Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,44
when I read “Poppy’s Joint” on the screen.
“I’ll be damned.” I press on the Accept Call button. “Hello?”
“Bryce, oh thank God you picked up.”
“Daisy? I’ve been going crazy with worry. What happened? Are you safe?”
“We are for now. You have to come to Poppy’s Joint immediately. Xavier has been hurt pretty badly, and we need your help.”
“We’re on our way.”
“Ask her about Rosie,” Toby urges. “Is she unharmed?”
“We’re all fine except for Xavier,” Daisy answers. “Well, Rufio has a gash on his face.”
“It’s just a scratch,” he mutters in the background.
“How far away are you from here?” she asks me.
“Three minutes, tops.”
“Okay. I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”
The call ends before I can reply.
“You should have told Daisy about your current state,” Toby pipes up. “She’s hoping you can heal Xavier.”
“I know.”
“Then why didn’t you?” Renata asks.
“Because I will heal Xavier,” I reply stubbornly.
“How? You could barely walk not half an hour ago,” Toby reminds me.
“My strength is returning.”
Not a complete lie, but I’m nowhere near recovered yet. If they didn’t take Xavier to a hospital, it’s because they can’t. I’m his only hope, and I won’t let him down. I won’t let Daisy lose another important person in her life.
Neither Renata nor Toby offer any further argument, but I don’t need to read minds to know what they’re thinking. I’m delusional, making a mistake. Fuck, maybe I am, but I’m not going to simply not help the love of my life.
“I need directions to this diner. I’m not familiar with it,” she says.
“Turn right at the next intersection.”
She follows my instructions, and less than three minutes later, we park in front of the place where everything started. My heart lurches inside of my chest as the memory of the first time I saw Daisy comes to the forefront of my mind. I couldn’t have known how much my life would change that day.
I’m out of the car before Renata has the chance to turn off the engine. “You should wait here.”
“Oh, okay. Sure.” Her face falls, but I’m not about to walk in there with the enemy in tow.
Toby and I stride together toward the diner’s entrance. The neon sign at front says they’re closed, but the door is unlocked. I walk in first, scanning the space. The first person I find is Felicity, Daisy’s waitress friend.
“They’re in the corner in the back,” she tells me.
Before I get a visual, I hear Rosie’s low whimpering and Daisy comforting her. Shit. Am I too late?
Xavier is lying on his back on two tables that were pushed together. The front of his shirt is completely drenched in blood, and his tan skin is ashen, the color of death. But his chest is moving. He’s not gone yet.
Daisy turns her head in my direction. A gasp leaves her mouth right before she runs into my arms. I crush her against my chest, relieved beyond measure that she’s unharmed. I kiss the top of her head while I drown in her scent.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Bryce.” She pulls back and gazes into my eyes. “Are you okay? Rufio told me you got hurt.”
She drops her eyes as she runs her hands down my chest. “Your jacket. It’s covered in blood.”
“I got into an altercation with a few Idols. I was outnumbered, and they caught me by surprise.”
“They made you bleed. They used lightning-glass against you.”
I clench my jaw, waiting for Daisy to come to the inevitable conclusion. When her face falls and her eyes fills with tears, I know she did.
“The poison. You can’t possibly have recovered from it yet.”
“I’m much better than I was an hour ago.” I glance at Xavier. “I’m going to help your uncle, Daisy.”
A fat tear rolls down her cheek, which I hastily wipe away. “Please don’t cry, my love. Everything will be okay.”
I walk around her to inspect Xavier’s wound. He got shot in his stomach, and it’s a miracle he hasn’t died yet. Those are usually fatal.
“Don’t look so shocked, kid,” Xavier croaks. “I’m a different kind of Fringe. I heal faster than most.”
“Different or not, you need my help.” I glance at Phoenix, who is sitting nearby, looking positively wretched. “Have you removed the bullet from him yet?”
He faces me, blinking several times as if my voice woke him from a daydream. “No, we didn’t want to cause more bleeding or internal damage before you got here.”
“All right. Can you do it now? I have to save all my strength for the