Storm Gods - G. Bailey Page 0,22

doesn’t remember any of us. And the worst part is, she doesn’t care.” He sets his jaw, his green eyes flashing as he turns to look at me. “Whatever those bastards did to her, they took her away. The girl I loved is gone. She’s just a fucking…magical shell, now.”

I exchange a look with Killian, a sinking feeling in my stomach; I’m uncertain of what to say. “I have to admit, I don’t know much about this sort of…situation,” Killian speaks up, fidgeting a little. “I didn’t know it was possible… Although I’m starting to realise that I’ve never known as much as I’ve always thought I did.” He clears his throat. “That said, though… I’ve been thinking. I don’t think we should count Mads out just yet.” Meeting my eyes with his golden ones, he gives me a subtle nod, the smallest burst of encouragement, and his earlier words come back to me. We’re going to get through this together.

“Mads is gone,” Peyton retorts, sounding numb. “I’m just going to have to accept that. We all are. The sooner we do, the sooner we can move on.”

“No way,” I interject, bristling. “That’s my best friend in there. Peyton, it’s the woman you love. I’m not about to just write her off as a lost cause.”

“You think I’m enjoying this?” Peyton demands, a little defensively. “I know that. But she doesn’t listen to me. She doesn’t listen to any of us.”

“So we need to make her listen,” I reply, determined. “She’s still in there somewhere. I have to believe that.”

“And what exactly do you suggest we do?” Peyton asks, his voice frustrated. “She loved me. I loved her. But she threw it all back in my face like it was nothing. I’ve done everything I can, and it still wasn’t enough.”

“Maybe you have,” I reply at last, choosing my words carefully, “but I haven’t.”

Peyton’s brow furrows. “What are you…?”

“I’ve known Mads since we were kids,” I persist. “I know you love her, and that doesn’t change that, but she has more memories of me. Hell, she’s like a sister.”

Killian straightens up, seeming to pick up on where I’m going with this. “Maybe we just haven’t pushed hard enough. If there’s anything left of Mads in that goddess upstairs, Karma might be the only person who can reach it.” He hesitates. “I’m not saying it’s a guarantee, but…”

“But what do we have to lose?” Peyton finishes for him, sounding far away. He runs a hand through his hair, bouncing his knee for a minute, and then he sighs. “Maybe you’re right. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Nothing that hasn’t already happened,” I throw out, and that seems to make him give me the ghost of a smile. “I can’t promise anything, but I want to talk to her again.”

“Do you want backup?” Killian asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

I think for a moment, chewing the inside of my lip, and then shake my head. “No,” I reply at last. “No, I don’t think so.”

“She’s lashed out at me before,” Peyton reminds me. “Even with the anti-magic cuffs, she’s vicious. Like an animal in a trap.” He gives me a grim look, his green eyes blazing. “She’s dangerous, Karma. Whatever else she might also be now.”

“I know that,” I reply. “But I’m dangerous, too. Besides,” I add after a moment’s thought, “I think it would be better if we don’t all go in, guns blazing. If I can reason with her, put her at ease a little…” I shrug my shoulders. “It’s worth a shot, right?”

Peyton gives me a stiff nod. “I guess you’re right. Just…be careful, sis, okay? If something like this happens to anyone else I love…”

“It won’t.” For once, I actually believe the words coming out of my mouth, my hands balling into fists at my sides. “I swear.”

“Then…good luck,” Peyton says as I stand up from the couch. Killian takes my hand and follows me. “Please bring her back,” my brother calls as we leave the living room. I don’t say anything in response. Now isn’t the time to make promises I can’t keep. Instead, I allow Killian to lead me back to the base of the stairs, taking solace in the warmth of his skin on mine for a little longer before I finally let go of his hand.

“If something happens to me up there…,” I begin.

“I told you,” Killian says in all seriousness, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Karma.”

I smile tentatively