Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,11
of me. He captures my face between his hands and leans down. “Please don’t be mad at me, my love. I know what I’m doing.”
“I wish we didn’t have to be apart. So much is changing, and fast. The world is more dangerous than it was before.” My eyes fill with tears, and I don’t try to hide them.
“I know. But we can’t let my mother loose like that. Someone has to stay close to monitor her movements.” Bryce moves closer to my ear. “She can’t be trusted.”
My blood runs cold. It’s one thing for me to suspect Principal Fallon has a hidden agenda, but for Bryce to feel the need to spy on her? That rings all kinds of alarm bells in my head. “If she’s not to be trusted, then why did Mr. Silverstone partner up with her?”
“That, you’ll have to ask him. I don’t know.”
He leans closer and kisses me tenderly at first. But I throw my arms around his neck, rising on my tiptoes to deepen the kiss. I don’t know when I’ll see Bryce again, so I need to get my fill of him, of his love, to hold me over. My cheeks are wet when we break apart.
He wipes my tears with his thumbs and whispers against my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I reply in a choked voice.
He steps back and then glances in Phoenix’s direction. “Don’t let anything happen to her.”
“You know I won’t.”
On the way to his mother’s car, Bryce stops next to Rufio and whispers something in his ear. I can’t hear the words, but Rufio nods in response.
While I was saying goodbye to Bryce, I missed Toby’s departure. He’s already by Principal Fallon’s car. Rosie is a sobbing mess, hiccupping. I make a motion to go to her, but Rufio beats me to it. He squeezes her shoulder and says, “He’ll be fine. He’s an Idol now.”
Rosie nods and then wipes her runny nose with the sleeve of her jacket. The moment is surreal, which explains my dropped jaw.
“Come on, people. We’ve lingered here long enough,” Xavier calls our attention.
With sluggish steps and morose temperaments, we board his SUV. Rufio asks to ride shotgun, which feels like another jab against me. Rosie ends up sandwiched between Phoenix and me since I can’t be near him without sucking his powers. As soon as Morpheus returns from Hawk City, I’m resuming my training. This succubus deal can’t go on for much longer.
“Where exactly are we going?” I ask Xavier.
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“You’re not going to make us wear blindfolds, are you?” Rufio asks.
“No. Why would I do that?”
“My father made us wear blindfolds when he took us to his Neo Gods’ lair.”
“We’ve established that your father is a major asshole. Please don’t put me in the same league as him.”
“I think we all got the short stick when it came to parents,” Phoenix mutters, reminding me that he may pretend everything is fine, but one can’t simply erase years of trauma and torture in a few weeks.
I wish I could grab his hand, offer some kind of comfort. But all I can do for now is keep my distance and pray I don’t end up unmaking him too.
5
Morpheus
I laugh without humor. “You must still be under the effects of the tranquilizer. I’m not a demigod, my father was.”
Andromeda twists her face into a scowl. “I know you’re not lying. But you’re wrong.”
Soren and his father are both gawking at me with renewed interest, which only serves to grate on my nerves.
“Quit staring! I’m not a demigod. Don’t you think I’d know if I were one?”
“It depends. Like you said in that alleyway, not all demigods are created equal. It seems you were talking from experience,” Mr. Silverstone replies.
“I wasn’t.” I pull my hair back, yanking at the strands. “The gods left this world many centuries ago. There’s no chance one came back to sleep with my mother.”
“Are you sure your mother is your mother?” Soren asks.
Without a second thought, I raise my arm, sending a dose of terror his way. He clutches his chest while his eyes bug out. Darkness swirls in my core, growing exponentially with my anger. I’m not sure how long I’d keep torturing the guy if it weren’t for Andromeda’s chain wrapping around my wrist and yanking back.
Soren lets out a gasp, leaning his hands on his knees. “What the fuck!”