Page 114 of Revenge of the Forgotten

Marlena reached out with a swiftness she shouldn’t possess, and the brand of a power block burned into his forearm where her hand had been. Bridger hissed against the pain, pulling away from her. She held too tightly, not letting him go.

“I know you won’t agree to it without a little coaxing. So you’re coming with me, where I can persuade you in different ways.”

Khort shifted with a roar, steam billowing out of his agape jaw.

Arlet grabbed hold of Vega and started running, but a traveler, one they’d thought was on their side, appeared out of nowhere and blocked their path.

Khort’s dragon form raged towards Bridger, snapping his mouth at Marlena. Bridger caught her off guard when her attention turned to the black dragon swooping her way, sending her tumbling to the ground. “Get Vega to safety, Khort!”

The traveler, Hanna, tsked at Arlet’s surprise. “You should know better than to let a fox in your hen house.”

“Traitor!” Arlet spat, reaching into her pocket for a dagger. She flung it at the woman’s chest with the precision Bridger taught her, but Hanna disappeared, reappearing with her hands on Vega’s head.

“I like to call it being an opportunist,” Hanna replied, snapping Vega’s neck.

Her body hit the ground with a thud, and the air left Bridger’s lungs as Khort spit fire out at Hanna, charring her to ash where she stood.

Bridger felt himself inhale, but the air never returned to his lungs no matter how hard he tried. The feeling of suffocating jarred him out of his restless slumber and threw him back into reality—the one where he’d fallen asleep on his trip back to Vincere after surviving a direct stab to the heart.

Marlena hunched over Bridger, her hands wrapped around his throat with anger unlike any he’d ever seen.

Bridger pulled his legs to his chest and kicked her across the cab. She landed with a bang but sprang back with cat-like reflexes.

“You let her get away! Twice! Twice in one life!” Marlena blustered, clawing at his outstretched legs. The space was tiny, too small for large powers.

He burned where she touched him, fire blistering his skin. Bridger hissed and threw a shield around the outside of his skin to keep her from searing any more of his body.

The soldier driving had no idea anything was happening back here, going about his drive like all was well. Bridger could feel the sound block Marlena put up.

“What did you think was going to happen when you gave her her memories back, huh?” Bridger grabbed Marlena’s wrist while it was outstretched, headed for a blow to his face. “She’s not the meek Vega you hoped she’d be in every life! She’s Vega, the Vega you’ve been in fear of your whole life.”

Marlena screamed, her wrath rattling the windows. “You’re fucking with me! What kind of game are you playing, Bridger?”

He kept his leg extended, holding Marlena out of his face. She fought like a wild animal, clawing at anything she could get her hands on. “I’m not playing any games. You’re just making bad moves, setting yourself up for failure. You told me once that I’m just a chess piece and you’re the gamemaster.”

His words made her barbaric. Green lightning surged, flying out of her palm. Bridger’s shield sent it flying through the glass barricade between them and his soldier. It shattered around the cabin, glass littering the space around them.

The bolt struck the driver in the back of the head, and the man slumped to the side, the vehicle sputtering to a stop without his foot on the pedal. He was dead, struck without warning.

Bridger shook with rage, lunging for Marlena. Her anger distracted her, slowing her reaction time. He landed on top of her, pinning her to the floor with his weight. He held his sword to Marlena’s throat, pressing hard enough to draw blood.

She was strong, bucking her hips to get out from underneath him, but Bridger was stronger as the wildness of his rage thundered around them. “You’re losing it,” he snarled.

Marlena ignored his words, still fighting to get herself free. Bridger wasn’t going to budge, his strength growing the harder she fought.

“You can’t kill me.” She laughed, the pressure Bridger had on her throat muffling her voice. “I can’t be killed.”

“Oh, but I can make it hurt.” Bridger pushed the blade against her harder, blood flowing faster from her growing wound.

Marlena’s laugh gargled in her throat, madness consuming her the longer Bridger held her down. She tried every power she possessed—fire, lightning, water, all of them—to get her commander off of her, but his bodily shield protected him.

All she could do at this point was travel away, but Bridger knew better than that. She was here to fight, to show Bridger she was stronger than him… but the warrior had had enough.

Enough of being her pawn.

Enough of letting her think she always had the upper hand.

Enough of her.

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