Page 72 of Revenge of the Forgotten

Halo shifted on his feet. “When Arlet came through with Vega and saw me, I had to come up with a reason as to why I was there. I couldn’t let her think I was with you. I spun the story that I’d seen you two sneaking around and knew the portal needed to be moved to throw you off if you made it back with Vega and Arlet was left behind.”

Bridger replied, “Good.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “And did she seem suspicious?”

Halo shook his head. “No, she was too busy worrying about the Caelum girl.”

Bridger watched the way Halo moved, the way his eyes shifted to the left when he spoke and the way he rubbed his hands together when he started to get nervous. There was a lot to take in about the boy, who was the same age he’d been when he met Marlena and Vega. He was from a land where gangs and villains ran rampant, where the people didn’t care about their neighbors or families. Every move made was to better oneself, worrying about no one else in the process—some would argue that if they cared for no one, nothing could hurt them. Everyone learned to hate the people of Fraus, but no one more than Bridger—no one more than the boy he’d been when he’d needed a mother to protect him from the abuse of his father.

“Her name is Vega,” Bridger said impassively. “Marlena is also a Caelum girl, and we’d hate to get them mixed up.” Marlena wasn’t partial to being compared to her younger sister.

Halo nodded, looking down at his boots.

“Eyes up,” Bridger commanded. He sounded like the fearsome commander he was rumored to be.

“Sorry, Commander.” The boy's eyes were piercing green and he wore his emotions all over his face.

“Don’t apologize. Learn. If you want to be a part of this army, which is what it seems you’re interested in…?” Bridger paused, asking.

Halo nodded quickly, an earnest look of excitement glittering in his eyes. “Yes, sir. More than anything.”

Bridger watched this hopeful young boy turn from someone so sure of his odd power to one who was looking for praise in places he shouldn’t. There was no one like him in all of their realm—he could go anywhere, be anything, and yet he’d allowed Marlena to sink her teeth into him.

Bridger nodded, studying his lanky build. His eyes flicked up his body and then back down before meeting his stare. He continued where he left off. “Then you’re going to have to change parts of yourself that feel wrong. Parts of you that you don’t think you can live without. You’ll have to do things that make you feel as if you’re going to crawl out of your skin, things that you can’t just wash away in the shower or with a strong drink.”

The glitter in Halo’s eyes was part wonder, part fear—it was precisely what Bridger wanted. The excitement of something scary, unknown, and out of the ordinary was what most of his best soldiers were looking for when they joined him after his father was murdered.

Bridger wasn’t his father. He believed in the men and women who laid down their lives for this realm, and in return, he had thousands of warriors standing behind him, ready to attack at any given moment.

A war was brewing between the rebels and those who followed Marlena. The rebels’ numbers were rising every year with the mistreatment of those with lesser powers. The people who helped grow their food, kept their waters flowing with clean water, cleaned the homes of the powerful—the people whom Vega had always seen as more than what they were.

Bridger wanted to be on the winning side of this war.

“Why do you want to join Tolevarre’s army?” Bridger’s posture oozed power.

“Because I want to belong somewhere,” Halo responded, his voice cracking with honesty. Bridger felt a tug at his iron heart—those were words he’d spoken before too.

“Then prove it.” As much as he felt for this boy, Bridger knew better. Though he wasn’t Fraus-born, he was Fortis-bred and would always protect the soft underbelly of himself and his people.

Marlena had taught him to always be one step ahead.

“What do you need?” Halo asked.

“Do you know where Vega is hiding?”

“No. I mean, yes. Somewhere under the Sea of Ros off the coast of Imber, but I’ve never been allowed inside. Khort never let me in,” Halo answered with a solemn expression, his eyebrows knitted together.

“Under the Sea of Ros?”

“Yes, they keep it hidden somehow. I don’t know how or with what, but I do know Vega and the others aren’t there. They left this morning to meet with a witch in Fraus to get Vega’s memories back.” Halo's face drooped around his mouth, his frown hanging low.

“Even better. Why don’t you go pay the witch a little visit? Tell her Commander Dimico will be by to get Vega, who is a fugitive in these lands, and if she does anything to warn them I’m coming, I’ll kill her nice and slow.”

Halo smiled. “I’ll report back with her location. Anything else I can do for you, Commander?” He was so eager to please—almost too eager.

“Yes, as a matter of fact…” Bridger grabbed the sword on his back from its sheath with a speed so quick the move might’ve been missed if Halo blinked. The tip pressed to the lump on Halo’s neck. “If you tell anyone that you’re running my errands or make a peep about where the rebel headquarters is located until I have a chance to look into it, I will add you to the growing list of kills I’ve made this week for speaking out against me.”

Halo backed against the bookcase, the tip of Bridger’s sword pricking through his skin. A trickle of blood slid down the front of his neck. He couldn’t move, nod, or speak without the sword sinking deeper.

“Understood?” Bridger pulled his sword back enough to allow Halo to answer him.

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