Wicked Gods: A Paranormal High School Bully Romance (Gifted Academy Book 1)

by Michelle Hercules

  "How did you know?"

  Shit, if he knows my parents are gone, does he also know who my father was?

  "I can sense that you’ve been touched by death, and I caught the change in your posture when you mentioned your parents. It was an easy guess."

  I let out an exhale of relief. He doesn't know.

  "Let's focus on what I'm here for. I'm charging you by the hour whether I teach you or not."

  "Ruthless." Morpheus pulls the quiz from his pocket.

  "Look who’s talking," I mumble.

  "Touché."

  I have my work cut out for me. I should’ve charged Morpheus more. When he says he doesn’t get math, he means it. I spent the entire lunch break going over only a couple of equations. The extra money will be nice, but I can’t spend all my free time tutoring him. Besides, if I don’t help him improve his grades, the truce will be over. He’ll come for me guns blazing.

  I clutch my chest, remembering the panic I felt when Morpheus used his powers on me. I’m intimate with fear, but I’d never felt anything remotely similar before. It was sheer terror that gripped my heart in a merciless vise.

  A shiver runs down my spine just reliving the moment in my head.

  I left his place before him because I can’t afford a tardy. The moment I step foot inside the main building where classes are held, I sense something is awfully wrong. The hallway is crowded, and the place is buzzing. Students have their smartphones out. Some are clustered in groups, watching something that’s highly amusing to them. They raise their gazes to me as I pass, and the laughter and mocking comments begin. People point, guys whistle. Some idiot jumps in my way and asks for a lap dance.

  What the fuck?

  I quicken my steps, but it seems the faster I try to walk, the tighter the tunnel of students blocking my way becomes.

  “I knew she was a cheap whore,” one girl says as I pass within earshot.

  I clench my jaw hard, fighting the urge to ask what her problem is. Up ahead, the crowd opens up a little and I can see Phoenix at the end, smirking in a victorious way. Cherise, the girl who attacked me earlier, is next to him.

  Without breaking eye contact, Phoenix wraps his arm around the girl’s shoulders and whispers in her ear. An ugly smile slashes across her face before her gaze shifts to the TV monitor mounted closest to her. Several are peppered along the hallway, usually only broadcasting announcements from school.

  The screen goes black just a second before a video fills it. There’s no sound, but I know exactly what’s been broadcasted to the entire school.

  My performance at Unearthly Desires.

  The clamor and chatter increase in volume, smothering me. I want to vanish from this place, but my legs are frozen.

  Toby comes running in my direction before stopping right in front of me, short of breath. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  I can’t reply. My tongue is stuck to my mouth.

  “Come on, Daisy. Say something.”

  I look over his shoulder when Rufio and Bryce join Phoenix in the hallway. Both brothers are staring at me, their eyes cold and devoid of emotion. I don’t know which of the two hurt me the most.

  I honestly thought Bryce was different than the rest. I thought he cared. And Rufio… damn. I can’t even begin to understand what happened between us.

  My eyes start to burn, which is what jars me from my paralysis. I can’t cry in front of these people.

  “Toby, please get me out of here.”

  38

  Bryce

  I watch Daisy go with the only friend she has in school, and I do nothing. I should’ve made everyone shut their pie holes. I knew what Phoenix planned to do, and despite my conversation with my mother, I didn’t do anything to stop him.

  It’s almost as if I was testing how I would react. But considering how disgusted I am with the whole thing, how wretched I’m feeling now, I can only come to one conclusion.

  I was living in denial.

  I care about Daisy. I don’t know when it happened, only that I’m smack in the middle of feelings that are powerful and foreign.

  Daisy’s gone, but the fucking ruckus hasn’t stopped. The video’s still playing. Like a wave, I let my gift surge through me, unbound, unleashed. I aim it at all the fucking monitors, not only cutting the feed but making them explode with my mind.

