enemies to fierce partners, a bond that thrives on sharp banter, mutual respect, and the courage to see each other beyond roles. Their connection—electric, forbidden, and deeply human—tests the boundaries of an empire built on fear, making them the heartbeat of Forbidden Love and Romance.
Familial ties shape the throne’s future: Kai and Kitt share a rare, steadfast brotherhood that tempers Kai’s violence with Kitt’s compassion. King Edric manipulates both—weaponizing Kai while preserving Kitt’s innocence—to maintain control, fracturing the family and sharpening the brothers’ divergent paths toward power.
Alliances and rivalries crystallize within the Trials. Paedyn and Kitt form a principled alliance that opens the heir’s eyes to injustice, while Paedyn and Blair embody a clash of values—merit versus entitlement—that turns lethal. Beyond the arena, Paedyn’s connection to the Resistance expands her purpose from protecting Adena to fighting for all Ordinaries, setting her on a collision course with the palace and the Elites who uphold it.
Character Themes
- Paedyn Gray — Survival and Deception: An Ordinary hiding in plain sight, she proves that power can be wit, resilience, and moral clarity, not just supernatural force, aligning with Deception and Hidden Identities.
- Kai Azer — Duty vs. Morality: Trained as a perfect weapon, he must choose between orders and conscience, embodying Duty vs. Morality.
- King Edric — Absolute Power and Corruption: A tyrant whose lies sustain an inhumane order, he personifies systemic Power and Oppression.
- Kitt Azer — The Potential for Change: A compassionate heir who believes leadership is earned through empathy, he represents the hope that a corrupt system can be reformed from within.