Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,90
not?”
“Isn’t Chaos tracking you through the tattoo on your back?”
Bryce grimaces and then drops his gaze to the floor.
“Who is coming with me? Only you?” I ask.
He nods. “It’s better this way.”
“No. I’m coming too,” Rufio declares from behind Xavier.
“If you were eavesdropping, you know why you can’t come.”
“I’m no longer marked.” He pulls up his T-shirt and turns around. “Go ahead, Daisy. Touch my back.”
I glance briefly at Bryce, and then I press my fingers between Rufio’s shoulder blades. Nothing happens. “How is that possible?”
He pulls his T-shirt down and faces me. “You probably removed his mark when you unmade me.”
I swallow the sudden lump that forms in my throat. If I was looking for a silver lining in this situation, I found it. But I can’t voice my thoughts out loud.
“Fine. You’re no longer a human tracking device for Chaos, but I still don’t think you should come. It’s not safe out in the streets,” Xavier retorts.
Rufio flares his nostrils, glowering at him. “You think that just because I’m a Norm, I can’t defend myself?”
“He’s not saying that at all,” I butt in. “And I do think you should come.”
“Daisy—” Xavier starts.
“No buts. Facing that monster won’t be easy for me. I want Rufio there.”
“You should bring Toby too,” Bryce suggests. “It’s always handy to have a mind reader when you want to get information from someone.”
“He wouldn’t be able to read Delta’s thoughts if he has a block in his mind,” Rufio points out.
“Maybe not, but it won’t hurt to learn what goes on in the heads of those Knight agents.”
I get exactly what Bryce is implying. If the Knights were breached, who knows how many traitors they still have in their midst?
Xavier pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily. “And how do you propose we get Toby without waking your sister in the process?”
We all glance in our sleeping camp’s direction. Rosie and Toby are still entwined. Her head is resting on his chest, and he has his arm around her shoulder.
“I can separate them by levitation,” Bryce says.
“Ugh. Fine. Do it. But if Rosie wakes up, under no circumstance is she coming with us.”
“You don’t need to say that twice,” I reply. “I doubt she’s given up on getting revenge.”
Bryce lifts his arm, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. There’s a visible strain around his mouth. His nostrils flare, followed by a grunt. A few seconds pass, and when Toby doesn’t budge, he lowers his arm. “Fuck!”
“You still haven’t recovered. Don’t push yourself,” I tell him.
“This is maddening.” He yanks his long bangs back with a jerky movement.
“I can try, but I might fuck this up,” Xavier says. “I haven’t gotten the hang of telekinesis yet.”
“What are you doing?” Jodie finds us.
Fucking great.
There’s a moment of silence. Naturally, no one wants to include Jodie in anything.
“We need to talk to Toby but without disturbing Rosie,” I say.
“What do you want to talk to him about?” She eyes me suspiciously.
With a sigh, Xavier replies, “We’re going to meet some Knight agents, and we want Toby to come with us.”
Her cunning eyes become wider. “You’re going to see Delta, aren’t you?”
“I’m not telling you anything, Jodie. Now, if you’re done interrogating us, I have a job to do.”
“You’re going to mess up. Allow me.” She twirls her fingers, and a soft breeze stirs. It travels toward Toby and Rosie to gently move them apart. Controlling the air, Jodie brings Toby to us. He curls into a ball, which disrupts the bed of air keeping him hovering above the ground and causes a premature fall. Or maybe Jodie just dropped him on purpose.
“What the—” He jerks to a sitting position, searching his perimeter for danger.
“Shhh. Keep your voice down,” I say.
“How did I get from there to here?” He rubs the arm that took the brunt of the fall.
“We didn’t want to disturb Rosie.” I offer him my hand.
He glances at our small gathering, leery. “What’s going on, guys? Why the cloak-and-dagger attitude?”
“We’re going on a secret mission, and we need your special skills,” Xavier replies.
His eyebrows shoot to the heavens. “You want me to mind read? You know I can’t do it properly if they’re Idols.”
“But you can get general vibes, can’t you? On a scale of one to ten, how pissed off do you think my mother is?” Bryce asks casually.
“Uh…” Toby glances briefly in Jodie’s direction, getting flustered at the speed of light. His cheeks are so red, it looks like he’s wearing blush.