  There are yells and then terrified glances my way. The lights flicker. I can sense the tension in every single student present. But destroying those TV monitors isn’t enough. I pop every single smartphone around as well.

  The Fringe next to Phoenix screams, fanning her hand, which got zinged when her phone fried.

  “Bryce? What are you doing?” Phoenix asks, but he keeps his distance from me.

  The commotion stops suddenly when my mother comes striding down the corridor, followed by Mr. Atkins and Mr. Rogers. She’s coming straight for me. I tone down the display of power, but not completely. I’m too fucking angry to return to my regular detached stance.

  “Mr. Kent, what’s the meaning of this?” she asks.

  I could tell her the truth, but she doesn’t really care. And what difference would it make to rat out Cherise and Phoenix? I knew about the prank and did nothing to stop it.

  “I got bored. I felt like exercising some of my Idol muscles.”

  She clamps her jaw hard. I can almost read her thoughts. She expects such reckless behavior from Rufio, not from me.

  “You go straight to my office. Now.”

  I rein in my power completely, and the lights stop flickering. Now I’m really going to hear from her. I’m sure she’s still pissed that I fried all the electronic devices in her office.

  She whirls around. “Everyone else, get back to class.”

  “I’ll call the building maintenance office,” Mr. Rogers says.

  “No, no. The other Mr. Kent and Mr. Westbrook will clean it up.”

  “Wait, why am I being punished? I’ve done nothing,” Rufio complains.

  I can’t help the chuckle that bubbles up my throat.

  “What’s so funny, Bryce?” Phoenix glares at me.

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

  DAISY

  Suffice it to say, I didn’t return to class. But I made Toby go. I didn’t want him to get in trouble on my account. I’m not sure what was worse about today, the fact that the entire school now knows how low I had to go to survive or that Phoenix, Rufio, and Bryce had a front row seat of my humiliation.

  Phoenix was all smug and shit, rejoicing in my fall from grace.

  I wonder for a fleeting moment if his attempts to be friendly were ever sincere and I messed up. But the doubt vanishes quickly. That Idol doesn’t have a truthful bone in his body.

  If the video’s distribution wasn’t enough, some jackass also shared my phone number with the entire male population of Gifted Academy. I had to shut my phone off to avoid reading some of the most insidious text messages.

  There’s only one thing I can be proud of today. I didn’t cry. Not even when I was alone in my room. Of course, that’s not to say I wasn’t close to bawling my eyes out, but at least I have that.

  Someone knocks on my door and I tense immediately. I wouldn’t put it past one of those assholes to come here to harass me.

  “Daisy, I know you’re there. Open the door, please,” Bryce says.

  “I don’t want to talk to you, or anyone for that matter.”

  “I hear you, but I need to talk to you. Please.”

  His humble plea twists something in my insides. It’s a yearning and it hurts. Like an idiot, I walk over to the door. My hand hovers over the knob. My brain is yelling at me to send him away, but my heart is begging me to hear what he has to say. I made a terrible mistake once, letting my guard down. And I’m about to make another. My heart wins. Sucker.

  Finally, I open the door, but before I let him in, I warn, “You have one minute. Make it count.”

  He nods, but when I close the door behind
him, he says, “I may need more than a minute.”

  “I don’t care.” I cross my arms in front of my chest.

  He runs a hand through his hair and then glances at my unmade bed. I curse in my head when his gaze zeroes in on the two items I have lying there: my dad’s diary and the book I got from the librarian.

  “What’s that?” He approaches my bed.

  No. No. No. If he reads any page of my father’s diary, he’ll know the truth about me. Then I’m as good as dead.

  But Bryce ignores the diary and grabs the thick book instead.

  “It’s just a book I borrowed from the library.” My voice is too thin, too guilty.

  He opens the tome almost reverently. “This is a rare book that dates back two hundred years. How did you find it?”

  “Well, to be honest, the librarian let me borrow it.”

  Bryce lifts his gaze to meet mine. “Why?”

