Ruthless Idols: A Paranormal High School Bully Romance (Gifted Academy Book 2)

by Michelle Hercules

  He grabs my wrist and pulls me flush against his chest. I have to tilt my head back to glower at him.

  “You didn’t leave campus, and we searched for you everywhere. Where did you spend the night?”

  Fury crackles above my skin, making me see red. “It’s not your damn business where I spent the night. You didn’t care one bit that you sent me packing while I was sick.”

  “You lied to me!” His eyes flash gold.

  “I didn’t lie to you. Since when is it a crime to not disclose every single detail of my life to everyone?”

  “Since the information makes you a traitor to my kind.”

  “I’m not a traitor!” I pull my arm from his grasp, hitting my elbow against the metal shelf. White-hot pain shoots up my arm. “Son of a bitch.” I rub the sore spot while I maintain my scowl at Bryce.

  “How did you do that?” He frowns.

  “Do what?”

  Bryce blinks a couple of times before he replies in a tight voice, “Break free.”

  I open and shut my mouth like a fish out of water. Rufio asked the same thing just a moment ago. Finally, I reply, “You must be losing your mojo.”

  We don’t speak for several beats. Thanks to the argument, my heart is thundering in my chest and my breathing is coming out in bursts.

  “By the way, I want my father’s diary back,” I demand.

  Bryce snorts. “Fat chance of that happening.”

  “That’s the only thing I have left of him. How can you be so hateful?”

  He flinches, and the reaction catches me by surprise. I didn’t expect him to care at all about what I think of him.

  “I—” His answer is cut short when the door bursts open and the janitor appears at the entrance.

  “What are you doing here?” he asks.

  “Nothing. I was just leaving.”

  I’m finally able to push Bryce out of the way. Looking at the clock mounted on the wall, I see it’s too late for me to go to class. I don’t think anyone is expecting me anyway, so I make a beeline for the school library.

  17

  Daisy

  I miss Toby. I wish his parents would reconsider their decision to pull him out of Gifted Academy. He worked so hard for two years; it’s not fair that he doesn’t get to graduate. Growing up, I wanted to do well in school so I could have the chance to do something I loved when I finished, but I never knew exactly what I wanted to do. Toby is one of the rare teenagers who has a clear goal. No. I can’t let this injustice happen to him without trying to help.

  When my lunch break comes, I head to Principal Fallon’s office, determined to make my case with her. If she was able to convince the council to give a scholarship to me, I’m sure she can persuade Toby’s parents to reconsider their decision. However, when I arrive at her office, I find the door locked. Shit, they must be out for lunch too.

  I drag my ass to the cafeteria. I’ll just grab a juice. I’m not really hungry. Thanks to my detour, when I enter the room, it’s buzzing with loud conversation. A lot of heads turn in my direction, and now I bet I’m the current topic of gossip. Ignoring the stares, I veer toward the vending machine.

  I’m in a crouch, reaching for the dispenser at the bottom, when I sense a presence behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Clutching the cold bottle tighter, I unbend my knees and turn around. No surprise when I come face-to-face with Drusilla and Renata.

  “You have some nerve coming back here,” Drusilla sneers.

  “Fuck off. I’m not in the mood for your antics.” I move forward to cut through the two bitches, but Drusilla pushes me back by the shoulder. I hit the vending machine with a loud bang.

  “I don’t care who your protectors are. Thanks to you, Cherise was expelled, and Renata and I got detention. You’re going to pay, bitch.”

  “I guess you’re seeking expulsion, then,” I reply.

  Drusilla throws her head back and laughs. “You’re such a stupid whore. Principal Fallon can’t touch me or Renata. Our families are too important, and we pour a lot of money in this school. You could say we own it.”

  “Well, I don’t give a fuck about your connections. Get out of my way, or I’ll show you how Norm kids handle fucktards like you.”

  I don’t know where my bravado is coming from, but it’s not a front. Before I was all bark, no bite. Now I’m not bluffing. Did the fever addle my brain?

