Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,96

us,” Daisy says, then looks at Bryce. “None of you.”

“The fuck we aren’t,” Bryce retorts. “I don’t care about Chaos. I’m not going to let you head out again to fight those men, Daisy.”

“It’s not wise, Bryce. We’ve talked about this,” Xavier butts in.

“No offense, Mr. X, but we need every man on this operation. You went alone last night and almost died,” Soren replies.

“What?” I ask loudly.

“It was a trap. Two of the agents were traitors. They had killed one of their own, Rick, and wanted to do the same to Daisy,” Toby explains.

My nostrils flare as fury erupts from the pit of my stomach. “I hope you killed them all.”

“Yes. They’re gone,” Daisy replies with a vacant glimmer in her eyes.

Damn it. She’s not okay.

Felicity, who joined us at some point, steps forward, pushing Bryce and me out of the way. “Let’s get you out of those filthy clothes, hon.”

She steers Daisy away from us, and my instinct is to follow, but Bryce puts a hand on my arm. “Give her some space.”

I’d bark at him if I didn’t read the sorrow in his eyes. It’s killing him too to stay away from her.

“Is Daisy going to be okay?” Soren asks. “We’re going to need every single person on deck when we storm the Neo Gods’ headquarters. Going without the Unmaker would be a blow.”

“I’ll go talk to her.” Rosie steps away from Toby.

Xavier gets in her away, leaning down. “Please try not to put more burdens on your sister’s shoulders.”

Rosie twits her face into a grimace. “I won’t. I promise.”

DAISY

I let Felicity take my clothes off and then wipe the grime off my skin as if I’m watching the scene from far away. The numbness has taken over, and I don’t know how to snap out of it. My entire life I fantasized about killing Delta, and now that I’ve gone and done it, there’s no sense of joy or vindication. I’m empty.

Rosie comes into the office space that Travis and Morty let us use. She watches me in silence for a moment, but I’m sure she has a lot of questions.

“Go ahead. Ask away.”

“Did you really kill him?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“You didn’t want to kill him before. What made you change your mind?” There’s no accusation in her tone.

I take a deep breath, letting my shoulders drop.

“Rosie, give Daisy a break,” Felicity chastises her.

“No, it’s okay, Fefe. I don’t mind talking about it. Maybe it will help.”

“At least get dressed first.”

And by getting dressed, she means put on the oversized hoodie with The Freaks logo. We raided their merchandise closet. There’s still blood on my jeans, but we don’t have a replacement for them.

Finally dressed, I sit on the leather couch, folding my legs underneath me. “My plan was to only unmake him, but when I was inside his head, I saw every single atrocity he committed in his life. It was horrible. Then the realization hit me that he wouldn’t stop his evil ways even if he didn’t have any powers. Unmaking him wasn’t enough. So I snapped and crushed his skull with my bare hands.”

“Holy shit, girlie.” Felicity widens her eyes. “No wonder you had so much gunk on your clothes.”

“Why do you feel guilty now?” Rosie asks.

“I don’t think guilt is what’s swirling in my chest. I feel numb.”

“It’s understandable, sweetie.” Felicity pats my shoulder. “To end a life, no matter how despicable that person was, is a heavy burden. It marks your soul forever.”

“Well, I don’t care about my soul.” Rosie lifts her chin angrily. “Give me a lightning-glass dagger and I’ll gladly end as many Neo Gods as I can find.”

“I wish you didn’t feel that way, but you’ll get your chance sooner rather than later,” I reply bitterly.

Before she can reply, the foundations of the building begin to vibrate and the lights flicker.

“What the hell” I jump to my feet while my heartbeat accelerates.

Looking at the ceiling, Rosie asks, “You don’t think it’s Chaos, do you?”

Expanding my senses, I attempt to guess who—or what—is approaching. All I see is a great mass of darkness. Shit.

I run out of the office and almost collide with Bryce. “What’s going on?” I ask.

“We don’t know, but something powerful is coming our way. We’d better brace for an attack.”

Just then, the lights go out completely. The patients in our hospital shriek in fright. Ellen and the other volunteers attempt to calm the children down, but it’s pretty hard to do that when we’re shrouded in