Broken Knights: A Paranormal High School Bully Romance (Gifted Academy Book 4)

by Michelle Hercules

  44

  Daisy

  Five days have gone by, during which I didn’t leave my assigned room in Xavier’s real home except to eat. Without Chaos at our backs, and with the Neo Gods’ movement pretty much extinguished, there was no need to go to a safe house.

  Begrudgingly, Xavier procured a second queen-sized bed to squeeze in the room so I could sleep with all my boyfriends. Then he muttered something about obtaining noise-canceling earphones stat. We did sleep, but we also made love a lot. I guess his grumpiness was kind of warranted.

  I wake up on the sixth day of my reclusion, knowing it’s time to face the world. I’m literally surrounded in the middle of the bed by the loves of my life, which means I can’t get up without waking them. Bryce and Rufio are on each of my sides, sleeping at ninety-degree angles from me so Phoenix and Morpheus could get a piece too. Bryce’s arm is across my breasts, and Rufio’s curls around my waist. Morpheus and Phoenix are using my legs as pillows.

  I squirm, trying to get my upper body free, but the slight movement disturbs Phoenix’s sleep. With his eyes still closed, he kisses my thigh and then slowly slinks upward. My sex clenches in anticipation. I know where this is going. But I’m suddenly antsy to find out what’s going on in the world. Mind-blowing sex will have to wait.

  I press my hand against Phoenix’s shoulders, stopping his caresses. He lifts his head and glances at me through half-open sleepy eyes. “What?”

  “I have to use the restroom.”

  “Oh.” He slides off me and then, using his gift, pushes everyone else off me too.

  There are groans of complaint, but I don’t stay in bed long enough to hear them all. I jump off and then hide in the bathroom. I do have to pee, but it’s not an immediate need. Instead, I put on the bathrobe that’s hanging behind the door, then sneak out through the adjacent guest room that also connects to the bathroom. The pink décor makes it quite obvious this was supposed to be Rosie’s bedroom. A terrible ache flares in my chest, almost turning me into a sobbing mess again. It’s like this every morning. I wake up happy, and then I remember that Rosie is gone, and the pain becomes fresh again.

  Fighting back the tears with a clench of my jaw, I head out. Xavier is sitting by the kitchen counter, nursing a coffee mug while he stares at his phone with a stupid grin.

  “What’s on that phone that made you so happy?” I ask, making a beeline for the coffeepot.

  “Nothing.” Embarrassment washes over his face. He turns the phone facedown so I can’t peer at the screen. Very suspicious.

  “Riiight. How is Leticia doing?” I smirk.

  Xavier opens and closes his mouth without saying a word. I shake my head and grab a cup to pour some coffee.

  “She’s fine. Still helping Ellen with the injured. We’ve now moved them to a proper hospital.”

  “Oh, that’s good to know. And what about Theo? Any luck finding his father or other relative?”

  Xavier’s face falls. “Not yet. I’m beginning to fear we won’t find anyone to claim him. He’s staying with Leticia for now.”

  I close my eyes, trying my best to keep my shit together, but it’s so hard when I hear about more deaths and more kids left without parents.

  “Anyway, Leticia and I are going out to dinner tonight.”

  My eyebrows arch. “Oh? Is this your first date?”

  “Yes, but I’d like to keep that between us. I don’t want Phoenix to know yet.”

  My amusement grows by leaps and bounds, making me forget the pain in my chest. “And why is that? Are you afraid he’s going to give you grief?”

  “No. I just don’t want to give him leverage over me. I’d like to be able to bust his balls about you for a little longer.”

  I snort. “Oh my God.”

  “Anyway. How are you feeling today?”

  The question is loaded and brings forth the darkness. “No better than yesterday, or the day before. I miss her so much.” I stare into my cup of coffee.

  “I know, honey. I do too.”

  I could say something ugly to him, like he can’t possibly miss someone he didn’t know or spend any time with. But hurting Xavier won’t make me feel any better.

  “What’s going on in the world? Is it still in shambles?”