  Renata grabs my arm and squeezes so hard, I know she’ll shatter my bones like she did with Toby. On reflex, I pull my arm back, and surprisingly I’m able to escape her clutches. Her eyes widen as if she can’t believe it either.

  I’m still staring at Renata when, from the corner of my eye, I see Drusilla’s punch coming in my direction. By a miracle, I move out of the way, and her hand smashes through the vending machine’s glass. She lets out a yell, but obviously there’s no blood on her hand. She’s a powerful Idol, so regular glass won’t cut her. Only lightning glass will, I think bitterly.

  One of the guys serving food runs in our direction. “Is everything all right here?”

  Drusilla whirls around, clutching her hand. “Mind your own business, Fringe.”

  A small crowd has gathered around us, and closer to me, there’s Morpheus, alone. Our gazes connect, and it’s almost like he’s asking if he should intervene. He’s done so before without asking for permission; why did he hold back now?

  Jeez, Daisy. Maybe because he also thinks you’re here to kill them all.

  Principal Fallon enters the cafeteria in that precise moment.

  “Drusilla and Renata. I’m not surprised,” she says. “In my office. Now!”

  Renata twists her face into a remorseful look, but Drusilla stares at the principal with a defiant rise of her chin. “As you wish, ma’am.”

  She walks off, but not before sparing me a glance that says this isn’t over.

  Since there was no blood—aka mine—the crowd disperses, but not Morpheus. He walks in my direction instead.

  “Are you okay?” he asks.

  “In one piece, as you can see.”

  “That was a pretty impressive move.”

  I frown, not understanding his remark. “I didn’t do anything. Drusilla hit the vending machine all on her own.”

  “The way you moved out of the way was impressive.”

  “I guess I have good reflexes.” I shrug.

  “Sure. Let’s call it that.”

  Morpheus continues to stare at me in a peculiar way.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure,” he replies.

  “Why aren’t you trying to kill me?” I uncap the juice bottle and take a sip.

  “Do you want me to try?” He raises an eyebrow.

  “You almost choked me to death for simply defending your former tutor. Now you know about my father, and yet I’m not getting any murderous vibes from you, Rufio, or Phoenix. So what gives?”

  “I can’t answer for Rufio or Phoenix, but maybe I don’t want to give up my last chance of passing math. If you’re staying at Gifted Academy, I’d like to resume our tutoring sessions.”

  My mouth drops of its own accord. I sure didn’t expect this from him. There must be a catch.

  “I stunned you into silence. That’s a first.” He chuckles, showing me a glimpse of his adorable dimples. No, Daisy. Don’t be lured by them.

  “I’ve missed a lot of classes. I need to catch up,” I say.

  “You can start catching up in math and helping me in the process.”

  Something strange is happening to me. I’m getting butterflies, and Morpheus is the cause. He’s the perfect mix of cute and sexy when he’s not glaring at me.

  “Okay, fine. We can study for an hour after class. But only if you convince Bryce to give my father’s diary back.”

  The easygoing smile vanishes from his face. “Why do you want it back?”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose while letting out a loud sigh. “Jeez, maybe because my father is dead and that’
s the only thing I have that belonged to him?”

  “I can’t make any promises.”

  Well, that’s better than nothing.

  “Hey, Morpheus. Are you guys into sharing now?” the guy with bright blue hair—can’t remember his name—says as he walks past us.

  “Excuse me?” Morpheus’s eyes narrow while his aura becomes darker.

  The idiot who addressed him snorts, clueless to the beast he’s about to unleash. Doesn’t he know who he’s speaking to? God, one look at Morpheus at his worst is enough to put the fear in the hearts of many.

  “You two look pretty chummy, and if I’m not mistaken, Bryce was all over the Norm a couple of days ago.” He turns to me and gives me a leery once-over, making my skin crawl.

  Morpheus steps in front of me, and I actually see a dark miasma erupt from his frame and zap into the guy. It’s different than the shadows that usually concentrate around his writs.

  The blue-haired Idol gasps as he clutches his chest. His eyes widen, and he seems to be having trouble breathing.

  “What’s the matter, Pietro?” Morpheus asks in a taunting way.

