Page 69 of Revenge of the Forgotten

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Vega wailed.

Marlena laughed. “This is always how it was going to be. You just couldn’t see it because you accidentally fell in love with my future commander.”

Vega looked at Bridger, defeat settling on her face.

“It worked in my favor. You would have done anything for him. You even went as far as to summon a dead god—I’m sorry, a demigod—to protect him. Them.” She pointed to Arlet and Khort.

Bridger never took his eyes off Vega.

Marlena looked at her with longing, with the eyes of someone who’d been forgotten, of someone who just wanted to come first to someone… anyone. “You picked them.”

Bridger’s physical pain worsened while watching the interaction between the Caelum sisters, his heart running amok in his chest.

“You’re my sister, Mar, my best friend. I would have picked you. Always.” Marlena still towered over Vega, who was cowering on the floor, looking smaller than she’d ever been. Bridger had never seen her shrink for anything, under anyone.

“You’re a liar.” The hatred bled through, tarnishing every ounce of who Marlena once was.

Vega shook her head, sitting up on her knees, looking as if she might reach out and touch her sister.

“You were oblivious, lost in your perfect little world. You never even stopped to see what I was going through.” It seemed Vega might be getting to her, that if she kept pushing, she might be able to have a breakthrough. “You didn’t care.”

“That’s not true,” Vega countered, reaching out to grab her sister’s hand. Marlena let her have it, taking the time to look down at their connected bodies. Vega was covered in blood, her hair tangled around her face. She wore Bridger’s shirt still, drowning in its size. “Whatever you were going through—whatever you’re going through, we can fix this. It’s not too late. We can do this together.”

The Caelum sisters both looked like they had fought for their lives.

Only one had.

The other completed her tasks with zero remorse, zero regrets. It was written all over her face, easily seen even under the mask of vulnerability she was currently wearing.

“You let them beat me. You ignored the bruises, the nights I was locked away. You never stopped to see what was happening to me right in front of you. It didn’t have to be like this. I could’ve saved you.”

Bridger watched from his position on the cold floor, ignoring the fire of pain lapping up his side, a familiar hand on his shoulder. His mother finally decided to check on her son, the one who had been lying on the floor in a heap in front of her for longer than any mother should allow. Bridger tried to push her away, but she held on with a vise-like grip, forcing him to a standing position.

Katrin Dimico leaned in, whispering her simple order. “Stand tall. Don’t let them see you fall apart.” At least her hands were kinder than his father’s would have been.

Bridger felt like he was watching this unfold from outside of his body. He could see his mother hoisting him up, sliding her shoulder under his to help support most of his weight. He watched as Arlet blinked, coming to and finding her surroundings. When she realized where she was and who was around her, she froze. He could see Khort cave into himself, accepting their deaths.

Bridger refused to do that. He’d promised that he would fight with Vega, side by side.

Until his dying breath.

Marlena’s mood shifted. Vega’s hand was still in hers, the sisters in what might be their last calm physical touch. Marlena’s gaze moved from their hands to Vega’s identical eyes.

And her sinister smile came back.

Without another moment of hesitation, Marlena yanked Vega up from the floor, snapping her wrist. Vega yelped in pain.

Bridger stumbled forward, pulling away from his mother.

“Stop,” she hissed, much stronger than the broken and powerless son she had in her grasp.

“Marlena, please, just let us go,” Bridger begged, something that was drilled into him not to do since he was a child—Dimicos don’t beg. But he would.

For Vega, he would do worse.

Marlena couldn’t hear him. Her hand was around Vega’s throat, holding her at arm's length, her head cocking as she took in the gurgling noises coming from her sister. Vega scratched at her sister’s arms, unable to get her plea out.

Water pooled around their feet. Bridger looked down, the room filling with dark seawater, warm from the Caldor Ocean. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Marlena and Vega, fear dulling the pain he was in.

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