  Xavier’s gaze turns hard in a flash. “Wow, I can’t believe those boys managed to keep their mouths shut. I’m in awe.”

  I frown. “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t want to say anything while you were recovering, but there’ve been new developments.”

  I move closer to the counter, clutching the mug tighter. “You’re making me nervous.”

  The doorbell rings, interrupting our conversation. Xavier moves to rise from his seat, but a second later, Felicity’s voice echoes in the entry foyer. “Hello? Everyone still asleep here?”

  She joins us in the kitchen, carrying bags of delicious breakfast food. I smell bacon, cheese, sausage, and pancakes. My stomach grumbles, but I won’t let food distract me from Xavier’s imminent revelation.

  “Hi, hon. It’s nice to see you up so early.” She smiles kindly at me.

  “Yeah,” I reply half-heartedly.

  The guys slowly trickle down from the bedroom, drawn by the smell of food. They’re always hungry. Bryce stops behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist to lean his chin on my shoulder. “What do we have here?”

  “I brought everything we have on the menu,” Felicity replies.

  “Including pie?” Bryce asks hopefully.

  “Pie is not breakfast food, bro.” Rufio reaches for a bag.

  Bryce steps around me. “Whatever. Hand me one of those.”

  “Will you boys wait until I can unpack everything? Geez,” Felicity says, exasperated.

  I cut my eyes to Xavier. “What were you going to tell me?”

  Everyone freezes, and a sudden tension fills the air.

  “Somehow when Chaos was vanquished, all the Idols not on the island were unmade.”

  I feel the blood drain from my face. “What?”

  “We don’t know how it happened, but the reports keep coming in. Every single Idol hospital has been overrun with people freaking out that they can’t use their powers anymore.”

  “Oh my God. I did that.”

  Xavier narrows his eyes. “Oh no, honey. No one is blaming you for it. It was most likely Chaos’s last evil act.”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It wasn’t him. It was me. I lost control of my powers for a while. They were unbound.”

  “Is it that bad if Idols don’t have powers anymore?” Felicity asks. “Now everyone is equal. Isn’t that what the Knights wanted?”

  “But not everyone has been ‘normalized,’” Rufio replies. “I’ve recovered my powers, and everyone in this room still have theirs.”

  “Theo hasn’t been unmade either, and he wasn’t on the island,” Xavier chimes in.

  “Maybe because he was turned into an Idol by me,” Bryce replies. “We don’t yet know if the entire Idol population has lost their powers.”

  Morpheus, who was quiet till now, glances at me. “No, they have. This was all part of the destiny the Fates bestowed upon us.”

  “How do you know that?” I ask.

  “I’ve been talking with my father.” He shrugs.

  “Dude, you didn’t tell us you’re hanging out with Erebus,” Phoenix pipes up.

  “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

  I pass a hand over my face. “If they hated me before, now I’ve truly become anathema.”

  Phoenix pulls me into a side embrace. “Those who knew the identity of the Unmaker are either your friends or dead. No one will harm you, babe.”

  “I’m not worried about that. I just feel so wretched. Not all Idols were evil, and now they were punished along with the bad.”

  “Daisy, this was preordained. There was nothing you could have done that would alter the course set by the Fates. Don’t feel guilty about it. It wasn’t your fault,”
Morpheus says.

  I glance around the room, noticing immediately that they all agree with him. I get what he’s saying. We’re nothing but pawns on the gameboard of the gods. But that doesn’t make me feel better.

  I take a deep breath, pushing the feeling aside for now. “All right. There must be tons of things to do. Where do we start?”

  Epilogue

  DAISY

  Two months later

  “Daisy, come on. Let us in,” Phoenix whines.

  “No. And if you keep asking, you’re sleeping in the guest room,” I reply as I continue my pacing, staring at the various white sticks on the counter.

  It’s been two months since Bryce and I had the condom accident, but with everything that happened in the aftermath of Chaos’s defeat, I didn’t notice I hadn’t gotten my period until today. Then it was panic mode galore. The guys went out and bought every single pregnancy test on the market.

