Page 108 of Revenge of the Forgotten

Bridger nodded. “Remus gave you more than time, Vega. He gave you the opportunity to save yourself, to save our realm like you asked. He wasn’t talking to us that day. He was talking to you. We were merely caught in your orbit.”

He could see the wheels in her head turning. “So what, you’re looking for redemption? For forgiveness?”

Vega’s storm rustled the trees around them, rain cleaning her of the dirt and grime from her cell.

Bridger swallowed with a click. “I’m not on your side. I belong here. That hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed.” He said the words to convince himself, even though he didn’t believe them. Bridger was changing… his shields faltering, failing, breaking down the walls he’d built up around his heart. “You deserve a chance to fight. I can’t promise you’ll win, but you can’t try if you’re locked away until Marlena figures out how Remus did it… and let’s be honest with ourselves here, she will figure it out.”

Lightning sputtered from her palms at his words. “What happens when we run into each other again? Because it’ll happen. This isn’t over.”

“We pretend none of this ever happened. You escaped, killed my soldier, stabbed me, and learned how to regain your powers. No one’s ever called you stupid, just unlucky.” Bridger pulled his sword out of the sheath on his back, rotating his wrist like he always did before he struck. “We can fight it out, I’ll win, and you’ll end up in Fortis, where you’ll never get the chance to figure out how to break your curse. Or you can save your energy for what’s to come on your journey back to wherever it is you and your people have been hiding. What’s it gonna be, Kitten?”

“What makes you so sure you’d win?” Bridger watched her move back and forth on the balls of her feet, contemplating her next move.

“You’re weak, despite your memories and powers being back. You can’t beat me in this state. You know it. I know it. There’s no need to lie to each other.” A cocky smile pricked at the corner of his mouth.

“Commander!” The voice of the level ten called out.

“Over here!” Bridger replied, continuing to play the part. “What’s it gonna be?” he asked again.

A bolt of lightning whipped past Bridger’s head, his ear ringing from the crack it made when it struck its target behind him.

She made her choice. And it wasn’t to fight Bridger—not right now, at least.

Bridger swiveled on his heels to see two of his soldiers, one convulsing on the ground. His body twitched until his muscles tensed one last time, and he finally drifted off. That’s too bad. I really liked him.

Vega didn’t wait for the other soldier to act before she ran.

Bridger pointed back toward the vehicles, taking his eyes off the dead man at his feet. “Call for backup.”

“We already did when we heard her screaming. General Ignis will be here in five minutes. Halo was called to transport him.”

Fuck.

Bridger didn’t have time to waste. “Go back and lead him this way,” he called as he took off after Vega again.

When he caught up to her, she was bent over with her hands on her knees behind a tree, panting for air. Her powers were back, but her body would take a while to rebuild itself. Their blood helped them heal, but it didn’t build muscle or aid endurance that wasn’t already there.

Bridger reached out to touch her back, then quickly decided against it after the shock she’d sent through him earlier. “Get up.”

“I need a second.” Vega didn’t look up, her eyes fixated on the forest floor.

“We don’t have a second.” Bridger looked behind them, focusing on the sounds in the far-off distance. His heightened hearing picked up the sound of Meyer’s booming voice. “Meyer is here, and if we don’t move now, it’ll be too late.” Bridger didn’t hesitate this time. His hand found what was left of the back of her training suit and hauled her up.

Vega batted him off, straightening herself and taking one last big gulp of air.

Meyer was fast—too fast.

The smell of smoke wafted in their direction. Bridger and Vega locked eyes. “He’s trying to smoke us out,” Vega gasped as the wind picked up in their direction, pushing against the storm she tried to keep alive.

Meyer knew Bridger could hide from the smoke and fire with his shields—shields he couldn’t use to save Vega with other warriors around. They’d spent every moment together as young men training, playing off each other’s powers to excel further than anyone else could. It didn’t matter that the forest floor was damp from rain or even that Vega could conjure a storm—she couldn’t control anything big enough to stop his fire right now.

“Go!” Bridger yelled.

Flames licked at the trees, rapidly encroaching on the space they’d briefly occupied. The storm of flames licked at their heels, the wind feeding oxygen for the fire to grow. Vega was slow, her body malnourished far more than Bridger realized. She tripped up, going down for a tumble. Bridger snatched her up before she had a chance to hit.

“Find your fucking footing!” he shouted over the howling wind.

Vega scowled, snarling. The heat from Meyer’s fire scorched from behind by only a hundred yards.

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