Page 30 of Revenge of the Forgotten

Seconds passed, maybe minutes, before Arlet spoke. “Damn.”

Vega looked over at her to find Arlet grinning ear to ear. “What are you smiling like that for?”

“You’re so you. You’re really you this time, not some mousy duplicate. I’ve got my girl back.” A tear slid down Arlet’s cheek, but her smile didn’t melt away.

11

“Mother,” Bridger croaked, coming to a dead stop when she appeared in front of him out of thin air, billows of black smoke drifting to the high ceilings above. He reached out to grab her shoulders in his hands, bending at his knees to meet her dark, cold gaze. “Are you alright? Are you hurt? Where is Vega?”

“She’s dead. The sooner you allow yourself to come to terms with it, the better off you’ll be.” Katrin reached for Bridger’s cheek, but he was too fast, recoiling from her touch.

Bridger’s already deep voice was racked with anguish, causing a fervid rattle to exit his mouth as he stood back to his full height. “No. No, she’s not dead. She can’t be dead.”

His mother’s gaze hardened. “If she’s not dead already, she will be, Bridger. It’s time to stop playing house and stand beside your family where you belong. We’ve let this thing between you and Vega go on for too long, but it was a good distraction for a while.”

The sound of an explosion shook the outside of the Aeris home, screams following the second blast. Bridger’s nature was to protect. His instinct told him to run towards the sound of destruction, but his heart was begging him to find Vega—to make sure she was alive, to prove his mother the liar he knew her to be.

“You were behind this attack.” The realization struck him like a blow, knocking the wind from his lungs. “You knew Marlena was going to kill her mother tonight, didn’t you? You knew innocent people were going to lose their lives…”

Katrin’s face showed no remorse, giving her away before she even had to admit it. “What do you think you’ve been training for your entire life? Marlena’s betrayal to her family was just a nice little surprise—one that we needed to bring down her family and the rest of their loyalists.”

Bridger’s stomach rolled with nausea. This was planned under his nose, and he’d been too distracted with Vega to notice. “You evil bitch,” he swore, taking another step back.

“This is your destiny. You were born to lead, to rule. You’re no regular warrior.” Katrin continued to talk, but Bridger heard none of it over the sound of footsteps looming in the distance.

He interrupted her. “I was born to protect my people, to help them rid the world of vile people like you.” Bridger raised his sword, ready to strike, until a familiar voice cut through the anger.

“Dad? Dad! Where are you?” Vega was alive.

Bridger let out a breath, relief flooding his senses.

Katrin’s head jerked toward the open door, but before she could move an inch, the tip of Bridger’s sword dug into her throat. “If you so much as lay a finger on her, I will make you long for the mercy I’m showing you now. I’ll gut you from the inside out and leave you on display as an example of what happens when you hurt the people I love.”

She gasped. “How dare you threaten me?”

His laugh contained no humor, only hatred. “That’s not a threat. It’s a promise.” Bridger stepped back and made a mistake he’d come to regret for the rest of his life: he let his mother go.

“Vega!” Bridger called, sprinting down the hall while slipping his sword into the scabbard on his back.

His eyes landed on Vega, her hair a tangled mess and the gorgeous gown she wore frayed and tattered from fighting. They’d been separated after Marlena’s announcement, after she’d displayed her mother’s decapitated head in front of the entire ballroom, and gave them the ultimatum of a lifetime: surrender or die.

“Bridger!” Her heels were in her hand, bare feet pattering across the marble floors until she was in his arms.

He wrapped her tightly against his chest, lifting her feet off the ground. “Are you okay?”

Vega didn’t have to lie to Bridger. He didn’t expect her to be strong all the time. “No. No, I’m not okay.”

He set her down, keeping her close as he inhaled the scent of battle in her hair—the salt of her sweat and the smell of sulfur from her lightning mixed with the sweet scent of what was left of her perfume. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry, but we need to find Arlet and Khort and get out of here.” He was already stepping away, pulling her by the hand in the direction from which she’d come.

“No. We have to find my dad.” She pulled away from his grasp. “We can’t leave him.”

“Vega.” Bridger’s eyes widened with panic. “He might be dead too. We have to accept that and get ourselves out of here. Marlena isn’t going to stop until she gets her hands on you.” He said, trying to reverse the decision he knew she’d already made.

“I’m not leaving him.” Vega darted off down the hall, running with speed Bridger had never seen from her.

“Vega!” Jonan.

Vega picked up her pace, Bridger a beat behind as they raced to her father’s aid.

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