Storm Gods - G. Bailey Page 0,1

warns me, and I don’t doubt him even a little bit. I pull my chin from his hand, looking back down at Mads, who frowns in her sleep and is bleeding from the back of her head a little bit. I reach for my necklace on instinct, but I remember it’s not there as I touch my bare skin.

“Dominic, take the blonde girl to a bed. If she wakes, call for us,” Neritous says, and a guy about thirteen with white hair, blue eyes and tanned skin runs over to us. He meets my eyes, staring a little too long at me before leaning down and picking Mads up. Knowing I don’t have a choice but to trust the kid, I let her go and watch them walk away to another door. I finally take in the large room we are in, which is the inside of an old-ass warehouse. Grey wall is made of metal or glass, showing beautiful views of a city in the distance. Unfortunately, I don’t know which city that is, and I don’t see any signs to let me know.

“Your powers will not work here unless I allow it, and you can’t escape. The warehouse has a protective ward,” he warns me. Figures.

“They will find me, you know that? Storm is going to come for you,” I tell him, and he turns back to me. Red lightning crackles down his arm as he reaches for me, but I’m not letting him hurt me. I try to use my powers to defend myself, but it doesn’t work, so I do the next best thing. I run. I don’t get far before lightning hits my back, and I scream as I fly into the air, smacking onto a wall. I slide down the wall, sitting up as I cough through the pain. Tears burn my eyes as Neritous leans down in front of me, looking happier than the fecker should be.

“You mention that betrayer again, I will make it very painful for you while you stay here, daughter,” he warns me before straightening up and standing back. “Now follow me to meet everyone, and I might have a present for you if you behave.”

Fecking bastard.

He doesn’t wait for me before walking away and through another one of the doors. The tears I’ve held back slip down my cheeks, and I look up at the glass, seeing the night sky. There are no stars in the city, and I hate it. I feel a prickle of magic going down my spine just as a tiny black portal appears in front of me, and Kit flies through it, crashing into my lap.

“Kit?” I question as the portal closes, but not before I hear a familiar shout.

“NO!” I hear Storm, and I reach for the portal, but nothing other than faint traces of magic is left. He is looking for me. Storm and the twins won’t abandon me, and sitting on the floor, crying, is not going to help them find me. I need to search this place, find a weak spot, and get us out of here. Looking down at Kit, who is unconscious, I tuck him into my hood and cover the hood with my hair so no one will see him. Kit is my secret way out of here.

And Neritous is going to be outsmarted by a goblin.

Chapter 2

With a goblin tucked into my hoodie, I make my way through the door my father went through, and I step into a makeshift cafeteria, and Neritous isn’t alone. Two guys, not much older than me, with black hair, dark skin and tightly closed expressions watch me. They are twins, clearly, but they seem familiar somehow. Littered around the room are armed guards with heavy helmets covering their faces, but I sense something off about them.

“These are your older half-brothers, Kjetli and Ivar Nesby,” he introduces the guys, and I’m speechless, wondering exactly how many half brothers and sisters I have.

“Is Ruby here?” I question him. Ruby has never once left my mind, and neither has my mission to clear Jade’s name and bring back Ruby to her mother.

His eyes flash with annoyance. “Yes, she is, and I’m sure you two will get along. Both of you are headstrong and rather a big annoyance to me.”

“I would like to see her,” I demand. He inclines his head, watching me closely as an older woman walks into the room. She has the same black hair as Kjetli and Ivar, but