Page 116 of Revenge of the Forgotten

His eyebrows drew together. “I would never.”

“I know, I know.” Vega reached out across the bed and squeezed the back of his hand resting on her blanket. “I mean, I know it’s probably something you’ve wanted from me most of our lives, and I can only imagine how hard it was on you to experience that from me when I had no idea who you were.”

He nodded, glancing at the door. Vega knew he was remembering the last time they entered this room together too.

“I’ve been through a lot, obviously… We all have.” She huffed a small laugh. “But the last thing I need to think about right now is any kind of love life. You understand that, right?”

He turned his head to refocus his attention on her. “Yeah, I do.”

“I’m not saying never. You’ve always been the best choice for me, the smart choice.” She gave him a tiny, pursed lip smile. “But I can’t make that choice right now. For the first time in my life, in my lives, I’m ready to focus on the one thing that matters. Me. Breaking my curse. Staying here with you, with Arlet, forever.”

Khort returned her smile, but his seemed sadder than hers. “Of course.”

Vega crawled out from under the covers, avoiding the plate of food on the bed, and sat beside Khort. Her legs dangled where his met the floor. Their thighs touched, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t regret it. I want you to know that. That’s not what this is about.”

Khort leaned his head over and rested it on hers, then reached out to rub his hand on her exposed thigh—the touch was friendly. “I know, and I understand. I’ll wait until you tell me not to.”

They sat like that for a while in complete silence until Khort tapped her leg and stood. He grabbed the plate and handed it to her. “I have to meet Arlet for training. Come visit when you’re done eating. She’s been dying to see you.”

I’ve been dying to see her. Arlet hadn’t been here when she’d returned, and Vega hadn’t had the energy to stay up to see her. “Okay.”

Vega smiled big, waving Khort out before scarfing the food down and jumping into a warm shower to fully pull her out of her fog.

She rushed through the motions of her shower, keeping her mind on one thing and one thing only: breaking the fucking curse that consumed her.

Vega stood at her armoire, and her eyes landed on a clean training suit. Her fingers skimmed over the new fabric, and she smiled as she pulled it off the rack. It’s time to get me back.

Her brain was there, but the body needed some more work. With a full stomach and a heart ready to save herself and the people caught in her sister’s storm, Vega dressed and marched her way to the training room with her head held high the entire way.

The two were locked in a heated sparring match when Vega pushed through the doors… and from the looks of it, Arlet might be coming out on top.

No longer was she the scared girl she’d been at the start of this. Arlet could win this brewing war with nothing but her wits, but it definitely helped that she was a complete badass now.

Staying in the shadows, Vega watched as her friends fought like they were choreographing a dance—so in sync with one another. She’d only felt that way with one other person in all of her lives. Arlet whirled an axe, her skin glistening with sweat. Khort blocked her with a shield made of impenetrable steel. Vega watched his muscles constrict as he blocked Arlet blow for blow.

Arlet pinned Khort, his back whacking against the mat with a whoosh of the breath from his lungs. Vega clapped, and they both snapped their attention to her.

“Vega.” Arlet let out a breath, dropping her weapon onto the mat. She slipped through the ring’s edge and dove into Vega for a big squeeze.

She inhaled the sweet scent of honey in Arlet’s hair. “Gods, I’ve missed you.” Vega didn’t let her go. The pair stood in an embrace until Arlet pulled away to look at Vega head-on.

“It’s you. It’s really you. You’re in there?” Arlet asked with a single tear rolling down her cheek.

Vega wiped it away with her thumb, smiling. “It’s me. I’m back.”

Arlet choked on a sob and pulled her into another hug. “I thought we’d lost you again.”

“I did, too, but Marlena has made a few mistakes.” Vega bit her lip, pulling away from Arlet to meet Khort’s gaze as he sauntered across the room to join the girls.

“What do you mean?” Arlet asked.

“There’s something I need to tell you two.” Vega flexed her hand, her nerves rising inside with the beat of her heart. She nodded towards a table in the corner. “Do you have a minute to spare?”

“We have all the time in the world for you,” Khort answered.

Vega sat, Arlet and Khort taking the chairs across from her. It was time to tell them what she’d been hiding from them—they might have time now, but the minutes were ticking by. Vega inhaled sharply before either of them could speak and spilled the secret that had been eating away at her for fifty-five years. “When we summoned Remus, we all knew something happened to us—that we were changed. Have either of you ever found out what it was?”

Khort shook his head. Arlet leaned forward in her chair and spoke. “We’ve always wondered, but we’re the first of our people to make it out alive after summoning a dead god. There’s no text, no rumors, nothing to give us the answers we wanted. We gave up eventually. Our priority has always been getting you back.”

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