  Fuck it. I’m so tired over everything that I don’t see the point hiding the information from Bryce. “Because I wanted to find a way to block Phoenix from getting in my head.”

  Bryce’s eyebrows arch. “Oh. Is he still doing that?”

  “No. He decided to punish me the old-fashioned way.”

  He lets out a loaded sigh. “I’m sorry about today.”

  “Spare me the empty words, okay? Like you didn’t know what your roommate was up to. You were all working together to bring the pesky Norm down, make me run away with my tail between my legs.”

  “You’re right, I did know Phoenix was planning on sharing the video, and I didn’t try to stop him.”

  He takes a couple steps forward, shortening the distance between us. The air is impregnated with an intense energy, and I’m not sure if Bryce is doing it on purpose or not.

  “Stay right there,” I tell him. “Don’t move any closer.”

  “Are you afraid of me, Daisy?” His voice becomes huskier, more dangerous.

  Not of you, Bryce, but of the crazy and stupid emotion swirling in my chest. I should hate him, not yearn for his touch, his kiss. But I can’t let him know that.

  “I’m not afraid. I just don’t want you near me.”

  Bryce flinches like my words hurt him. Whatever. He’s not fooling me again.

  He looks me in the eye. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I am truly sorry.”

  “You’re right. I don’t a believe you.” I lift my chin higher. “And I’m sorry about a lot of things too.”

  “You’re talking about our kiss.” He inches closer, and I’m caught between wanting to stand my ground or fleeing.

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t regret it.” He takes another step forward.

  I scoff. “Why would you? It all worked for you in the end, didn’t it?”

  “No, it didn’t. That kiss wasn’t part of a grand scheme to torture you. I wanted to kiss you then.” He pauses as if he’s debating what to say. “And I want to kiss you again now.”

  He breaches the final distance between us, reaches for the back of my head, tangling his fingers with my hair, and crushes his lips against mine. My entire body goes haywire. My heart takes off in a mad race, and lust begins to cloud my brain. His tongue invades my mouth, incendiary and merciless. I clutch his arm as my body begins to melt. Why does he have to taste like the most delectable nectar on the face of the Earth? Heady. Addictive. I’m one second away from succumbing to desire, to give Bryce what he wants, but my brain is not a goner yet. It brings forth today’s humiliation.

  I free myself from his hold, and shove him off me with all the strength I have. “You’re never touching me again.”

  Bryce blinks fast, staring at me like I spoke Chinese. After a couple of seconds, he loses the confused glint in his eyes. His stare turns hard, cold as he nods. “As you wish.”

  A clipped response. He’s angry like he has the right to be. Asshole. Thank heavens I didn’t fall for his game this time.

  He drops his gaze to the book still in his possession, then holds his glowing hand above the cover. The tome opens in the middle, and the pages begin to flicker rapidly, stopping suddenly at a random spot. “There. I believe this is what you need to block Phoenix from your head for good.”

  He returns the book to my bed and then heads for the door. With his hand on the knob, he turns back to me. “Good luck, Daisy.”

  It’s not until he’s gone and the door is locked that I can breathe easily again. I’m still shaking from Bryce’s kiss as I run back to the book to see what he marked for me. Is this an apology for everything he’s done, or is he still playing his wicked games?

  I read the text quickly. The solution is described in only one paragraph; it would’ve taken me weeks to find it. It’s quite simple but not easy to achieve: I need to wear a vial of Phoenix’s blood around my neck. Idols don’t bleed that easily. I still have the lightning-glass dagger, but how in the world am I going to get close enough to Phoenix to cut him?

  39

  Bryce

  Seeing the book Daisy had in her room jolted a long-forgotten memory. I remember catching a glimpse of a similar tome in my mother’s home office, and now I’m itching to find out if it’s the same book or if what Daisy has is a copy. My bet’s on the former.

  I need a break from the school grounds and all the rotten Idols inside, so as soon as school’s done on Friday, I drive up to my parents’ estate in the most prestigious neighborhood in Saturn’s Bay. A beachfront property, it offers a view of the most beautiful sunsets and draws the envy of many people I know.

