Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,111

burst with joy.

“We’re finally together now for all eternity,” he says.

“For all eternity,” I repeat in awe.

Our spirits inch closer, meeting in the middle. His ethereal face leans into mine, and when he kisses me, an explosion of lights takes place. We’re enveloped by a vortex of raw, primal magic. I close my eyes to feel every single emotion coursing through me. The moment only lasts a few seconds before we’re jolted back into our bodies as if the elastic band connecting us to them stretched too far.

My eyes fly open at the same time that the tornado becomes violent again. Bryce is torn from my hands. Our circle breaks, and each one of my soul mates disappears from view.

BRYCE

The time Erebus bought us is up. The ritual of the infinity band must have alerted Chaos of what we were up to. My body is spiraling out of control. I’m tossed around like dirty laundry inside a washing machine. Pieces of debris hit me, and every time they do, it sends me in a different direction. I can take those blows, but my brother can’t.

“Rufio!” I call out. “Where are you?”

I hear no response besides the deafening howling of winds going at two hundred miles an hour. Then Chaos gets into my head.

“You’re too late. He’s dead.”

“No!”

“Your little vow means nothing. You can’t defeat me. Nothing on this planet can. I’m everything and nothing. I’m the void.”

“Bryce!” I hear Daisy’s voice. It’s muffled but strong.

The link of the infinity band flares up, and I use it to guide me to her. She collides with me in the next moment, going so fast that she almost slips through my hands.

“We have to find the others, but especially Rufio,” she says.

“I know. I can do it. Don’t let go of me.”

“Never.”

I close my eyes and focus on the connection I’ve always had with my brother. I thought my ability to sense him was linked to our powers, but it didn’t go away after he was unmade. It’s hard to concentrate when there’s so much noise in the background and Chaos keeps laughing perversely in my head, the sound akin to nails against chalkboard.

I’m giving my all, stretching my awareness to the max, when a burst of power enters my body, enhancing my reach. It’s Daisy, infusing me with her energy. Together we go much farther into the mayhem until I sense Rufio’s life force, close to the ground. He’s not alone. Phoenix and Morpheus have found him.

“I see him. Let’s go!” I shout over the cacophony.

We fly downward, swerving left and right to avoid the shit that’s inside the vortex. I have a visual of them, but before we come within reach, a bolt of lightning arcs down the funnel and hits Rufio straight on.

“No!” I shout, or maybe Daisy does. I don’t know.

His body convulses as the energy blast crackles around his body. Morpheus and Phoenix keep holding him, but Rufio’s head already hangs low, and the charred hole in his chest is unmistakable.

As if our thoughts are also connected, Daisy and I reach our arms forward and attempt to pull the energy from the lightning blast from Rufio. The electric current converges back to the point of impact and then shoots straight to us. The blast is jarring, and it makes all my muscles spasm. I end up biting my tongue, drawing blood in the process, but those sensations are nothing compared to the raw agony of not sensing Rufio’s essence anymore. I feel Daisy’s pain as if it were my own, which is amplified by her still-raw feelings over Rosie’s passing.

Everything is so rotten; it has to end.

Chaos has to end.

RUFIO

I’m in a tunnel made of light. The translucent walls keep rushing by, becoming a blur. There’s a bright glow ahead, beckoning me. I want to answer the call, but something holds me back. I glance down, noticing a gold cord wrapped around my waist. It’s taut, keeping me in place as my body is sucked forward.

Something is coming to me, and at first, I can’t make out its shape. As it gets near and the brightness fades, I see my mother floating in front of me. She’s washed-out, transparent.

“You have to go back, Rufio. You aren’t done with your task yet.”

“What is this place?”

“An in-between.”

“So, I’m dead?”

“Not yet. You must return to the island and do what I couldn’t.”

The cord yanks me back, but I can’t leave, not yet. There are so many things I want to tell