Page 20 of Revenge of the Forgotten

“Hmm.” It was all Vega knew to say. She couldn’t remember any of this happening, and yet it sat heavily on her, a sadness creeping up for the girl who could. “Am I the only one who’s cursed to forget?”

After taking the last sip, Arlet put her empty cup down on the nightstand. “Directly, yes, but it affects us all.” There was hurt set deep into Arlet’s face.

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through.” Vega might not fully believe what Arlet was telling her, but it was clear Arlet held on to a lot of grief. She spoke about these events like she could remember every little detail.

Arlet chuckled. “You’ve been through it too.”

She didn’t want to feel sorry for herself—she’d done that enough in her life. She looked down at her hand, eyes landing on the new jewel sitting where her gorgeous emerald-cut engagement ring and matching wedding band used to be. “Whose ring is this?”

Arlet pushed herself off the bed and walked forward, grabbing Vega’s hand. Vega stopped fidgeting with it when Arlet’s fingers fluttered over the cool metal. “Yours.”

“Did you give it to me?” Vega asked.

Arlet let go of her hand, shaking her head. “Someone else who used to love you very much gave it to you.”

Vega glanced down at it, amazed at the way it looked in this light versus her apartment. The sparkles inside swirled, reminding her of the Milky Way. “Are they dead too?”

“Might as well be.” The grumble reverberated off her chest, and Arlet’s face changed, void of any emotion as she backed herself up to the bed.

“And the brand?” Vega took her eyes off the ring, lowering to the inner part of her wrist where the marking was most noticeable against her pale skin.

“There are four of us who have it from the night you summoned Remus.”

“I’m sorry, I what?”

“Yeah, Remus, from tonight’s history lesson? You summoned him. The demigod our people have to thank for their existence. It was badass. He bonded us. It’s why I can find you.” Arlet held her chin high, a big smile on her face.

“How is summoning a half-god even that cool?” Vega asked, unimpressed.

Arlet crossed her arms and ran her hands up and down softly, comforting herself from the memory. “Because you’re smart. You knew he was our best chance at getting revenge. Marlena wanted the powers.” Arlet tensed. “She summoned the twelve original gods. You know, Jupiter, Mars, Venus—the whole lot. We didn’t know that then, not until later. Your sister was never stronger than you, but she’s always been more cunning and willing to do whatever it takes to prove herself worthy, powerful. Your plan was never to get the powers from the other gods. You wanted the chance to bond the people closest to you, to fight together with whatever Remus was able to give us.”

Vega raised a brow. “And what did Remus give us? Seems like we got the short end of the stick if Marlena is in power and we can’t figure out how to break a curse after fifty-five years. And I mean, why even bother if she’s going to win in the long run anyway?”

Thunder rattled the windows, shaking the pictures on the walls following her question.

“No.” Arlet’s voice was steady, sure of herself. “Remus knew what he was doing when he bonded us. He wouldn’t have given us what was left of himself if he didn’t think we could defeat her. All of us have different bonds. I can find you here. The others can’t, but they can feel you when I make contact. That little tug you felt, we can all feel that. I was changed the most by the summoning. I never had an ability. My dad was from Vates, land of the seers. My siblings could see like him, but my mom was from a family of priests and priestesses in Oro, land of our temples. They’re really into the whole live, laugh, love thing.”

Arlet threw up a peace sign, lightening the mood a tad. “My mom could manipulate light, but she wasn’t the most powerful in her family. I guess one of the kids was meant to be more like her.” Her voice held a ghost of sadness. “But all I got from her was her beautiful hair.”

Vega looked up from her scar. “But now?”

“Remus gave me a power no one has ever heard of. It’s like he took whatever power I was supposed to get from my parents and combined it.”

Vega was at the edge of the desk in anticipation.

“I can manipulate like my mom, but not light. I manipulate what is seen.”

Vega’s eyes grew a little wider. “You can make people see what you want them to see? Like, what’s not actually real?”

“Yep,” she said, popping the p.

“Are you doing that right now?”

She chuckled. “No. Our powers don't work here, or you’d be toasting people left and right.”

Arlet poured the rest of the wine into their cups and threw the empty bottle into the trash. Vega could picture them sitting up all night, laughing while drunk on good wine. But maybe that was because she was lonely and wanted a friendship like Arlet painted all of her life.

Vega was still convinced this was all some fucked-up fever dream and she’d wake up wishing she could move to a realm far, far away from here. But that doesn’t explain the dreams.

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