  However, the beautiful mansion is not a happy home.

  The day I moved into my dorm room at Gifted Academy felt like I’d been liberated from years of oppression. Sure, my mother was already the principal then, but not living under the same roof as my parents made a significant change in my life. No more daily brainwashing sessions about our duties as Idols. No more harsh criticism and glances of disappointment from my father.

  The gate to the property grounds opens automatically as I approach. At the end of the driveway, the great white mansion with its Greco-style columns and opulent water fountain in front looms like a great beast waiting to devour my soul. Shivers run down my spine, and I clutch the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles turning white.

  I hate coming here.

  I park my car at the back of the building, not wanting my parents to be aware of my presence in case they’re home.

  No one’s around when I enter the house through the kitchen door. Not that my parents’ employees care. They’re trained to be invisible, so even if I bumped into someone, they wouldn’t address me.

  The urgency to get out of here is immense, so I make a beeline for my mother’s office, where I saw the book last. Halfway there, I hear loud voices coming from the closed door.

  Shit. My parents are home, and they’re having an argument. I’m about to whirl around and get out before I hear my father mention Daisy.

  My curiosity is piqued.

  Last Sunday, he made it no secret how he abhorred the idea of a Norm studying with us. But today, the argument seems specific. Walking softly, I approach the closed door and listen carefully.

  “I had nothing to do with Daisy Woods’s admission at Gifted Academy,” my mother replies.

  I snort in my head. I wonder if she was ever truthful in her life.

  “Cut the bullshit, Jodie. You’ve always had an unhealthy fascination with Norms, something you’ve sadly passed on to Bryce.”

  My spine goes taut. I’ve never had a fascination with Norms, per se. My interest was on the origins of the Idols’ hatred toward beings who are weaker than them. The only Norm who truly captivates me is Daisy, and I don’t know why.

  “Bryce loathes Norms, just like you taught him to.” My mother’s tone is bitter.

  “You sound angry about that. I thought you put that part of your tainted past behind you, Jodie.”

  “My tainted past?” My mother laughs in a derisive manner.

  Something cr
ashes loudly inside—furniture shattering is my guess. Tense, I make a motion to burst into the room, but my mother’s voice keeps me in place.

  “Go ahead. Destroy all the furniture. I don’t care.”

  “I should’ve never agreed to marry you. You were a Norm-loving whore then, and you’re a Norm-loving whore now.”

  What is he saying? Was my mother involved with a Norm before she met my father?

  “It kills you, doesn’t it? That I loved a Norm man, that he was the first to touch my body.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Jodie. I never gave a fuck about you. Our marriage was purely business, plain and simply. I won’t deny that killing your lover gave me great satisfaction, though.”

  “Bastard!” she yells, and the sound of more furniture being destroyed echoes through the hallway.

  “Oh, so touchy.” My father laughs.

  “Get out of my sight,” my mother grits out.

  “Gladly, sweetheart. But one more thing. If you care even the slightest about the safety of that Norm girl you forced upon our sons, you’ll revoke her scholarship immediately. I don’t know how you managed to get the school council on board with your sham of a scholarship, but there are many concerned parents who are ready to go to extremes to get rid of her.”

  “Contrary to what you believe, I had no involvement in her admission.”

  Why is she so adamant in denying her involvement in Daisy’s scholarship? She had no qualms about admitting the truth to me.

  “So I guess you won’t care if the Norm vermin has a fatal accident, then. They’re so fragile, after all.” My father chuckles, an odious sound that makes me hate him even more.

  I know what he’s implying. Daisy isn’t safe. She never was. Dropping a Norm in among a bunch of Idol students was like delivering a gazelle to a pride of hungry lions. The only reason she’s survived until now is thanks to Rufio and Phoenix’s bet. Now that those idiots are gung ho on destroying her at all costs, they declared open season on Daisy.