  Now my stomach is in knots as I wait for the damn results. In the end, the God-killer didn’t turn out to be a child Bryce and I conceived, but that doesn’t mean I’m not knocked up. Fuck. I pull my hair back, yanking at the strands. I can’t be pregnant. I’m only eighteen. Plus, Xavier will kill me.

  A faint pink line begins to appear on the first test. I hold my breath until it turns magenta. But it remains single, which means the test is negative. I wait until the other results come in, and when they all display the same thing, I breathe out in relief.

  Then I open the bathroom door and yell, “I’m not pregnant!”

  Relief washes over Bryce’s, Rufio’s, and Morpheus’s faces. Only Phoenix seems disappointed.

  “Come again?” Xavier asks from the now-open door, looking absolutely livid.

  My face becomes as hot as lava. I couldn’t be more embarrassed, and if I had Morpheus’s gift, I’d use it to run away from my uncle’s wrath.

  “Daisy, why did you believe you were pregnant?” he asks in a low voice. “I thought you were being careful.”

  Bryce jumps from his seat on the bed, standing in between Xavier and me. “We are, Mr. X. We totally are. We had an accident a couple of months back. You see, the condom, uh… broke.”

  I cover my face with my hands. Someone kill me now.

  “Uh, hello? Why is everyone in the kids’ room?” Leticia asks.

  I uncover my face and notice she’s touching Xavier’s shoulder in an intimate way. Phoenix notices it too and narrows his eyes. Oh man, they haven’t come out to him yet about their relationship.

  He rises from the bed slowly. “Mom, what’s going on between you and Mr. X?”

  Xavier still makes all the boys call him by Mr. X. It was his way to try to maintain the façade that he’s the boss of the house. I appreciate him stepping into a parental role, but I’ve been on my own for too long. I do indulge him though, since we’re all living under his roof. It’s a temporary arrangement until Bryce and Rufio can touch their parents’ money. Phoenix gave his inheritance to charity.

  Most of the public schools are still closed after the attacks, and none of us were inclined to return to Gifted Academy or enroll in a different private school. For now, we’re studying at home and helping with rebuilding our new world. We’ve been volunteering at the hospital too. Well, we all have besides Bryce. I told him the toll his healing ability has on his life force and begged him not to heal anyone anymore. I can’t bear the thought of losing him in only a few years.

  Leticia trades a glance with Xavier, then replies, “Why don’t we all go into the living room?”

  The moment we step outside, Theo, the little boy Leticia adopted, comes running and crashes into my legs. “Daisy! I’ve missed you.”

  I pick him up, squeezing him tight. “I’ve missed you too, little man. What have you been up to?”

  “I’ve been learning new tricks.”

  The front door opens, and in come Toby and Renata, plus a new addition to the team. Theo’s eyes bug out when he sees what’s in Toby’s arms.

  “Puppy!”

  He wiggles free from my hold and flies toward the dog. Toby sets the puppy down, and now we won’t have to entertain that kid for hours.

  “Hey, guys. It’s been a while.” I take turns hugging them both.

  To say Renata and I have come a long way is an understatement. She’s the living proof that people can learn from their mistakes and change. She and Toby have become fast friends, and she’s helped him a lot to deal with his grief.

  “So, who else is coming tonight? Can we expect to see the Silverstones and Andy?” Toby asks.

  “No, they’re too busy in Hawk City. They won’t come down here for another couple of weeks,” I reply.

  “So, are you going to answer my earlier question or what?” Phoenix glowers at his mother and Xavier.

  “Well…” Leticia looks at Xavier. “Should I tell them, or do you want to?”

  “No, go ahead, honey.”

  Honey? Oh, dear.

  “Xavier asked me to marry him, and I said yes!” she squeaks, showing us her sparkling engagement ring.

  “Oh my God. Congratulations!” I say.

  “What?” Phoenix replies a second later. “How can you be engaged? You barely know each other.”

  “We’ve been dating for a while,” she replies.

  “Behind our backs?” His voice rises to a shriek. “And you have the gall to give us grief over Daisy’s pregnancy scare?” He points a finger at Xavier.

