Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,80

me?”

“Oh, darling. Once you experience life as a demigod, you won’t desire to return to a mundane life. Why do you think Nathaniel is messed up in the head?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. But I’m nothing like him.”

“We shall see. Now listen closely, because I’m not going to repeat myself. Imagine a ribbon that’s tying you to your mommy and Daisy. Now picture a big-ass pair of scissors and cut those ribbons. Presto.”

“Oh, come on. It can’t be as simple as a visualization exercise.”

“It worked for Daisy, didn’t it?”

“He can’t do it, Eris. Your plan to piss me off is not going to work,” Chaos says loudly, not in my head. “You bet on the wrong horse.”

My head doesn’t feel so heavy, and I realize it’s because Eris has left my mind. Either she left of her own free will, or Chaos sent her away. It doesn’t matter. She left me with one piece of advice, and I guess I have to make it work or go bust.

The Zions begin to chant in a foreign language and burn sage. Do they hope to ban Chaos from the premises with that? Only a mountain filled with poisonous fumes was able to keep the god at bay.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Helping you find your center. You must connect completely with your demigod powers,” Ismael replies.

“I’m going to enjoy tearing your little lover limb from limb. Her sacrifice all those years ago will be for nothing,” Chaos says.

“Why do you hate Magia so much?” I ask him to buy time.

“She betrayed me, just like her father did. It’s no surprise. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Lightning strikes the ceiling, punching a hole through it to land a few feet from me in a shower of sparks. I jump back, and a second later, another lightning bolt hits the spot where I was.

“But I guess lightning does strike the same spot twice.” He laughs.

The Zions continue chanting, but I can tell they’re getting nervous. Everyone is counting on me, but I remain clueless about what to do. I close my eyes and try to focus, even though it’s damn hard when I know Chaos is above me, ready to strike again at any second. Despite that, I turn my attention to my powers. If I don’t master them, then I can say goodbye to Mom and Daisy for real. Their images pop in the forefront of my mind. They’re both looking at me with undeniable love and pride, something I’ve always craved from a different person.

I don’t picture a ribbon like Eris suggested; I simply turn my back on them, shattering my heart. But the raw power inside my core vanquishes the pain as it takes over my entire being. It spreads though my body like liquid euphoria. With their explosion, the shadows come forth. I don’t become them like I did before, but I can’t feel my body anymore either. It’s almost like I’m in a different plane and mundane things such as hunger, thirst, and aches no longer matter.

With the full awakening of my powers also comes the awareness of Chaos’s reach. I thought he had escaped from the island and followed us here. But that’s not true. He’s still tethered to that piece of land in the ocean; only his conscience is free to torment us.

I finally change into my smoky form and zoom upward, traveling through the ceiling without breaking it to pierce the storm created by Chaos. He screams in rage as wisps of darkness attempt to reform the angry clouds. But I slash them with the whips that sprout from my ethereal wrists.

I can play this game forever, but that’s not the plan. I just want to hide the building from him. Now that I know he’s not free, I can meet him for our final showdown later. I turn my attention to creating the biggest shadow I’ve ever conjured. It grows in size at alarming speed, covering the warehouse in a matter of seconds. Once I know it’s invisible to Chaos and to the mortals too, I glance at what’s left of his pitiful storm. I zap the nimbus with a flick of my wrist, drawing another roar from him.

My lips curl into a victorious grin, but my amusement is cut short when I sense another presence nearby.

“Well done, little brother. You kicked Grandpa’s ass.” A young woman with hair as black as midnight and skin so white it’s almost translucent is hovering a few