Page 79 of Revenge of the Forgotten

“I killed her,” Vega repeated. She’d taken someone’s life. It wasn’t the first she’d killed, but it was the only one she could remember.

“Do you know how long it took me to find her? To find someone with her kind of power who would work with us?” Khort’s voice wasn’t kind anymore—the friendly edge that made her melt into their kiss the night before gone. “Years! I risked everything to get her memories back!”

“We’ll find another way!” Arlet reached out and shoved Khort back. “We always find another way. She was going to kill Vega, or worse, turn her over to Marlena, Khort! Marlena! Bury that nasty pride of yours and open your fucking eyes.”

Vega quivered as she sobbed, shaking Flavia’s body. She was about to turn Vega over to the enemy, maybe kill her, but she still cried for the woman—for the life she’d taken.

Khort turned his anger to the traveler still standing on the opposite side of the room, frozen in fear. “Halo, you piece of shit! Get over here!” Khort wasn’t worried about Vega’s current state. “You’re working with them,” he growled like the angry beast he could shift into.

“No! No! I came here to warn you. They’re here.” Khort lunged for him, but Halo was gone in a cloud of dark smoke.

“Fuck!” Khort screamed. throwing his arms in the air, storming back to Vega. “Get up. We have to go.” He reached out for her, but she twisted away from his touch.

“Don’t touch me!” Vega screamed again. “I killed her! I killed her, and I don’t know how I did it. She had a hold on my power. She was using it against me. I killed her. I stole it back and killed her.” She sounded like a broken record, but it was the only way she could process what she’d done.

“We have to do things we don’t like sometimes. You did what you needed to do to keep yourself alive, to protect yourself.” Arlet knelt, and Vega allowed her to get close but not to touch her. Her skin blazed with heat from her lightning flickering, and she wasn’t sure she knew how to turn it off.

A rumble of thunder sounded outside. Arlet glanced at the window as the wind whistled through the cracks of the home. “You have to calm down,” she told Vega. The guards moved inside, standing by the front door. One looked out of the door’s tiny window for movement. “You don’t have control over your storms yet.” The house rattled.

“We’re supposed to be the good guys, right? We are supposed to protect these people! Not go around killing them.” A bolt of lightning cracked outside, making the old home shudder.

“We are the good guys. We are. We have to protect ourselves too. Even if that means doing something we don’t want to do.” Her head shot to the window as it rattled again. “Vega, please. We can’t let all of Tolevarre know we’re here,” she begged, the sound of panic distorting her usually melodic tone.

Vega didn’t know how much time had passed when she finally let Arlet grab her by the shoulders. Her touch made Vega jump, still worried she would zap anyone who came in contact with her.

“I didn’t mean to,” she gasped, swiping at her face with her palms as her storm outside began to calm.

“I know you didn’t. I know that. You were protecting yourself.” Arlet sat on the floor, wrapping her arms around Vega. She smoothed her hair away from her face, soothing the sobs wracking Vega’s body as she lost herself in the distress of taking a life.

28

His men hid in the shadows of the Fraus woods. Bridger bounced his leg, eyes forward. The large rock he used for a seat dug into his thighs.

Halo was late.

Something was wrong—Bridger could feel it in the way the wind picked up. He shot to his feet when ice-blue lightning lit up the sky. Vega.

Black smoke wafted in his direction, and Halo choked on his breath as his body came into view.

“What happened?” Bridger boomed.

“I got the time wrong. They were already there when I arrived,” he rasped. “Khort knows. He knows I betrayed them. She killed her.”

Bridger’s stomach dropped, and he felt the weight of a thousand stones sitting in the pit of his gut. He hadn’t felt her die—he hadn’t felt Vega die.

“I couldn’t talk my way out of it. He said he could smell you all over me.” The way his eyes grew and his panic spread, Bridger could see Halo’s age for the first time. He wasn’t ready to be a spy.

Bridger fucked up. “Who killed Vega?” His mouth felt dry.

“What?” Halo stopped his pacing. “No, not Vega. The witch. Vega killed her by accident. She wasn’t okay after, started crying. Did you hear the thunder? The lightning… Gods, she’s so strong. What the fuck.” The boy shook his head, his blond hair falling into his eyes.

Vega’s alive.

“Where are they?” Bridger grabbed Halo by the shoulders, forcing him to look in his eyes.

Bridger’s soldiers readied themselves for a fight, grabbing their weapons off the ground, but most were already equipped—their weapons the abilities streaming through their blood.

He watched as Halo’s eyes darted around, waiting for punishment. “Halo, focus. Take a breath. This mission isn’t over. You didn’t fail, not yet. But if you don’t take me to them, then we lose and they win. We have time to come out on top here. You have to relax and take me there. Now.”

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