  The guy begins to wheeze as he lifts a supplicant hand toward Morpheus.

  “Morpheus, let it go. He’s not worth it,” I say.

  I can’t have another student getting in trouble on my account, even if it’s Morpheus and the likelihood he will suffer any consequence is slim. But I have been the subject of his wrath before, and it’s no picnic.

  The miasma I saw zap into Pietro comes out and evaporates into thin air. The guy bends over, resting his hands on his knees and taking deep breaths.

  Morpheus leans forward and says near the guy’s ear, “Let this be a reminder of who owns this school, asshole. If I hear you say anything about us or Daisy again, I won’t be merciful.”

  18

  Bryce

  After a quick remise, I end the match with one powerful lunge, hitting my opponent right where his heart is. With a grunt, he falls on his ass.

  He removes his mask angrily and snarls. “What the fuck, Bryce? Are you trying to kill me?”

  I pull my mask back and turn around. “If you can’t handle the play, maybe you should spar with the Fringes.”

  This is a free period, so there aren’t any teachers regulating what we do. A sudden heat comes from behind. I whirl around in the speed of light and block Nate’s fireball with my own energy missile. His ball fizzles, but not before I’m on him, holding him by his neck.

  “Do you think you can win against me, motherfucker?”

  I throw him across the room, and he’s lucky that’s all I do. He hits the wood-paneled wall with a loud crack and doesn’t get up.

  “Whoa. I thought this was the fencing room,” Morpheus proclaims from the entrance.

  I glance at him briefly before heading for the bench. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have class?”

  “It’s art class, the only subject I can afford to skip.” Morpheus fixes his gaze on Nate, then sits next to me on the bench. “I have to talk to you about Daisy.”

  “Ah fuck no.” I get up, not in the mood to talk about her. I’m frustrated that I can’t make up my mind about her. I have every reason to distrust her, and yet I want to believe her innocence.

  “I think you jumped the gun yesterday,” Morpheus continues.

  “Are you kidding me?”

  Nate moans from the floor. He’s not out, so we shouldn’t be having this conversation here. I hoist my duffel bag’s strap over my shoulder and head out. Morpheus is right behind me. In the hallway, we don’t speak. Too many people around. It’s not until we’re on the path back to the dorms that Morpheus restarts the convo.

  “I’m serious, Bryce. All I can think about is the vision I saw. You were bonded with her. She’s not out to destroy us.”

  I clench my jaw but don’t answer right away. I’ve been wrestling with the knowledge of Morpheus’s visions and what I learned about Daisy’s father all night. It didn’t help that she decided to pull a disappearing act. I helped look for her not because I wanted to make sure she was gone but because I was fucking worried. But seeing her this morning, looking like a million bucks, rubbed me the wrong way.

  “You can’t know that. Maybe she’s going to brainwash me or something.”

  “Shit. Are you listening to yourself? How could a Norm brainwash you?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she’s working with the Knights and there are some powerful Idols among them.”

  I push the door to the building open with too much force, breaking it off its hinges. It falls with a smash of glass breaking. Fucking great. My mother will have a cow. I forgo the elevators and aim for the stairs. Once in our apartment, I’m relieved that Rufio and Phoenix aren’t around.

  “I’m seeing Daisy later,” Morpheus tells me. “She’s going to keep tutoring me.”

  “Whatever. Do what you want.” I make a beeline to my room. I’m done talking about her.

  But Morpheus seems keen on pestering me. He follows me, stopping at the threshold. My idiotic brother hasn’t fixed my door yet.

  “I want the diary.”

  I turn around. “What?”

  “You heard me. We’ve both read it from beginning to end. We don’t need it.”

  “Did she ask you to do this?”

  “What if she did?”

  I shake my head. Daisy is dangerous. I should have listened to Morpheus when he wasn’t under her spell. “Damn, Morpheus. Are you fucking her too?”

  I know it was a shitty thing to say. And it also sounds like I’m jealous. He narrows his eyes and curls his hands into fists by his sides. Shadows leak from underneath his bracelets.

