who took so long to warm up to me, is willing to put himself at risk for this cause, then I have no doubt Killian and Storm will, too. Hell, why should it stop there? Peyton seems ready to go in guns blazing, and Mads, gods bless her, is shaping up to do the same thing. Mum and dad might still have Damien to care for, but I’m not naive enough to assume that they won’t try to get revenge on the man who killed their son. It’s what I would do.
I can’t have anyone else dying because of me.
Okay, I think when I reach my room, closing the door behind me and running my hands through my hair, you can do this. Get your stuff together. When the rest of the family has gone to bed, you can leave in the middle of the night. No one will know you’re gone until tomorrow morning. Kit can give you a lift to London. From there, you can track down Neritous and confront him. He won’t be alone, I know that much, and I know better than to think I can face him and the twins on my own. But maybe, if I’m lucky, I can isolate them from one another. I still don’t like my odds in a one on one fight, but if there’s a chance of being able to pick them off one at a time, I’m going to take it. Maybe I can smuggle some of mum’s charms out to help me. Maybe…
Possibilities continue to swirl through my mind. Numbly, I begin to gather up my things and stuff them into my bag, feeling like a puppet being controlled by someone else. The likelihood of coming back from something like this in one piece isn’t high, and I know that if the others catch wind of what I’m planning, they’ll try to stop me. But that’s the whole damn problem: their willingness to clean up the messes I’ve made is going to get them killed, and I can’t bear to watch that happen. I would rather risk my own life than theirs, and if that means going at this alone, then so be it. At least I’ll know they aren’t walking right into the wolf’s den.
Briefly, I wonder if I should write a note, but then dismiss the idea; there would be no way to get it to them without tipping them off, and knowing the guys, they’ll come after me the moment they know what I’m planning. Better to just disappear and let them come to their own conclusions. Maybe I ran away because I felt guilty. Maybe Neritous finally got to me. It doesn’t really matter, as long as whatever it is keeps them away from the bastard long enough for me to finish the job. This all started with me; one way or another, it’s going to end with me.
I’m so focused on what I’m doing that I don’t even hear the tentative footsteps outside my door, and when it swings open to reveal Seth, I nearly jump out of my skin. “Karma,” he says, his voice quiet. “What’s wrong?”
“I… Nothing.”
Closing the door behind him, he takes a step into the room. Seth’s a sharp guy, and one glance at my bag tells him everything he needs to know. “Karma, where are you going?” he demands. “What are you planning?”
I stare at him for a long moment. “I’m leaving,” I reply, my voice barely above a whisper. “I’m going to go after Neritous. I’m going to end this.”
“Karma, that’s…” He shakes his head. “You can’t do that. It’s too dangerous.”
“So, what?” I demand, rounding on him, and I hate the fact that tears are welling up in my eyes. “What are we supposed to do? Keep waiting around here, sitting on our hands until another city gets destroyed? Until someone else I care about gets killed?”
“I thought we were in this together,” he protests, the confusion clear in his eyes. It breaks my heart, but I force myself to dig in my heels, wiping aggressively at my tears with my sleeve. “I thought we were going to figure out a plan, go after him as a group.”
“There’s been a change of plans,” I reply bluntly, crossing my arms.
“Why?” he asks.
“Seth,” I protest, “please just leave it alone. You need to just—”
“Like hell,” he says. “What made you change your mind about this? Was it something I said?”
“No,” I reply. “What you said just made