  “Phoenix!” I yell. “What the hell!”

  “Dude. Seriously?” Morpheus makes a what-were-you-thinking gesture with his hand.

  He glances sheepishly at me. “Oops, sorry, babe.”

  I throw my hands up in the air. “Ugh. Never mind. Let’s eat dinner before I die of embarrassment.”

  Xavier’s phone rings, killing the tense moment. Leticia walks over to Phoenix and touches his face. “Are you mad at me? I didn’t want to say anything until I knew it was serious.”

  “No, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at him for busting my balls about Daisy all this time when he was sneaking around with my mother.”

  Leticia giggles like a schoolgirl. She’s a completely different person from when I first met her. “He makes me happy, honey. I didn’t expect I’d ever get the chance for that.”

  Phoenix’s expression softens. “If he makes you happy, then I am too.”

  They hug, and fuck if a tear doesn’t roll down my cheek.

  “Guys, sorry to ruin the evening, but Felicity has an emergency at the diner. The fridge isn’t working, and I need to find someone to fix that ASAP.”

  “What’s the problem?” Bryce asks. “Maybe it’s something I can help with.”

  “I don’t know if it’s an electrical problem, but you know you can’t display your powers in public.”

  We all groan in resignation. It’s been confirmed that the entire population of Idols and Fringes have lost their powers. Some blame the Unmaker, but other theories have surfaced, such as they were punished by Gaia for being so wicked. Regardless, we can’t flaunt our gifts or they’ll suspect I’m the Unmaker, and then I’ll have a target on my back again.

  “If the fridge isn’t working, what’s going to happen to all those frozen pies?” Bryce asks.

  “You know about them?” I arch my eyebrows.

  “Yeah, I caught Felicity with a load of them. It’s no biggie.” He shrugs. “They’re still delicious.”

  “Okay, we all know where Bryce is going with that. Let’s all go to the diner and have dinner there,” Rufio suggests.

  “It sounds good to me,” Renata chimes in.

  “Me too,” Toby agrees.

  “Super. Let me get my jacket.”

  Since there was no need anymore for Xavier to pretend to be Poppy, his solution was to retire the old man. He posed as the new owner who kept everything the same. No one suspected a thing.

  He was able to find a technician to fix the fridge, but even so, Bryce claimed the integrity of the frozen pies had been
compromised. His so-called logical solution was to bake and eat them all. At least he shared one with the rest of us.

  I excuse myself from the table to use the restroom, but when I return, I stop at a distance and observe my new family for a little bit. I can’t believe all that has happened to me in such a short period of time. I’ve found the biggest love in the world with four amazing men. My own magnificent four. I’ve made new friendships that will last a lifetime. I have Xavier, the protector and father figure I didn’t know I needed. And now with him marrying Leticia and, my guess, adopting Theo, everything is coming into place. The only person missing in this picture-perfect scenario is Rosie. I miss her so damn much every day, but slowly, I’m learning to cope with her absence. Knowing she’s reunited with my parents helps.

  Bryce is laughing at something Theo said when I catch his gaze. His smile changes from amusement to a sexy grin that makes my toes curl inside my shoes. Then he winks at me, turning me into a puddle. Soon, Rufio, Phoenix, and Morpheus notice where his attention is diverted, and hell and damn, I’m literally on fire under their scorching gazes.

  “You’d better get back to your seat, girlie, before you orgasm where you stand,” Felicity jokes.

  “Okay, I don’t want to go home right now,” Rufio pipes up from the shotgun seat.

  “Why not? I’m dying to get Daisy out of her clothes.” Phoenix squeezes my thigh.

  “Do you seriously want to perform an orgy under Mr. X’s roof right after the pregnancy test incident?” Morpheus asks.

  “No,” I say with regret. “Definitely not.”

  I’m burning with desire, but I really don’t want to get it on tonight where Xavier can hear us.

  “I have a suggestion,” Bryce says from the driver seat.

  “I’m listening,” I say.

  “Isn’t Unearthly Desires closed until further notice?”

  “Yeah.” I narrow my eyes. “You want to go there?”