Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,68
he’s doing; he’s trying to buy us time, because only an Idol who is more powerful than the couple can perform the ceremony. Meaning Morpheus is the only one who can do it. But it’s not fair that his vision will come to pass in order to trick some fanatics. I love Daisy with all my heart and soul, and yes, the idea of an infinity band vow doesn’t scare me now as it did when I first learned of Morpheus’s vision. But the circumstances are making me nauseated. This will be the most important moment of our lives, and now it’s been soiled by these fucking hippies.
“What’s that?” someone in the crowd asks.
“It’s a powerful magic binding. It lasts for all eternity,” Ophelia replies. “It makes sense that it must happen first.”
“There’s only one problem,” Harry butts in, looking as amused as a prickly bear. “We need an Idol more powerful than Daisy and Bryce, which means more delays.”
“No delays. You have someone more powerful than both of us standing right in front of you,” I say.
Harry furrows his bushy eyebrows. “Who?”
Morpheus steps forward, letting go of the damper he had on his powers. “Me.”
Gasps echo all around us as they realize Morpheus is in reality the most powerful being they’ve ever seen in their entire lives. A demigod.
Harry and Artex shuffle backward until they literally fall off the stage, a fact that gives me great satisfaction.
“You’ve deceived us,” Harry babbles.
“A necessary precaution. I’m Daisy’s guardian. Therefore, if I suspect any of you have any ill intentions toward her or her party, you will regret it.”
“Oh snap,” Toby mutters under his breath. “Lots of cursing popping around.”
“Do we need to run?” I ask in a whisper.
“No. Morpheus’s power display has made the most aggressive ones wary. They won’t dare attack now. But they aren’t happy.”
“That’s absurd. We have no intentions of harming Daisy. She’s our savior,” Ophelia retorts, clearly offended by his remark.
Morpheus’s tough-as-nails expression doesn’t waver. “You’ve been warned. The ritual will take place tonight. I suggest you return to your duties in the mines.”
“Why at night and not now?” Harry asks.
“This is the way. Don’t argue with me.”
Artex’s eyes widen, and almost immediately he clutches his brother’s arms. I can sense Morpheus is using his fearmancer gift on the weaker link of the duo.
“Listen to him, Harry. We should definitely listen to him,” the man says.
“Fine. We’ll reconvene here after sunset.”
The crowd disperses, but their footsteps are slow and lacking enthusiasm. It makes me wonder how many are truly working the mines voluntarily.
“I must finish cleaning up your bungalow. We can’t have a demigod sleeping in filth,” Ophelia declares, bolting up the path with three other members.
“Do you need anything for the ritual?” Artex asks through a shaky voice. Morpheus hasn’t released his grip on him yet. Good. I wish it were Harry who was suffering, but his time will come.
“No, just peace and quiet. I don’t want anyone bothering us until nightfall.”
Harry grunts, openly glaring at us. “As you wish.”
He and his brother soon depart, and it’s not until they disappear from our sight into the forest that Phoenix whirls around and jumps on Morpheus.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“Phoenix, babe, relax. It’s all going to work out.” Daisy touches his back.
“So, what’s your plan?” Rufio butts in. “Surely you’re not going to wait until nightfall to escape this camp from hell?”
“Of course not. But I had to get rid of that mob before they turned against us.”
“If we displease those fools, we can say goodbye to our supply of lightning-glass weapons,” my mother pipes up.
“Are you saying those religious freaks have complete control of all the lightning-glass mines?” Felicity asks.
“I believe so,” Xavier answers in a somber tone.
“That was fucking smart.” Rufio crosses his arms.
“I guess we’ll have to make do with the stock we have now,” I say.
“Where’s the rest of your shirt?” Renata looks closely at Rufio.
“I had to improvise.”
“Did you manage to collect lightning-glass in its raw form?” I ask.
“Yeah, but we had a problem. Two miners caught us in the act, and we had to fight them off.”
“What happened to them?” Daisy stares at the trio, wide-eyed.
“We knocked them out,” Rosie replies. “Then we hid them in the forest gagged and bound.”
Xavier rubs his face. “They’ll miss those workers. We can’t linger.”
“I’m sure they’ll be guarding the parking area,” Phoenix says.
“I have a plan for getting rid of any watchdogs they have, but first we must have a place to