Understanding dawns on Rufio’s face. He returns to the dungeon of horrors, disappearing from my sight.
“Go on, miss. You need to leave,” Vargas insists.
Bryce and I don’t speak until we’re out of the house. In the courtyard below, the signs of battle linger. Several bodies are lying around, including the two Fringes I slayed. I skirt around them, closing my eyes so I don’t catch even a glimpse of their lifeless faces.
Bryce hugs me tighter. “Don’t feel bad about the fallen, Daisy. They worked for a horrible man. They weren’t good.”
“But did they know who Mr. Westbrook was?”
“No one can work for such a monster and not know.”
When we finally reach the car, the others have already caught up. Phoenix has found a pair of sweatpants, but he’s still shirtless and barefoot. He slides into the back seat with me and Bryce, sandwiching me in. Both boys reach for my hands, lacing their fingers with mine. I glance down, and seeing me connected to them like that makes a huge lump form in my throat. I have no idea what’s going to happen now.
To distract me from my wretched heart, I ask, “How did Xa—I mean Mr. X find us?”
“Vargas,” Rufio answers. “He called him as soon as we broke through the gates.”
“So, do you think the butler was working for him this whole time?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out soon enough. He wants us to follow him.”
“Follow him where?” Bryce asks.
“Don’t know, but no matter where he’s leading us, we’re getting answers one way or another.”
I have no idea where we are when the car stops, but by the bumpier road we traveled on for the past ten minutes, I can make an educated guess that we veered off the main highway. I’m proven right when I exit the vehicle in front of a rustic cabin in the middle of a forest.
“Son of a bitch.” Bryce tenses next to me.
“What is it?”
Xavier stops ahead to meet the man who just walked out of the house. They shake hands. There’s no illumination on the porch, so I can’t see him clearly until he steps down the short stairs and walks toward us. I suck in a sharp breath. Mr. Silverstone.
Before I can react, Bryce steps in front of me, arms raised and ready to fight. “What do you want with us?”
Bryce’s reaction spurs the others, who also take an aggressive stance toward the man.
The blond Idol calmly raises an eyebrow and grins. “Take it easy, boys. I’m not here to harm you or Daisy.”
I walk around the human shield the guys formed in front of me. “Why are we here?”
“To welcome you back to the fold, Daisy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about your lineage.”
“Magia. That’s what this is about,” Phoenix says.
“Who is Magia?” I ask.
“Magia was a powerful Idol who had her powers stripped from her,” Mr. Silverstone explains. We don’t know if it was voluntarily or not. All that matters now is that you’re her descendant, and somehow you recovered Magia’s power. You’re an Idol.”
“But how is that even possible? Magia died millennia ago. The link to the demigods would be too thin,” Rufio points out.
“We don’t know that for a fact. Her powers were stripped, not diluted through the generations.”
“How do you know all this?” Bryce asks.
Mr. Silverstone grins. “We know many things, boy. Morpheus is not the only Idol who has visions. The return of Magia’s powers was foretold. Through centuries we’ve kept tabs on her descendants. We didn’t know Daisy was the one destined to reestablish the link until she met the four of you.”
All this information has turned me into a statue. My lungs are closing off; I can barely breathe. “How did I get Magia’s powers back?” I croak.
“It was me, wasn’t it?” Bryce chimes in. “When I saved Daisy, I somehow healed the broken link to Magia’s powers. You kept me trapped long enough so Daisy would be unprotected. You wanted her to almost die.”
“It was the only way. You didn’t know about your healing powers. You needed to be triggered.”
Bryce lets out a roar and sends a bolt of energy in Mr. Silverstone’s direction. I don’t even have time to yell. But the Knight isn’t hit by Bryce’s blast. He moved out of the way.
“I understand you’re frustrated, but it all worked out in the end,” he says from the other side of the clearing.
“Bryce, calm down.” I touch his back, feeling the electric current surrounding his body. The power parts away from my hand, almost as if I’m canceling it out. I pull my hand back quickly.
“What kind of power did Magia have?” I ask Mr. Silverstone.
“The power to unmake Idols.”
To be continued …
HATEFUL HEROES already on pre-order.
(Coming December 2019)
Also by Michelle Hercules
Wicked Gods (Gifted Academy #1)
Ruthless Idols (Gifted Academy #2)
Hateful Heroes (Gifted Academy #3)
Lost Horizon (Oz in Space #1)
Magic Void (Oz in Space #2)
Crossing Time
Savage Dawn
Red’s Alphas (Wolves of Crimson Hollow #1)
Wolf’s Calling (Wolves of Crimson Hollow #2)
Pack’s Queen (Wolves of Crimson Hollow #3)
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Michelle Hercules always knew creative arts were her calling but not in a million years did she think she would become an author. With a background in fashion design she thought she would follow that path. But one day, out of the blue, she had an idea for a book. One page turned into ten pages, ten pages turned into a hundred, and before she knew, her first novel, The Prophecy of Arcadia, was born.
Michelle Hercules resides in The Netherlands with her husband and daughter. She is currently working on the Crimson Hollow series and the Oz in Space series.
Join Michelle Hercules’ Reader Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mhsoars
Follow Michelle Hercules on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/michelleherculesauthor/
Connect with Michelle Hercules:
@mhsoars
michelleherculesauthor
www.michellehercules.com
[email protected]
Ruthless Idols: A Paranormal High School Bully Romance (Gifted Academy Book 2) Page 28