  “Unlike you, Rufio, and Phoenix, I don’t think with my dick,” he replies.

  He stomps away, and now I feel like an asshole. I sit on the edge of my bed and stare into nothing. I lived all my life numb, unable to feel emotion. I thought I was missing out. But Daisy managed to break the wall around all my suppressed feelings, and now I don’t know what to do with them.

  I hate her, crave her, miss her.

  But one thing is clear. I have to make up my mind about her. I can’t keep playing this game of push and pull. Maybe I should have let her explain instead of condemning her based on her father’s sins. I promised her I would protect her at all costs, but it didn’t take much for me to go back on my word.

  Damn everything to hell.

  RUFIO

  Not in the mood to face the crowd, I blew off lunch and spent the time in the treehouse with Phoenix. We were both in need of some Silver-voltage. I know what my problem is. His is a mystery. But fuck if the first thing that popped into my head when I went through the trapdoor wasn’t my time with Daisy here. My dick gets hard just replaying the memories.

  “You’re not thinking about her, are you?” Phoenix asks, guessing what’s on my mind.

  “No,” I grumble.

  “Riiight.” He heads for the cupboard where we keep our stash of Silver-voltage and retrieves two vials.

  I adjust my pants and drop onto the beanbag, my gaze fixed on the rug in front of me. I can almost see the imprint of Daisy’s body on the soft rug. I groan out loud.

  With a shake of his head, Phoenix tosses me one of the vials and then takes a seat on the beanbag opposite mine. “I don’t know what Daisy was doing all night, but man, she looked good this morning.” He whistles.

  “Shut up.” I dump half the vial’s contents on my jacket sleeve and bring it to my nose. The strong fumes go straight to my head, and a few seconds later, the tension in my body begins to dissipate.

  We don’t speak for several minutes. Silver-voltage is actually the only thing that can make Phoenix shut his pie hole for more than a few seconds. But of course, the drug can do only so much, and he’s the one who breaks the silence first.

  “All jokes aside, didn’t Daisy seem different today?”

  I rub my face and curse Phoenix in my head. Why does he have to keep bringing h
er up?

  “Different how?” I ask just to be antagonistic. I also noticed a peculiar vibe coming off her.

  “I don’t know. Norms’ auras are usually dim, unremarkable. But Daisy’s was megabright today.”

  “Did you seriously just use the word aura?” I chuckle, though only to hide my discomfort.

  Shit. I shouldn’t be feeling anything but bliss right now, but I can’t ignore Phoenix’s assessment. He was dead-on. It wasn’t only Daisy’s confidence and lack of fear that caught my attention today. It was exactly what Phoenix said. She was surrounded by this strange energy that made her even more magnetic to me.

  Phoenix scoffs. “Whatever. But you know what I’m saying, right? I wonder what Morpheus makes out of it.”

  “He’s probably going to spill the same kind of nonsense you did.”

  “Jeez, what crawled up your ass today? Do you need another hit of Silver-voltage?”

  I run a hand through my hair. “I don’t want to be completely baked.”

  Aggravating techno music pierces through the peace and quiet of the woods. Phoenix lets out a curse as he stares at his phone’s screen.

  “Are you going to get that?” I ask.

  “It’s my mother. She’s been hounding me about dinner on Friday.”

  “Fucking parents. Just say you’ll come and be done with it. Then you won’t have to perform your son duties for another month or so.”

  Phoenix flinches, and I can’t understand why. Neither of us has a good home life, but it’s only fucking dinner, not the end of the world.

  Instead of answering, he sends the call to voice mail. “She’s gonna kill my buzz. I’ll deal with her later.”

  PHOENIX

  Ignoring my mother’s call didn’t work. The reminder that I’ll have to see my father in only a few days brings bile up my throat. He won’t make me ‘perform’ my son duties on Friday, not with my mother around. But I bet he’ll come calling later, demanding a vision.

  I stare at the tattoo he branded me with. I’ve searched high and low for a way to remove his damn mark from my body and haven’t found an answer. As long as the tattoo is on my skin, that bastard has control over me.